The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-09-19
LETTER FROM TENNESSEE
CE4NKsxaLAsA ongornsty CO.. Tenn

= -@@----S -fS~sN~ - " 40 Al A(%<4AC
| littleR business done and LITTLE
ehance to do 1T, and waiting pa
! tiently as I may for my railroad
suit to be reached by the. SLOW
movements of .theaeourt, and anx
tSnus to get ''ho1ne again. Il may
1pe said to bea slightly ~seattered''
ss well as manifesting strong pre-.
pOnitory symtolns Of esinaii; hence
this letter, which is intended fol-
publication or sheHswaste basket, -
bas YOU please; gas9 ,-.pyo Al so
.fa To say that times are hard
money close, and people blue Is, 9
waste of words, as these express
hsions are too feeble to attract at
item ton. With : fair = competi-
! ton I should say that prop
erty sells fol, 80 per cent. of what
! it did when 1 lived here, in 1865
to 1870. Though I find that sew
eral pieces of my property here
have been regularly assessed for
taxes at SO per cent. more than I
pretended, to ask for thems but
then, you know, what non-resi-
dent "Yauk" pays is so much OFF
the shoulders of those sto-the-
nanor-born." While Nashville is
really improving and on the whole
doing a fair average business, most
of the towns look sfsad and lonely"
have just laid down the NEWS
Of August 29th, and must say 1
enjoyed your article on school
book agents. think it may be
truly said: "you know how it is
yourself" Hope the question of
text books will be permanently
settled before I get back-for a
week. But I started out to say
something about schools.
In the days when Brownlow
reigned here the legislature passed
q free school law; that is, provid-
ed for schools and the levying of
local taxes-the State fund of over
two millions in the Bank of Ten
nessee having been carried South
by Isom G. Harris at the approach
of the Vandals, and but a small
and vulgar fraction thereof ever
reclaimed. The execution of this
school law was enjoined, the in
junction dissolved, that taken by
supersedeas to the supreme court
where 1 argued it against ma
jority of the court, whose opinion
will be found reported in 9th Cald-
well, page 127. Since tkat time a
new school law, under the admin
istration of the county court, has
been adopted, and I give you the
result as appears from the reports
of the State Superintendent.
The State levies a tax of $1.00
on each poll. Each county may
do this, and a few counties have.
But you will see by the appended
list that but 26 out of oyer 80
counties have taken any action ex-
cept to vote to raise no tax, which
is equivalent to voting to have no
school. Besides, the rule here is
that taxes are not paid and the
land is bid in in the name of the
State Treasurer for the benefit of
schools, and then the State has an
elephant on its hands, as there is
no sufficient penalty to induce peo-
pie to pay their taxes and no way
but tradition to identify Il piece of
land, and the most enthusiastic
speculator never dreamed of &C
quiring any sort of title to piece
of land here by tax deed. The
levy for taxes is strictly local and
so much on one hundred dollars.
Sometimes, as / said before, a
school tax of one dollar per poll
is levied, and person is required
to exhibit that receipt before he
can vote if challenged, but this in
practice does not seem so much a
matter of school concern as to test
the feasibility of property quail
ficati on
If this State tax of one dollar
per poll be not paid by the county
then the county does not receive
the tax for distribution nor any
for that year.
Below give you a list of the
counties which have taken affirm.
atiYe action, showing the amount
they have levied on eac" 500 as.
sessed property, / leave your
readers to guess how much of this
is available when but one third
of it is collected and all the local
machinery for its-leyy and collec.
ton is paid out of the fund:
/ Bledsoe county, 3 cents on TIT
500; Bradley, 20; Campbell, 40
Cannon, Is; Carter, 90; Decatur,
20; DeKalb, Is; Fayette, 5; Fen
tress. 40; Franklin, %; Gibson
%; Greene, Is; Gunley, 20; Ham
blen, Is; Hancock, 10; Houston
20; Lincoln, 80; McNairy, 20
Warren, so; Montgomery, 81
Polk, 20; Roane, 10; Rutherford
, 10; Sequatchie, 80; Warren, IL
and Williamson, 5. This, you see
is the 'banner county" Thi
} shows to what extent a people ma.
E be crushed out by excessive taxa
t ton.
There is no cholera hereabouts
: though some parts of Kentucky i
: still suffering.
The slate is being made out 70
the next canvass, and among thos
: who are mentioned for Guberns
toria1 honor is Colonel John For
= House, one of the ablest men i
o the State.
o Agriculture is at SO low an eb
c here that no "grangers'' wer
Z planted this year.
. Hoping soon to see the "NEw
n corner" and more especially m
.t deserted Office. / am
~