Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1885-03-03
Legislative News.


Melvin moved to amend the amend
ment proposed by Mr.. Floyd $780,
OOO) by substituting SO, 900. After
various motions SIP, 900 was fixed
upon.
In amending the license bill in the
House, Col. Chew offered substitute
imposing an annual license tax of ten
dollars on corporations obtaining char
tiers for the purpose of doing business.
within the State, and an annual tax of
fifty dollars on corporations obtaining
charters for the purpose of doing
business outside the State. In sup
porting his substitute, Col. Chew said
companies from all over the United
States came to West Virginia to OBJ
tain charters, in order to take advan-
tage of our liberal laws, and it was
nothing more than right they should
pay something for the benefit of the
State. The substitute was agreed to,
after the insertion of clause exempt
ing from the tax corporations formed
for educational, scientific, literary or
agricultural purposes. Mr.. Crockett
moved to fill the blank in section two,
fixing the State and school levy, with
20 cents for the first named purpose,
which motion was agreed to. Col.
Chew then proposed an amendment
laying an additional levy of five cents
on each 500 for building purposes.
This proposition provoked running
discussion of considerable length. in
which politics seemed to play an i'm
portant part. The motion of Col.
Chew. was then adopted by party
vote.
The House then passed to con-
sideration of the school levy. On a
proposition of Mr.. Parks (amending
motion by Hawvermale), to fix the
levy at fifteen cents, Mr.. Lucas took
the floor in opposition. He called
attention to the serious character of
the proposition, and said the system
of taxation in vogue in West Virginia
was nothing else than slow but GER
tain confscation of the real estate of
the State. He said that under the
law the county tax was % cents on
the S100, district school tax 90 cents,
average road tax 25 cents, State levy
25 cents, and school levy 10 cents,
making the enormous total of $2.45,
or nearly two and a half per cent
The municipal government of New
York City was counted rs one of the
most expensive on earth, yet her tax
was less than that levied on the far
mers of this State, whose income did
not average more than four per cent.
Mr.. McClung plead for the poorer
districts of the State; he said the
school system of the State purported
to be State system il his own
county of Grecnbrier there were dis
tricts which had n school levy of 20
cents, while in others it was only 25
or 80 cents: was this equal taxation?
Mr.. Dorr denounced the present sys-
TEN of school taxation in unmcasured
terms; the gentleman from jefferson
Mr.. Lucas) had said on the floor
that his county paid out into the gem
eral school fund $1,000 more than it
received; he would be ashamed to say
such thing as that; the speaker
paid out of his own pocket $50 a year
to educate other peoples children,
"%AANA SoOO .DtASN NV S1lG (SIIO IL llItO
been said that representatives of the
poorer counties did not know what
they were talking about; they knew
enough TO know they were being most
unjustly taxed. Mr.. DIylcs wanted
to know what all the harping about
heavy taxes meant; the city of
Wheeling contributed thousands of
dollars to the education of the chill
dren of the State, and then had
levy of 30 cents for her own pur-
poses. Finally q vote was reached,
and MIR. Parks amendment was de-
feated. The original motion then
prevailed and the bill ordered to its
engrossment.
In the House, on Wednesday, when
the appropriations for the University
were read, Mr.. Dean moved to strike
out the sum of $1,000 for contingent
expenses of the University and sub
stitute 5000, with the proviso that
no part of the sum so appropriated
should be paid as a salary for chap
lain. The gentleman thought that
among the eleven professors at the
University there should be enough of
the religious element to make the en-
ployment of a chaplain unnecessary.
Mr.. Lucas combated the idea that a
chaplain was unnecessary. Here we
were appropriating s31 900 for edu-
cation, and only s1OO for religion
The idea of a chaplain was to pre-
vent sectarianism, and he thought it
injudicious to withhold the small sum
asked as compensation for his SER
vices. Mr.. Dean replied to the argu-
ment of the gentleman from Jeffer-
son, in the course of his remarks
making the assertion that the reli-
gous element among the professors
had run so low that some of them had
not prayed or been at prayer for two
years. Mr.. Lucas, replying, said he
knew the gentleman had not very
good opinion of the institution or its
professors. Perhaps if the gentleman
had been elected President of the
University he would have held diff
fcrent opinion. He submitted that
those in charge of the University did
not need the dictation of outsiders.
He defended the character of the
Professors, and said they were gen
tlemcn entirely worthy of their nro-