St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-02-22
Revenues of 1879,
IN. O. Tines.1


Some one has mentioned with an air
of innocent wonder, that very few peo-
pie seem to be coming forward and pay
ing up their llcenses-especially the
bar-room proprietors. Presumably, the
licenses referred to are those due the
State. There is no reason why the city
licenses should not be paid, and we have
no doubt that they are paid or being
paid with tolerable promptitude. But
why should any one be surprised be-
cause the State licenses are not collect
ed !? Is our State government so pater-
nal, so beneficent, SO just, so hopeful,
that the people are to go out of their
way to help it, The late Legislature
set about spending the public money as
rapidly and loosely as they could. They
began by plumbing the people into a
whole year OF expensive and disturbing
political campaigns, and throughout the
four weeks of their session they remain
ed consistent with that beginning. A
summing up of the result showed ap-
revenues, and, to make this shameful
recklessness the more conspicuous, it
now transpires that the act levying State
licenses and the polltax has been so
stupidity and blunderingly drawn up as
to be null and void through its own de-
fects. Thus the State loses its revenue
from State licenses, aggregatlng some
$40O 900: and from pOll-taX estimated at
about 000-altogether more than
half a million dollars which is lost to
the revenue OF 1879, excepting in SO far
as individual citizens may choose to come
forward voluntarily to the States as
sistance.
Surely it is rather out of place to feel
or express surprise that the State Ii
censes are coming in slowly. Evidently
they will continue to come in slowly it,
indeed, they do not stop coming at all.
There is not so much encouragement to
taxpayers, in the judicious and intelli
gent administration of their money,
that they should be willing to pay ex-
cept under compulsion.. The people are
patient and long suffering, and they do
they understand and they remember.
1t is not to be supposed that citizens
who can read and write are ignorant of
the Encouragement, the favoritism and
the sightseeing that have dwelt in high
places during these last two years and
to which the present disreputable situa-
ton is due. 1t is not to be supposed
that such citizens have failed to recog-
nize the incapacity and the criminal
recklessness Of the late Legislature, OF
that they will deliberately forego this
opportunity to rebuke them. The taxes
would be quite heavy enough, even if
they We're honestly and economically
expended, but when the peoples money
is flung about so prodigally as it has
been, given away to party favorites-as
in the case of the $4,000 donated to the
State Printer-and otherwise squander-
ed without visible benefit to the State,
it is rather too much to expect that peo-
pie will not take advantage Of any
blunder which their rulers, for Won
der, happened to make in their favor.
1t is our opinion, as we have already
said, that the unutterable stupidity by
which the license and poll-tax bill was
made to violate the constitution, oper-
ates the notification of the whole law,
and that the State cannot collect cent
under it further than as people may be
willing to contribute voluntarily. To
what extent such voluntary contribu-
tons will be made is of course a matter
for events to determine, but we fancy
full and contented that they will present
the government with testimonials, large
or small, in the shape Of cash. Any
disposition of this sort that might have
existed before was, in all human
probability, extinguishedb by the late Leg
islature for we do believe that a body
more candidly regardless of the true
interests of people, more arrogant and
incapable and reckless, never assembled
in Louisiana.