Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-03-06
THE MEMPHIS DEBT BILL.
APr0mpt A Taxpayer Who Objects
10 Being Taxed 10 supply the
Dehcte0cy Caused by NOnsPay.
ment Of Delinquenfs.
Nashville American, 3.

In the Senate Thursday the follow.
ing petition, signed by Mrs. Elizabeth
MerIwether, Memphis lady, was
read:
To the Honorable, the General As.
sembly of Tennessee: Your petitioner
Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, respect
fully represents that bill has been
prepared, and will shortly be present
ed for your consideration, having for
its object the settlement of the debts of
extinct municipalities, and especially
that OF Memphis. This bill makes no
provision for the protection of the
prompt taxpayer; on the contrary, it
leaves him or her to bear the whole
burden OF tae delinquency Of others in
the payment Of the debt, a large part
OF which is fraudulent and void.
Your petitioner begs the considers
tian of your honorable body to the
following facts:
l. That | have been a taxpayer in
the city OF Memphis for twenty
years.
2. That have always been a prompt
taxpayer.
3. That during all that time / have
never been permitted a voice in the
choice of the agents who imposed
taxes on my property.
4. That when the Nicolson paving
debt was created, | protested against
that style of paving, believing it
would rapidly decay and the process
OF decay would produce disease and
death.
D. That Notwithstanding this, |
promptly paid the taxes levied for the
Nlcolson pavement to the amount Of
$500, which was the full price of the
work done in front Of my property.
b That since then | have been
forced by mandamus to pay taxes FIVE
times over for the same work to sup
ply the deficiency made by delinquent
taxpayers.
Z. That, as In the past. legislative
enactments have utterly failed to se-
cure the payment of taxes from large
numbers of persons, often the richest
in the community, who withhold their
taxes because they can more proftably
use the money 10 speculation or trade,
thereby throwing the whole burden,
not only once but often twice and
thrice, and sometimes FIVE times, on
small property holders who do not
engage in speculation or trade; and
as in the past, this has always been
the case. it is more than probable il
will continue to be the case unless
your honorable body devise some
plan for the protection of the prompt
tax payers, who are usually poor men
and with small houses or other prop
erty.
8. Therefore, in behalf of all prompt
tax payers, and especially in behalf of
that large class of which your peti-
toner is one, which has no voice in
the imposition of taxes, but are as
helpless infants in the hands OF the
State, | appeal to the justice of all
honorable men. and respectfully urge
your honorable body to annex the
following amendment to the aforesaid
bill, when it shall be introduced, to.
wit:
Be it further enacted, that where
any taxpayer in such municipality
shall have the rate Of tax thus fixed
70, interest and sinking fund upon hi,
or her property therein ,the said prop
erty shall thereafter be forever exempt
from any further tax for the interest
on the funded debt for that year, in.
cluding the interest on the valid com.
promise bonds funded under the act
of 1871, chapter 10, commonly known
as the Flippin compromise bonds, and
shall be exempt from any further
sinking fund tax for that year, and the
creditor shall look alone to the prop
erty of the delinquent taxpayer for
any deficit for that year.
Respectfully,
EIIZARETH AVFpv Man,.