The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-01-20
Exemptions and Appropriations.


ton, either as to the levying of taxes or
their disposition.
Article Is of the Bill of Rights declares
that every person in the State, or person
holding property therein, ought to Contrib
ute his proportion of public taxes for the
support of the Government, according to
his actual worth in real and personal prop
erty"
That is the provision of the constitution
defining the scope of an assessment bill and
limiting the power of the General Assembly
as to appropriations.
Every person must be taxed according
to his actual worth in real and personal
prnperty-that is, the real and personal
property of every person in the state, and
the real and personal property in the state
of those living elsewhere. must be assessed
and taxed. And taxed for what? To
maintain colleges, private academies, private
hospitals and asylums, or institutions OF
religious denominations No; but only
"j5r ME support ot' he gorer~me"f' as
Article ) declares.
This is confirmed, in part, by Article &c
of the Bill of Rights, which declares that
no person ''ongh 10 he compelled 10 ffe-
oaeat. or D,aiatoin, or contribute, anhss o"
cont,acf, 10 maintain, a'y place Of 'eor-
ship, on any ministry.
When any Sectarian institution is ex-
empted from taxation, the burden it should
bear is thrown upon all the people, and the
exemption is tax upon the people. And
when. in addition. they receive state aid,
even though they do return some service
to the state. il is double tax.
Article -. of the Bill of Rights, de-
clares-
HThat the Legislature ought TO encourage
the diffusion OF knowledge and virtue, the
extension of a iudieious system OF general
education, the promotion of literature, the
arts, sciences, agriculture, commerce and
manufactures, and the general meiloratlon oil
the condition Of the people,
The diffusion Of knowledge is encouraged
by a system of public education, elsewhere
provided for in the Constitution; virtue Is
encouraged by the punishment of vice and
the protection of all religious and moral
institutions; and the general moderation OF
the condition of the people is best pro
NOTED by wise laws and the takingno more
of their substance than is necessary to pay
the exnepses of an economical administra-
ton of affairs within the limits of the Con
stituliOn.
The promotion Of the arts, sciences, agrl-
culture. commerce and manufactures, Is
something vague and indefinite. Agrlcul-
ture was once encouraged, under this pro
vision, by an appropriation to agricultural
fair associations but the law was attacked
by Governor Hamilton as unconstitutional,
and was repealed. This is the only en-
enlargement agriculture has ever received,
and on the contrary it has been almost
continuously and persistently oppressed, by
exempting from taxation millions OF mort
cages. manufacturing plants, railroads, col
leges academies, and all sorts of private
institutions. The farmer is taxed on his
shovel. his hoe, his post-digger and every
farm implems mt and piece of machinery,
but The tools of the mechanic are exempt
This is what is done today under the ex-
isting law, and it is proposed to continue
these exemptions under the Hayes bill and
the bill of Governor Brown. The Hayes
bill provides for all exemptions as the pres
ent law provides, and its only redeemlng
feature is the listing system. And for lear
of offending capital, he has handled stocks
and evidences of debt very CONSIDERABLY,
assessing those that bear six per cent IN
terest ut but sixty cents on the dollar,
those that hear i've per cent. at but fifty
cents on the dollar, and reducing the as
sessment ten cents on the dollar for every
one per cent decrease in the rate Of inter
est.
The duty of the Legislature in the mat
fer of assessment and taxation and APP
preparations is very plain and well defined
by the constitution Any law that does
not tax all real and personal property,
without distinction. is both unjust and
unconstitutional, and any appropriation OF
the public revenues except Tor S'the sup
port of the government is also unjust aud
unconstitutional
it is the plain duty of the Legislature,
under our charter, and their oaths OF
office, to tax all property and exempt none,
and to make 40 appropriations except to
carry ON the state government. We have
gotten far away from the constitution, and
now. when we are to revise our tax laws,
let us return An assessment bill in ac-
cordance with the constitution will result
in a large decrease in state, county and
municipal tax rates, and appropriations
only within the limits of the constitution
will reduce the aggregate of them very
considerably.
Abolish the Fee System.