The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-19
VALID AND CONSTITUTIONAL.
The Supreme Court Rules the Tuition Tax Is
Sustained by the Constitution.

A case of vital Importance affecting the COM
mon school system was decided yesterday by the
Supreme Court A taxpayer in Vevay resisted
the assessment by the Common Council of what
is known as the tuition tax, which is levied for
the payment of teachers He claims that the
statute authorizing the levy is unconstitutional,
and that the tax could only be imposed by the
Legislature, which has no authority to delegate
the power to local school corporations. The
inhibits the statute, reads knowledge and
learning generally diffused throughout a COM
munity being essential to the preservation of
free government, it SHALL be the duty of the
General Assembly to encourage by all suitable
means moral, intellectual scientific and agricult
ural improvement and to provide by law for
ageneral and uniform system of common schools,
wherein tuition shall be without charge
and free and equally open to ALL" Judge Elliot,
in the decision the case, remarks that it is the
great duty of courts, when called upon to inter-
pref the Constitution to give effect to the inten-
ton or the people as expressed in the lnstru-
ment. The purpose of the people was to build
up great and benefcent system in which tut
ton shall be without charge, and equally free
to ALL" 1--WE should wander from our post of
duty" Judge Elliot says 'if we should give
meaning to the language of the people that
would defeat what we know beyond doubt was
their leading purpose. We know that to hold
that there must be for the whole State one law,
governing alike populous districts and sparsely-
inhabited localities, making the same provisions
for one as for the other, would defeat the great
purpose of the Constitution. 1t is simply and
absolutely impracticable for general law to
justly and adequately provide for the necessities
of all the governmental subdivisions of the State.
1t is possible and only possible to build up
efficient system by leaving local school matters,
under proper general laws, to the people of the
different localities. The system to be success
fully maintained should be so intrusted to the
people of the different localities. We know
it as part of the history of one of the most
important institutions of our State, for we
cannot he ignorant of the fact that the schools
suffer severely from a different system, and
have greatly prospered under the present
The provision that the Legislature shall provide
by law for q general and uniform system of COM
mon schools does not mean that the Legislature
must directly and by statute levy all taxes for
each locality, nor that they shall provide rules
for every school district in the State. The
reasonable Interpretation of this language is
that the Legislature shall by general law pro-
vide for conducting schools and securing reve-
nues from taxation for their support through
the instrumentalties of government
These instrumentalities are such political sub
divisions as townships, towns and cities, and
they are lnstrumen ta.ities to which local gov
ornamental powers may be delegated. There is
not a word in the entire article of the Constitu
ton that directly or indirectly prohibits the Leg
islature from making use of these agencies of
government in the administration of local
school affairs. We have ascertained and de-
cided" Judge Elliott says, that when the Legis-
lature makes provision for the government and
support of the common schools by providing
suitable machinery, and committing the details
of its operation to local officers, they do pro-
vide for a system of schools. Is the system
general and uniform ones is then the question.
A system which grants to all the various sub
divisions of the State equal and uniform
rights and privileges leaving only to local au-
thorities the right to govern local affairs is a
general and uniform system. The fact that
there is difference in the methods of local gov
eminent does not disprove that the system is
general one. The Legislature could not devise
scheme that would meet the wants and necessi-
ties of each district. The people never intended
that the Legislature should undertake to do
such an impracticable thing"
The constitutionality OF the law is completely
affirmed, and any doubt about the validity of
the tuition tax assessment is set at rest