Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-09-05
THE TAX QUESTION.
Important Letter to Govern
or Brown.

what ShOuId be Taxed and How tt
should be Taxed-SuggestiOns for
the People of Tennessee 20 Con-
slider.
70 His Excellency, Gov. John G. Brown
MEMPHIS, Tenn, Seps, i, 1sTe.-Dear
Sir: As citizen Of the State over which
you rave the homer 70 preside as Governor,
feeling deep interest in its prosperity, [
desire to submit for your consideration and
the consideration of the people of Tenres.
see some remarks on the subject or taxa
tion-whst 1 deem the correct principle
or system of taxation, as compared with the
unwise and inc0frect system now in opera
ton in our State-and in doing this desire
to cast no reflections upon you as Governor
of the State, nor hold you in any way re-
sponsible for the present system-for the
evil, ss understand il, is in our orgRic
law, the Constitution of the State, and AN
not be remedied short of change of said
Constitution. Further, I will say if you
were to some extent responsible, L would
be prepared to excuse you, the evil ex
lists not only in Tennessee, but IN many, if
not al, the States of the Union. Bnf, not
withstanding it may exist in all the States,
1t is, nevertheless, an evil, wrong system
working against the interest and prosperity
Of the States wherein it exists; but, perhaps,
owing to the peculiar surroundings, not so
much against the prosperity Of any State,
as our State of Tennessee.
The clause of our Constitution refer to,
is the one which requires all property, real,
personal and mixed, TO be taxed alike. I'm
der iris clause, all money, trade, c., is
tn no tava I
that the State tax should be LEVIED on it, but
also that the county and city tax in the va
rious counties and cities of the State, for
their respective uses, should be lev ed on it,
and said various counties and cities cannot
exempt it from taxation even If they should
be disposed, when the tax is entirely FOR
their own purpo ses; for they ere LEFT no dis.
cretion ia the matte,
In addressing you these lines, l do not
hope just low 70 effect any change 80 far as
the State tax is concerned, for the people of
our State, L fear, have too long had their
minds directed in the fsllacious channel,
for their error TO be explained to them sud.
denly, owing TO the difficulty CT presenting
the matter properly to them snd further
owing TO the fact that many parts of the
State is not so directly and vitality interes-
ted in an Immediate change, as other parts;
but do hope that 80 far as the county and
city taxes are concerned, to show you the
necessity for steps being taken TO bring
about change at as early moment as
possible--the sooner the better-and If not
very soon, that important interest to the
State VIII be lost, and may be lost forever,
AMI that certain valuable counties and cities
IN the State will be comparatively slaught-
cred.
propose to show that whilst every part
OF the State and each and every citizen Of
the State, no matter what his vocation, &C.
cupation or trade may be, would be bene-
filed by change Of the entire system, in
Guiding State as well as county or cit
some parts of the State absolutely demand
q change so far as the county and city tax is
concerned, and to bring about a speedy
change as you are the only person clothed
with the necessary power to take the mia
tory steps, take this liberty of addressing
you upon the subject, hoping that good
may come of It,
In showing or proving what have above
promised to show l will proceed thus:
First, will present you with q rule or
motto which think it would be well for the
State TO adopt, and have Gu. into the stone
at the Capitol lin large letters and have
them gilded) in the SeDa'e Chamber, the
House OF Representatives and Governors
office, for l think it entirely harmonizes
with the correct principles of taxation in
every particular to wit :: Never tax any
thing that would be of value 10 your Safe,
that could and would run away, or that
could and would come to you.
There are two kinds or natures of prop
erty in the world only, movable and i'm
movaSle-the former as its name implies
can be moved from ore place to another
as its owner chooses; the latter is fixed
and cannot bulge an inch, no matter what
its owner chooses. l holt. it to be true,
that 'mmoVable property has no value
till it is occupied or loo 1ted upon or brought
to subsist or employ movable property and
as q rule, the more it employs or subsists
the more valuable it becomes, and the great
er the inducements or attractions it offers
movable property the more it will have to
locate upon it. For instance, the best acre
of and in America is worth nothing till man
goes upon it with his axe, horse, COW, etc,
and ours the timber of, builds bis log cabin,
puts it in cultivation and brings it to subsist
himself, horse, COW, ETC., and from that nc
ment it commences to have value, by
reason of the fact that it employs or subsists
the man (wbo, if be can be called property
at all, is certainly movable property, horse,
COW, etc, Che horse, COW, etc, is movable
property.) And if this acre of ground from
any cause should becoIe attractive to and
employ double the amount of movable
property, IS a general rule it will become
doubly valuable, and so Cd, if it should be-
come attractive to and employ proftably,
ten, or hundred o. thousand fold more
nova property, it won become in lie
ratio more valuable, even up to the value Of
Mr.. a. T. Stewards are Of ground on
Broadway, New York, which Is worth per-
haps two million dollars per acre by reason
of the fact that it offers attractions and has
employed upon it proftably five, len or fif
teen million dollars of movable pro-
perty. (Of course When ground gets
beyond a certain value it must be
put To other uses thsn sgriculiuIal.)
Just this pro ,ess the Stewart scre of ground
has doubtless passed through since the
Dutch first landed on Manhattan Island.
There are exceptions to this rule, that i'm
movable property is valuable, as it has
movable employed directly on il, Tor it
frequently has a greater value than the
movable property employed directly il,
would warrant. 1t has value reflected
from tSe employment Of movest lie property