Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-12-10

Act No. 70 OF 1851, 10 Snperlntenu .he topais y,
the State House at Baton Rouge showing wnat
has heen done towards rebuilding the capitol,
and the amount required to complete the build
ing. IL the warrants drawn against the appro-
priation made by Act No. Is OF 1880 for the
renajra could have been realized In cash, at par,
tbe state. Uouse could have been finished under
the amount appropriated. Someof the warrants
were disposed of to meet tho cash payments due
to contractors but when these warrants greatly
deprecated in value, " became necessary .nac
the commission should borrow money and pledge
n large amount of them as security. Money was
thus obtained from I Newman, at the rate OF ton
per cent, per annum and subsequently from tho
f,itizens' Bank. at eight per cent, the bank.
rrdeeminc the warrants held in pledge by New
man The action Of this bank in supplying the
funds necessary to pay contractors IL commenda-
Bile and Irespectfully request such legislation ~
NAV be necessary TO redeem the warrants now in
possession Of the bank.
The Adiutant General will furnish an estimate
for tho State National Guard. IL il essential to
maintain an efficient Militia force. Recent expo
rience has demonstrated this necessity On the
lat of September, 1881, there was organized In
the city OF New Orleans what are commonly
known az "strikes." which continued through
period Of fourteen days. 1t il denied by the
organizers of these movements that there was
any intention to disturb the peace or TO Interfere
with legitimate business But that there were
disturbances of the peace and a serious interfer-
ence with commerce during the continuance OF
these movements cannot be denied. AT 0notime
the disturbance assumed threatening proper
tons At the request Of the Mayor OF the city
of New Orleans the First Division OF the State
National Guard was placed under arms at its
armorics, subject to the orders of the Mayor, On
the 18th of September the Governor lot the State
in search of health On the 18th Of September
His Honor the Mayor, in an official c0nlnunica-
ton, stating the inability of the police force at
his command to preserve the peace, requested the
interference Of the Executive OF the State. Inn
medately on the receipt OF this communication,
| issued proclamation, as acting, Governor,
assuming control of r. city, solely Tor the pur-
pose Of preserving the eace and restoring order.
Mai Gen Behan was placed in command OF the
city and the necessary order issued" Eortu-
nately, there was no occasion to use military
force. On the 18th Of September the Mayor
informed me that peace and order had been
restored and my proclamation was Immediately
withdrawn.
The proclamation, orders and official commu-
nications from the Mayor Of the city Of New 0r-
leans arc herewith transmitted,
The officers and members OF the militia acted
with great pr0mptness, and elected universal
applause by their strict soldierly bearing and
admirable discipline. By encouragement from
the Executive and a liberal support from the
Legislature, this force can be made TO compare
favoraby with the best organizations OF other
States.
MAIN oBJECrs or TIE SPECIAL SESSION.
The chief objects for which IN extra session is
called are: To provide an adequate revenue for
the State and to make the required appropria-
tons.
The financial condition OF the State is unsatis
factory. The expenditures largely exceed the
revenues. The appropriations against the Gen
era Fund for 1880 aud 1881 amountt0 81, 423 s29n
The revenue from licenses and taxes, General
Fund, for the same period, actual and estimated,
amount to S755, 9Ii, showing a difference between
the estimated revenue aud the appropriations Of
1864, SS5.7I.
The constitutional limit OF taxation is not the
cause of this deficiency. The revenue derived
under that limit will be more than sufficient II
collection OF taxes can b. made to operate upon
the taxable property OF the State Our revenue
laws from year To year have been progressively
growing less efficient Large amounts of prop.
erty, InOveablc and imlnovable, have escaped
taxation. There is no uniformity anywhere III
the State. AS % consequence some portions are
paying on u high vnluation a large tax, while
others on low assessments are paying but small
tax. The valuation on productive real estate OF
the SAME grade, varies from five to twenty dol
lars per acre. We have probably reached the
last development. There is a universal demand
for remedial legislation- The remedy is plain
and the means pointed out by the constitution
| are adequate. The recent convention Of collect
OrS and aSsessors has demonstrated that, under
the present system, no equitable assessment car
be made nor can the collection OF taxes be AIDE
quately enforced. Those who are paying on the
highest valuation are really paying four times
the tax on the same grade Of land that is paid il
q neighb0ring parish. In some localities thu
revenue of the property IL taken for its actua
value and the assessment is made accordingly
Thus when piece OF property yields revenue
Of $40 600 ii is assessed at the same figures wheI
| its assessment in reality should be not less than
three times that amount The State Commits
sioner of Agriculture estimates the annual pro
ductiye capacity OF the State, from agricultural
products, to be S75, 000, 600, and ii the same i'm
proper rule were TO be followed, our assessment
rolls should show only this amount
Allrecognize the principle that the lowest tar
possible should be collected, and in order to &C
complish this result there must be Just and
equitable assessment OF all the property III thu
State subject to taxation, and the means provid
ed for the speedy collection OF the same.
| Article 203 OF the Constitution must be car
ried out in order to remedy the present defects
Of assessment. II is impossible to do this under
| the existing plan. Experience has established
| this-hence the constitutional provision. By
| adopting it and putting it in operation system
can be provided which will do justice to tn,
State and to the taxpayer, and thus the greatest
amount OF revenue can be collected with the
| least expense TO the people. The prejudice
against State Board of Equalization can be re
moved by preserving the local assessment, The
people are averse to trusting this cXcu lively u
a State Board, removed at distance from then
and unacquainted with local values. This car
be remedied by combination OF the two meth
| obs. The local assessment should be made un
der the supervision OF local board, who will
equalize values in each parish among ndividu
ais. A reasonable but limited, time should b,
| allowed for an appeal to the courts from the 10
cal assessment. With the local assessment
should stop all judicial proceedings, and aite
the period of limitation has passed all matters
contained in the rolls, relating to description
valuation, etc, should become res adudicata.
| A State Board of Equalization should be or
ganized, not for the purpose of local assessment
but for preserving uniformity among the par
ishes. Whenever parish falls short in the as
sessments, and Is thus inticting an injury upol
her neighbOr, the State Board should be author
lied TO revise the assessments and order them {,
be raised to uniform and equitable scale.
The constitutional provision postpones the On
forced collection of taxes until the end OF TIN
year, when it was really the intention of this in
stru1nent TO make the taxes collectable in tn
year IN which they were assessed. Hence Their
can be no moving up the collections. But
is believed that. by proper revenue system
causing an equal and uniform valuation, witt
prompt and efficient means for collecting th
taxpaser will find it to his interest to pay at al
early period.
There no doubt but that the DELAY now OK
peIlenced is IN great measure due to the fac
that the assessments are unjust, and the mean