The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-18
From Mr.. Van Colt.


Salt Lake City. Feb II. 1897.
To the Editor of The Herald:
Yesterday the members of the house
voted almost unanimously in favor of
submitting to the people of the state
an amendment to the constitution in
relation to the school tax question.
There are three kinds of taxation for
the support of schools, the state school
tax. which is 8 mills, the county school
tax, which is mills in Salt Lake
county for the present year. and the
district tax, the maximum rate OF
which is 20 mills.
The recent decision of the supreme
court, based upon the word main
tained' in the constitution, has liber-
ated all citizens of the first and second
class from paying the county school
tax, thus leaving such cities but two
kinds of taxes TO pay for the support of
the schools, while other distrists no
matter how rich, must pay three kinds
of taxes TO maintain the schools.
The city school tax in Salt Lake
City corresponds to the district school
tax in school districts outside the city
and in Salt Lake county, and is not so
high as is paid in many of said country
districts.
Take for example District 40, Farm
there is 5 mills, Cloths of a mill lower
than is levied in the city, but renem-
Der that the 2 mill county school tax
levied in District 40, but not in Salt
Lake City, makes its tax Z mills or
40 mills greater than is paid in the
city. Yet Farmers ward is many
times richer than the other districts in
Salt Lake county outside the city. 1t
pays as much in proportion to its value
as does Salt Lake City to support the
schools of the state, and has always
paid more into the state school fund
than it received back. The rich in the
district are taxed not only for the
poor but for the poor of the state and
the county. The same is true of Sugar,
MurraE. Sandy and other districts.
Should it not be true of Salt Lake City
and Ogden? If the rich cities are to
be excused from taxation on the
ground that they pay more than they
receive back, should not rich country
districts be excused for the same rea-
son, and would it not follow that the
rich individual be also excused?
We do not ask of these cities more
than we are willing to give, but we
insist that the burdens of carrying the
free school system fall equally upon ALL
The business and educational inter
ests of Salt Lake county are so closely
identified with those of the city that a
blow struck at the growth and pros
perity of either will surely be retroact-
i've on the other, working an injury to
our growing fame as promoters of edu-
cation. True, the city has annually
paid some $4,000 into the county school
fund more than it received back, but
do we county people not give much to-
ward the building up of the city? We
were taxed to build that magnificent
city and county building. We are taxed
to maintain land that too in the city,
our entire county government. All our
roads lead to the city. All our produce
finds market there, but whether we sell
or buy, the profits remain where the
city is enriched. The entire county
banks in the city. Can the city not
afford the slight expenditure of $4,000
per annum in order to surround itself
with an army of nearly 1000 educated
boys and girls?
The legislature will do nothing but
its duty in submitting the proposed
to the constitution to the
people of the state.
1 am informed by many members OF
the constitutional convention that they
never intended section VI, article X,
of the constitution to do more than to
separate the supervision of the city
schools from that of the county. Make
it possible for the schools of both city
and county districts to continue
Amend the constitution.
OSCAR VAN COTT.