The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-16
TAXPAYING SUSPENDED.
30 MORE COLLECTIONS UNDER
LAST YEARS ORDINANCE.

Collections Were Well in HAND
Complications Growing Out of the
Supreme Courts Decision-The Claim
that it B.azss the Way for Taxing
the Ground Rent Lots.
The decision Of the Supreme court IN the
Weed case, published in the MORNING NEWS
yesterday was the talk Of the town.
The inequalities Of the tax ordinance Of
asst year will not figure in the tax ordinance
ior 1890. Last year real estate was taxed
At the rate OF 81 per cent, all personal
property except shares in banks or bank.
ng associations s Of l per cent, and
lhares in banks or banking associations
LI0 of per cent Real estate has borne
he greater part of taxation since the
adoption of the present constitution. but
ander the ruling ali classes Of property must
aow share equally.
The city council at its meeting next
Wednesday night will doubtless pass the
lax ordinance fixing the rate per cent. and
It is believed that It will be fixed at l Is per
cent. Ii was thought at one time that as
low a figure as per cent. might
be fixed, but it is now thought
that the necessity for an increased water
supply will result in liking the rate per
cent. at ~.
1885 TAXES PRETTY NEARLY PAID.
The decision of the supreme court will
work very little embarrassment, from
dnarcial stand point. as the greater portion
of the taxes for 1889 have been collected.
1he city council purposely put off to until
the last moment making the issue on the
ordinance. In fact, the last quarter Of the
city taxes for 1889 as nearly all collected,
but it was not thought safe to risk passing
the tax ordinance Of 1890, dividing
property into classes, and fixing
different rate upon different species of
property until the doubtful constitution
Atty Of such a method OF levying taxes had
been passed upon by the court Of last re-
sort.
Those who failed to pay all, or any part,
of the city tax for 1889 viii not have it to
pay, as the city is esooppei from collecting
it, but those who paid the illegal tax, not
having paid it under protest, cannot, it is
said, recover. 1t was for this reason that
the city authorities kept very quiet after
the decision in the Verdery case, and COL
lecied the taxes as expeditiousy and quietly
Rs possible
NEW QUESTION TO COME UP.
AS all the tax ordinances since the adop-
tion of the presel constitution have not
laid n uniform rate of taxation on all species
of property, the question will arise whether
property sold under execution for delin-
quent taxes during that period can be re-
covered by the delinquent taxpayers and will
next be agitated 1t is argued by some
that the city tax ordinances Of the past few
years having been unconstitutional the city
could not legally sell property for the col
lection of an illegal tax, and that all such
forced sales are void, and the origin owner
can recover possession.
As to the future effect the decision will
have on real estate owners, Alderman Falli-
ganr, who all along favored uniformity ia
the rate of taxa ion, says it will lift from
the shoulders of real estate holders burden
of about $4,000 per annum, and will have
the permanent effect of inducing them to-
build better class of improvements, be-
cause they will feel that they are not going
to be taxed to death.
ALDERMAN FALLIGANT IN HIGH GLEE.
No one is more elated than Alderman
Falllgant over the decision. In referring TO
the matter last night he said that his cues
ton at the taxpayers meeting, "Why
should one mans dollar pay any more tax
than another mans dollar q struck the key
note of an issue as broad as the foundation
stone OF taxation. The alderman was dis
posed to exult over the decision, and twit
those who have poked fun at him at the last
Two meetings OF the ground renters. In dis
cussing the matter ne said
II am proud that Georgia has supreme
court with stamina and stability enough to
give an just opinion. When the matter
was before council | took the position that
the clause of the constitution referring to
subjects of taxation meant licenses. priv
ileges, etc, and did not refer to property;
and that property, which was TO be taxed
ad valorem, and at the same rate of tax
alton, included both personal and real prop.
erty-lndeed, all property the value of
which could be arrived at by the ad valo-
rem method.
A REPLY TO CAPT. GUERARD.
81 am well aware that my friend Capt.
John NJ. Guerard had asserted that he put
that clause in the constitution for the very
purpose of classification, byw hich poor mems
houses were taxed some years ago over
twenty-seven times as much on the dollar
of value as rich mems bonds; and notwith.
standing the captains satire that was a
new Pharoah' who had recently appeared
and assumed TO kGow more than the Pha-
roahs of old, such as the captain, had the
audacity to denounce his construction of
the constitution, to call it unjust to the poor
mems houses, and to real estate owners
generally, and to question the wisdom
or Justice of that practice which en-
abled the captains bonds and stocks TO get
OH with small rate Of taxation, whilst my
real estate and the homes of the poor were
made to pay from six to twenty seven times
as much taxes on each dollar of value. It
was very nice for the captain ard his
friends, but it was death t. other people.
Mr.. sAUsSY REFERRED TO.
"Then there was my friend Mr.. Saussy.
who satiricaly called me q new Daniel
come to Judgment He is like very many
other lawyers. who quote only so much of a
sentence or parable as suits their side of the
case. Now, as l remember my reading of
The Bible, when Daniel was cast into the
den CT lions, the Lord took care Of him aud
just SO hewIll find that the Lord will sbring
justice out of injustice on the ground rent
issue also. He and Others spoke tearfully of
the poor widows and orphans whom he
proposed to protect from the great fraud
and swindle which this new Daniel come to
Judgment was trying to perpetrate upon
them, but he carefully abstained from mem
tioning the hundreds and thousands of other
poor widows and orphans who had been
wronged for the benefit of his kind OF wild
ows aid orphans"
Alderman Falligant added that the de-
cision virtually settles the ground rent
issue, as the court holds that all property
not exempt by the constitution must be
taxed, and as there is no constitutional ex-
emption OF the ground rent lots, they must
be subjected TO taxation just as any other
property.