The Forrest City times., 1894-07-27
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.

! LDe utAb ScitCtdi circeiVA ehc pSOPic
 will vote upon the question of adopt ing proposed amendments to the State constitution. Nos. and 4. The following is the regular adver- tisement, and gives the full text: Proposed Amendments to the State | Constitution.
 NyOTICEis hereby given, tbst in conformity ! IN to the action of tho General Assembly of this State. at it's session of 1895. the following | joint resolutions were adopted, proposing amendments to the constitution, and under the law ,he same will be submitted to the cleo | tors of the state at the next general election, l which will be holden on The 3d day of Septem- Der. 1S9. for their separate adoption or rejec- tion. namely:
 PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 3. | The county courts of this state, in their re- | spective counties. together with majority of the justices of the peace of such county, in ad- l ditiou to the amount of county tax now allow ed to be levied, shall have the power to levy | tax of not exceeding three mills on the dollar ou the all taxable property of their respective counties. which shall be known us the County i Internal Improvement Tax, and when collec- ted shall be used in the respective counties for | the purpose of making and repairing public roads, building courthouses. jails, bridges and other internal Improvements of the respective connties anG dor 3tnes purposs, ana sna n,n3e pe warrants legally drawn on such Internal i'm provement fund.
 Approved March 10th, 1893.
 PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 4. The governor shall, in case q vacancy occurs in any state, district, county or township office | in tue state either by death resignation or l otherwise hil the same by appointment such appointment to be in force and effect until the 1 next general election thereafter
 1 Approved April 9th. 1893.
 Each elector may vote for or against the fore I going proposed amendments as a separate and SA-e f<.r one and against the other. or vote for or
 Witness my official signature and seal of of- 1 fee this first day of February, 1894. II. B. HAMPSTEAD. l IsEAL1 Secretary of State The first of these amendments, which
 is No. 8, proposes to give certain officers power to levy three mill tax for in- lternal improvement, such as road mak- ing, court houses, jails, and other nec-
 essary conveDiences.
 Many persons will, upon the mere
 suggestion of an additional tax, turn
 pale, we fear, and without further in-
 yestigation, vote against the amend
 ment. Believing that to defeat it
 would be almost a calamity, THE
 TIMES wishes to urge its favorable con-
 sideration upon the voters, and if pos
 sible, show the great benefits to be de- rived from such authority.
 l In the first place we are not prepared
 to say that the people of this country
 are burdaned by direct taxes. On the
 other hand, we know that 16 mills in
 the county and 2l in town is not bur-
 densome, and especially upon present
 valuations. No man, who will take the trouble to "think it out," will con- tend that the people are overburdened by direct taxation, and the addition of
 three mills would still leave our direct
 taxes at reasonable figure.
 The present system of road working
 is and has always been highly unsatis-
 factory. It puts the burden of keep
 ing up our public roads upon those who
 own no real property, and who, for this
 reason, are the least to be benefited.
 In an able letter in the Monroe County Sun, last week, MT. T. T. Bateman,
 sheriff of that county, justly argues that the owners of real estate de-
 rive the principle benefit of good roads.
 And he further says that while the law
 which provides that every man shall contribute five days work is good one 1 so far as it goes, and should be retained
 upon the statute books, the adoption of Amendment No 3. will force real estate to pay it's just proportion toward keeping up roads and bridges, as it should, and would provide employment for county convicts, because the coun- ! ty judge could hire convicts to the road commissioner. In case there were not enough convicts to justify working them. they might be hired to the con- missioner of an adjoining county. It is
 well known that county convicts can be
 worked on public roads with greater satisfaction, less competitor with hon.
 est labor, and more profit than at any
 other work.
 Mir. Bateman further says: "Ifcoun.
 ties that are in debt, with their scrip
 worth only fifty cents on the dollar, do
 not want to work the road with the
 three-mills tax, they may under the
 provisions of the amendment, levy the
 tax for bridge purposes alone. As the
 tax IS collected in currency and would
 enable them to pay for their work in