The San Francisco call., 1896-05-05
of substitute for Article XIII on revenue
and taxation, and as prepared reads as fol-
ARTICLE XIII.

lows:
ARTICLE XIII.
Section 1. The Legislature shall provide for
the levying of taxes and the raising of revenue
In such manner as it shall deem just.
Sec. 2. All taxes shall be uniform upon the
same class of subjects within the territorial
limits OF the authority levying the tax, and
shall be levied, assessed and collected as the
Legislature shall direct.
Sec 3. The power of taxation shall never be
surrendered or suspended by any grant or
contract to which the State shall be party.
Sec. 4. Land and the Improvements thereon
shall be separately assessed. Land of the same
quality or similarly situated. whether used or
unused, shall be assessed at the same value.
Sec: 5. All lands which have been section
be assessed for the purposes of taxation by sec
tlons or fractions OF sections The Legislature
shall provide by law for the assessment of all
lands not sectioniZed by the United States
Government.
Sec. 8. The Legislature may provide for the
payment OF all taxes by installments.
Sec. z. The Legislature shall have power to
enact all laws necessary to carry out the pro-
visions of this article.
"The adoption of this amendment"
said Mr.. Leggett yesterday will give
to the Legislature full power over the
subject of taxation and open the way for
the speedy attainment of such reforms in
the mode of raising revenue as The pro-
gressive thought of the time demands.
The vast number of amendments pro-
posed TO Article XIII of the constitution
at the two last sessions of the Legislature
proves that general public dissatisfaction
with the present method OF raising reye-
nue. is widespread. In 1894 amendments
exemp ting free public Libraries and free
museums, fruit and nut bearing trees
under the age of four years and grape
vines under the age of three years from
taxation were adopted by the people by
overwhelming majorities.
This fact proves thst the people of this
State are beginning to perceive the folly of
taxing the products of labor. The Just and
rational demand beginning to come from
the manufacturers of California for reason
able exemptions from taxation of at least a
portion of their capital, plant and product,
and a like demand from the ship-owners of
San Francisco 10 be relieved from the bur-
dens of taxation upon their shipping,
prove that more feasible and direct
means OF securing reform in taxation than
by the slow and expensive methods of
constitutional amendments has come to be
an absolute necessity. The exigencies of
business and the necessities of manufactur-
ers at the present time call for prompt re-
lief. and the only way in which this can be
secured is by giving to the Legislature full
jurisdiction over all matters of taxation
James S. Reynolds said last evening on
the subject: lone of the greatest obstacles
to the adoption of the single tax is the
dense ignorance as to the present mode of
raising revenue. Not one man in ten can
describe. even approximately, the gro-
teSque scheme of robbery W which we have
devised for the bedeyilment of every per-
son unfortunate enough to have anything
he cannot hide, and by courtesy called