The Monticellonian., 1895-01-25

lZe the legislature to provide Tor tie paYulGnt of privilege taxes to counties and towns, and not to the state
 Tho county tax on a billiard table was twenty five dollars only. Thus the matter stood until some one contested The validity Of the act Of 1883 which taxed for state purposes the privilege Of acting as agent for sewing machine company
 The court declared the tax to be valid and the sewing machine agent liable for it's non. payment because he was the agent of a corpor- ation principal. This result was doubtless reached in obedience to the commands of the provision of the constitution, which l have quoted. Latterly an insurance agent took il into his head to dispute the validity Of law laying a privilege tax on his hust- ness. His principal was, Of course, corpora ton. But in deciding the case the court said the act under which the tax was levied on his business was void because the legislature Was forbidden to pass such laws by the provision of the constitution which has been quoted. It is said that this decision was compelled to be this way because the legislature violated the constitution by inserting the word travelling before the words insurance agents" Be- cause the fellow pestered more than one com muhtty he was deemed to be a 1t subject to escape taxation.
 The United States circuit court went into the business Of construing this now thoroughly celebrated provision Of tho constitution, and announcing It's decision in the language Of previous decisions of our supreme court. 1t reached the conclusion that stove peddler who called himself an agent for wrought iron ranges was not subject to pay the tax imposed upon him by the legislature. This whole course Of decision Is wrong palpabiy and nearly all Of the judges who aunounced these decisions know this better than l do. Then refusal to have said so is only another Illustration ot the fact that the courts would rather he consistent in following precedents than be right, and reach results in harmony with common sense by changing erroneous rules laid down on former occasions The matter has progressed so far on this line that there Is now hope of a change Of front on the part Of the court No
 legislation that can effectively reach large class of persons and calltngs which should contribute 10 the support Of the state govern ment, can be passed as the constitution has been construed. change in the constitution is all that is left Under tho law on the subject Of taxing privileges, as tho su- prcmc court has made it, the most unfair and unequal results are brought about A sewing machine agent who Is fool enough to claim that he Is in the service of a corporation principal. Is liable 10 be taxed for the privilege, and a5 a consequence all the sewing machines now offered for sale in the state are said to be sold fer owners who are natural persons An in. surance agent, whose principal is always a cor.
 
 subterfuge to relieve himself from taxation for the privilege. II the supre me court adheres to its construction of the section referred to- and that il will do so there can be no donbt then the logical result Is that we are now collecting Illegally large sum for state purpose 1 the way of these prohibited privilege taxes Prob ably five thousand dollars Is collected as tax on officers elect for commission. issued to them IL is also true that we collect as a tax from corporations for the privilege Of filing theit articles Of incorporation about ten thou sand dollars per annum There are various other fees and charges provided for, which arc so plainly in access ot a reasonable compensa. tion for the services for which the charge is made as to leave exposed an obvious purpose to raise revenue for state purposes in this way In a contest in which the validity of ali, or most Of these charges is involved, the logical effect of what has been said by the supreme court must prove fatal to their further coilec ton. l think l can see room to distingus Ii these charges from any which have heretofore been denounced as illegal, but l had the same abiding faith that the tax on insurance agents would be sustained. The result is that the whole burden Of carrying on the state government is fastened irretrievably on the land and tangible personal property of the state, while many of the most productive callings in the state contribute nothing not withstanding the cost Of protecting these is as great as any other part ol the states concerns. If there was no other defect in our constitution to be remedied, the demand for a more just system Of raising state revenue would warrant the holding of . convention. Enough revenue could be collected during any single year from sources now justly liable to taxation. and which are not contributing anything. to defray the expense of holding the convention. tax on cheap johns who make their advent in the busy season of the year, and are gone before the time for payment of taxes in tue usual course arrives, and thus do business in conpc- tition with our resident dealers who are taxed would furnish a me ans Of reimbursing no small part of the expense of the proposed revision and at the same time distribute the burdens among those who enjoy the benefits Of the gov. The occasion is not an appropriate ono to enter into the details Of any taxing scheme but in general way the statement can be made, and will not be denied by anyone familiar with existing constructions of the present constitutional provisions, that no tax ing law can be devised at this timo which Will faiy place the burdens of raising the state revenue.
 There are many other change of minor i'm portance, yet useful and profitable in a proper ot state affairs. which should receive attention. Among these include cer tain notifications Of the qualifications of elec- tors so far as the same is made to depend on
 
 ciples upon which this tax is laid does not pre- clude the ailowehco of mertorious excuses for it's non payment. favor a notification which will enable the surviving soldiers of the late war. Of either army. 10 vote notwithstanding a failure to pay poll tax, where statement is filed by such survivor stating that the failure to make such payment is due to his pecuniary inability to do so and the same concession can safely be made to all voters over sixty years Of age.
 The multiplications of corporations, foreign and domestic, as the business affairs of our state requires that comprehensive and well devised system of creating, inspecting con trolling and taxing such institutions shall be provided These concerns exist by the mere permission Of the state, and yet, in the Gggre- gate, they occupy position in our affairs which seems to indicate it to be the opinion of their promoters that they are an agency greater than the state. would not invade the rights of any persons whose investments arc in the form of incorporated enter prises, but would scrutinize the manner in which the franchises of the state are being exercised with view to the common good, by preventing public policy from becoming an agency of wrong and oppression.
 The time seems apt for encouraging the es- tablishing in our state of a diversity of enter prises. Our agricultural interest. from natural and artificial causes, can no longer satisfy the destiny which the friends of Arkansas have planned for her, We have other resources that only need to be known to make us great and prosperous, notwithstanding the present de pressed conditions of our farming interests But it seems difficult to make enough persons believe this to furnish the balance of the world with the object lessons which the incredulous shrewdness Of the century demands before accepting as fact any condt. t6n upon which money is to be invested. As a means of encouraging the making of this be- ginning favor the introduction into our con stituton of a provision excmpting from taxa ton for seven Years all new mAnnIaclurlnm