Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1878-05-29
Plantation Stores.
n. @ Iiinesl

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preme Court on Monday as to the
liability OF plantation stores to
liccnse.taxes is OF great Importance
to the whole planting community.
Heretofore this license tax has op.
Grated as very irksome burden to
planters who, from one cause or
another, found it desirable to keep
small stocks of goods OH their
places. In most cases the amount
of the tax was entirely out OF pro.
portion TO the extent Of the business
or the profits accruiug from its con.
dnct. Persons planting on advances
or with capital limited narrowly to
the immediate wants Of the business
often find it impossible to meet the
outlay required for a full set of IL.
censes and are thus compelled to
toreg0 what would be great conven.
fence to them rs well as to their
hands. There are many reasons
why it is an advantage to planter
TO be able TO keep stock Of staple
merchandise suited to the daily or
binary wants of his laborcrs. II
facilitates his monthly settlements
very materially, for one thing, while
on the other hand it serves to keep
the men more at home if, indeed,
they do not thereby get a better and
cheaper article for their money.
One OF the greatest nuisanccs the
planter has to deal with is the con.
tinual running backward and for.
ward between the place and the
nearest village for such petty things
as tobacco or whisky or shoes OF
coffee which the negroes use as
constantly as they do bread and
meat and which he could supply in
Just as good quality and OH Just as
favorable terms were not the license
tax SO largely out Of proportion to
the amount of the business as to
forbid his mourning the expense. 1t
has often happened that planters
living remote from the country
towns have found it difficult to hire
the full number of hands needed on
account of the distance from "the
store and the consequent trouble
and expense involved in going to
and fro.
This decision, however, removes
all the difficulties growing out of the
store question and, while relieving
the larger planters of an incquitable
burden. is a positive boon to those
smaller ones who would not other.
wise have been able to avail them.
selves of the benefits of a store.
They can now keep on hand a stock
OF all the articles commonly required
by plantation laborers without being
liable to any license tax in consc.
qucncc, and thus add largely to the
facilities aud convenience of their
business.
But while the decision will be
great relief to planters it will be
the reverse to country merchants
who are not planters. IL illustrates
the difficulties, inequalities and in.
justice of the license tax and pre-.
scnts another argument in favor of
Its abolition. y license tax of 500
on Il small plantation store is an in.
tolerable eXtortion, but to take it
OIL IN such cases and still impose it
on ncighboring country stores pre-.
ScntS u glaring case of unequal tax.
alton. ~, a planter, can sell goods
TO Is. L. d., etc, laborcrs. without
license, while T., country mcr
chant, must pay $3.50 for selling the
same goods, at the same price to the
same persons. 1t is not strange
that the Supreme Court should re.
llcNe plantation stores from such
Aethst, but 1t Is strange how under
any reasoning 1t can I've cXacted
from other country stores. If this
does not present case of want of
uniformity, within the meaning OF
the constitution then no such case
can he presented. The whole sys
TEN Is "a nuisance and inherently
Unfair, ana every attempt TO enforce
1t brings the executive officers and
courts Ill contact with such anoma.
lies Us the above.