Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-25
CAPT. JOHN M. MARTIN
In a Lengthy Article, Reviews O'Brien Bill and Passes on It's
 Constitutienality.

The following is the paper which Capt.
 John M. Martin read before the board of
 mayor and aldermen at the called meeting
 Wednesday night:
 Taxes may be levied in Alabama for three
 purposes, when needed. and Tn three ways.
 1. The general assembly may levy taxes
 for state purposes, with the single limita- | ton that the levy in any one year shall not
 be greater than A of per centum on the
 value oi the taxable property within the l state.
 2. The county being authorized so to do
 may levy tax for county purposes not
 greater than E of per centum on the tax
 able property therein, and may, by special
 authority for such purpose given, levy in
 addition special taxes for the erection O.
 necessary public buildings or bridges
 whic ch taxes so levied and collected ''shall
 be applied exclusively to the purposes for
 which the same shall have been levied and | collected.''
 The taxes for state and county purposes, | general or special, must be authorized and 1 levied pursuant to law passed by the gen. | eral assembly.
 Note, just here, that whilst there is | power given to exceed the rate of taxation | for county purposes, there is DO such power given in the levy of state taxes-the
  8. The constitution contemplates, it
 seems, that the taxing power of city, town l or municipal corporation shall be exercised 1 by such municipality, with this limitation 1 upon it-that it shall not "levy or collect | larger rate of taxation in any one year on
 the property thereof than s of per centum 1 of the value of such property as assessed | for state taxation during the preceding year, o provided that for payment of debts
 existing at the time of the adoption of the l constitution and interest thereon an addi- l tional rate of per centum might be col
 lected to be applied exclusively to such in- | debtedness.
 | It is fact that the county of Jefferson and the city of Birmingham have each | levied to their respective limits of taxation,
 and in our extremity we may not look for | help to either source.
 The state has not levied up to the limit | and the contention is that by the provision | of the O. Prien bill we may secure relief by l a special tax levied by the state. Some | able lawyers are of opinion that no such power exists in the state, because article | 13, section 1 of the constitution prescribes | that the general assembly shall establish, | organize and maint tain system of public | schools throughout the state for the equal | benefit of the children thereof, etc. | It is admitted that this has already been done, and 1t is co intended first, that If the | O'Brlen bill be passed and become jaw | then such legislation would not be for the | equal benefit uf the children of the state; | and, second, that if tbe taxes so collected go into the treasury and be distributed as l part of the general school fund it would be | unconstitutional, because greater rate of | taxation would thereby be laid upon the citizens of Birmingh than other por- | tions of Alabama.
 These objections proceed upon untenable l hypot heses: l. Because the school system of Birmina- l ham is not part of the public school sys- | tenn of the state any more than the normal | schools (see Elsberry vs. Seay, S3 Ala, l 614), and there Is no provision in the l O'brIen bill to withdraw any part of the | common school fund; but, on the contrary, | there is provision to raise special fund | by taxing the people for it who are alone | to uioy it's benefits.
 l 2. There is no purpose to have the fund | raised by the O Brien bill go into the treas- | ury as part of the common school fund.- | This supposition is gross misconception,
 and may be made apparent by recalling the | fact that we have already special tax col l lected for the purpose of aiding our county | school system, levied by the county and
 known as the Henry bill. (Acts 1s90-91.) This tax the general assembly required | county "to levy and have collected under 1 the laws of this state,' amounting to
 cents on the $100 worth of the value of all
 taxable property in said county, as as-
 sessed for revenue for the state, for the | support and maintenance of the public | schools in said county, etc.
 | Note that this is levyipg of part
 of the county tax of Jefferson county by | the general assembly-and goes so far to- | wards m aking up the full amount of taxes
 now levied by the county; and beyond | which no other levy can now be made by | said Jefferson county. Besides, it is made
 the duty of the tax collector of said county | to pay it over to the county treasurer of | Jefferson county, who is to keep the fund | separate, and not to use it for any other 1 purpose, and to pay it out for school pur- | poses, as ordered by commissioners court l of Jefferson county.
 The constitutionality of this measure has | not been questioned, and if it be constitu- | tional leaves no room for doubt as to the
 constitutionality of the O. 'Brien bill. An examination into the legislation
 touching the schools of Birmingham de- | velops the fact
 1. That on the 18th of February, 1885, an
 act was approved to create board of edu- | cation for the city of Birmingham and to | prescribe the powers and duties of the
 same. In section of this act it is enacted ''that the public schools of the city of Bir- | mingham shall be under the charge of a
 board of education, to consist of the mayor | of Birmingham and six other persons, to
 be elected by the mayor and aldermen Of said city, This Birmingham school sys-
 tenn is, therefore, "pot public school in | the meaning of section 1 of article IS of
 the constitution" See Elsberry vs. Seay, | S3 Ala, 6l4.
 l z. The lund proposed to De created ny | the O. Brien bill is derived from levy upon
 all the taxable property within the corpo-
 rate limits of said city. or that may be law
 fully taxable therein, the levy to be of an
 annual tax of 2-10 of per cent, or twenty
 cents on every one hundred dollars worth
 of such property" This assessment is
 required to be made by the tax assessor of | Jefferson county at the same time and un- | der the same penalties and entered on the
 same list with other state taxes, and shall
 be collected by the tax collector of Jeffer-
 son county at the same time with and as | part of the state taxes, and when col-
 lected shall be paid over every week to the
 treasury of said board, to be by him paid
 out and expended under the order and di-
 rection of said school board. This fund,
 therefore, is no part Of the public school
 fund of the state, and is subject to such ap-
 propriation, by appropriate legislation, as
 proposed ip the O. Bren bill.
 8. There is nothing negotiable in the | O'Bren bill, because the fund raised by
 taxing the tax payers of the city of Bir-