Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-01-19


 deliverances and now settled down to the opinion that it was the clear purpose to author ize the legislature to provide for the payment of privilege taxes to counties and towns, and not to the state.
 The 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 a 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 eorpor- 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 it into his head to dispute the validity of a law laying a privilege tax on his hust- ness. His principal was, of course, 3 corpora ton. But iu 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 agents3 Be- cause the fellow pestered more than one com munity he was deemed to be a it subject to escape taxation.
 The United States circuit court went into the business of construing this now thoroughly celebrated provision Of the constituUon, and announcing it's decision in the language Of previous decisions of our supreme court, it reached the conclusion that stove peddIer 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 palpablyi and nearly all of the judges who announced these decisions know this better than I do. Their refusal to have said so is only another illustration of the fact that the courts would rather be consistent in following preeedents than be right, and reach results in harmony with common sense by changing erroneous rules laid down former occasions. The matter has progressed so far on this line that there Is now no hope of a change of front on the part of the court. No legislation that can effectively reach large class of persons and calings which should contribute 10 the support Of the state govern ment, can be passed as the constitution has been construed. A change in the constitution is all that is left Under the law on the subject of taxing privileges, as the su- preme 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 9 corporation principal is liable to be taxed for the privilege, and as a consequence all the sewing machines now OoE El AOt Suit Iii lAl6 oLtAlc dtG Sdta td B5 aolu for owners who are natural persons. An in. suranee agent whose principal IS always cor poratiOn, is not required to resort to any such subterfuge to relieve himself from taxation for the privilege. If the supreme court adheres to its construction Of the section referred to, and that it will do 50 there can be no doubt then the logical result is that We are now collecting Illegally 8 large sum for state purposes the way Of these prohibited privilege taxes. Prob ably five thousand dollars is collected as tax on officers elect for commissions issued to them It is also true that VIC collect as a taz from corporations for the privilege of filing their articles Of incorporation about ten thou sand dollars per annum- There are various other fees and charges provided for. which are so plainly in access Of 3 reasonable oompensa. tion for the services for which the charge ia made as to leave exposed an obvious purpose to raise revenue for state purposes in this way. In contest in which the validity of all, os most Of these charges fs involved, tho logical effect of what has been said by the supreme court must prove fatal tO their further collec tion. I think can sec room to distinguis h these charges from any which have here toforo been denounced as illegal, but I had the same abiding faith that the tax on insurance agents Would be sustained The result ii that the whole burden of carrying on the state government is fastened irretrieyably on the land and tangible personal property oi the stater while many os tho most productive callings in the state contribute nothing not Withstanding the cost of protecting these is as great as any other part Of the states concerns IT there vas no other defect in our constitution to be remedied, the demand for more just system of raising state revenue would warrant the holding of A 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 aXDPu4a of hOldinp he 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 the usual course arrives, and thus do business in compe. tltion with our resident dealers who are taxed would furnish means Of reimbursing no small part of the expense of Jbe proposed revision and at The same time distribute the burdens among those who enjoy tue beneHts of the gov. ernment- The occasion is not an appropriate one to enter into, the details of any taxing scheme but tn q general way the statement can be ade. and will not be denied l9y anyone familiar with existing constructions of the present constitutional provisions, that no tax ing law can be devised at this time which Will tatly place the burdens cf raising me state revenue.
 There are many other change of minor I'm. portance, yet useful and profitable in a proper administration Of state affairs, which should receive attention. Among these include eer. Lam notifications Of the qualifications Of cleo tors so far IS the same is made to depend on the prepayment of the poll tax The pripoi- ciples upon which this K is laid does not ore ciade the ailowencs Of meritorious excuses for it's non payment, flavor modification which will enable the surviving soldiers Of the late war, of either army, to vote notwithstandinq 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 She same concession ean safely be made to all voters over sixty years of age.
 The multiplications of corporations, forefen and dom m9sttc, as the bu5nNss affairs of our state requires that comprehensive and well devised system ot creating, inspecting. con. trolling and taxing such institutions shall bs provided. These concerns exist by the mere permission of the state, and yet, in the aggre. gate they occupy a position in our affairs which seems to indicate 1t 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 are in the form of incorporated enter. pri5es, but would scrutinize tbs manner in which the franchises of tho state are being exercised with a view to promoting the common good by preventing that which was granted for high purposes of public policy from becoming an agency ot wrong and oppression.
 The time seems apt for encouraging ths es- taoiishiag in our state of diversity of enter.