Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-02-23
OUR LETTER BOX.
TAX COMMISSIONERS.

To the State Herald.
The Montgomery Advertiser, the Mon
itor Q3altzelD, together with other pa
pers, for example, the Birmingham Times
CDR. Moseley), are in feffcitous coneatena-
ton, bent on showing that the unfunded
or floating debt of Alabama. was misrep-
resented in its magnitude by the State
Herald, whose estimates were subse-
quently confirmed. by the special COM
mittee of the legislature appointed to
investigate it, at the Instance of Gov.
Johnston, prior to his entrance upon. Of
ice. 1t is necessary for the purpose in
common of these papers, one Cleveland
ties, one fusonist. the other straight re-
publican, to prevent beneficent results
from the conduct of the government of
Alabama by any political element within
the bounds of the state that will contest
for the Chicago platform in 1898 and that
will contest for Bryan in 1900. The tax
commissioners law, faithfully executed,
as it is bound to be, will extinguish the
unfunded debt in two years, very likely:
This happy result will follow, not alto
gether from the energy of the county tax
commissioners in discovery of escaped
taxes of large property holders, but in the
alertness Of all classes in properly return
ing their property and In the reasonable
pride of the assessors in doing their or
iginal work in a more efficient manner
than formerly So the only recourse of
this trio Of descendants unified for a
purpose, is to anticipate the inutility of
Tile Sbdlule Dy utHylHB RTOunQS lOf ltS
application. Alabama will be out of
debt on account current by Sept. 1, 1899,
because Alabama was not in debt Sept.
1, 1897. The thunder of the Bryan men
was false alarm. The Bryan men are.
false alarmists. The Clevelandists, the
populist fusionists and the republicans
such as Burke, Shelby, Long and the de-
cent kind must unite to free Alabama
politics of the nuisance of Bryanism.;
The voter of Abba ma has very narrow
xyiQy Of cxxrI,o docs e.ah
the hand that pulls the string to this
shameless limber-jack combination.
| Let us give a. moments honest review
of the meaning and scope of the tax
commissioners. law In the first place.
the action of the law is wholly upon in
dividual tax payers The county or the
precinct is not touched by the law The
individual who has been assessed by the
county assessor correctly, and who has
paid his taxes all under the general
statute, will never. be known to the tax
commissioner nor the tax commissioner
to him. There is no legal acquaintance
between the two, The individual Ga cor
poration being also legally construed as
an individually. who is in default of taxes
at any time in the last, five years or in
the future Is liable to detection, but the
fact of detection in the case and its con-
sequences as to penalty, are confined
| absolutely to the defaulter. The COM
munity Bears mo- part of the penalty; the
L -
in default If there is no default there
is no penalty.
But 1t is claimed that tax DEGREES I'm
der previous arbiters within the past five
years, cannot be equitably overhauled
now, and revised at the cost of the tax
payer. 1t is said all cases upon which
DEGREES by lawful authority have been
entered and accepted by the state are
res adjudicata. Now there is nothing
whatever of the nature of a contract be-
hQ 70 av,d tb0 t1,<av,
| the state receipts to him for his taxes
| The receipt certainly means nothing ex-
| cept to the extent that it is in evidence
| that the tax payer has Obeyed the law
| There is a constitutional theory that a
man cannot be put in jeopardy of his life
| for the same act twice, but that acknowl-
edged personal security bears no like
ness to 81 personal escape from the privi-
| lege, the high prerogative of citizenship
| involved in paying a just share of the
| expenses OF the state An escape tax is
| not a privilege, but burden of shame
upon the citizen who becomes the vic
| tim. To relieve him of the burden GER
| tainly cannot violate any phase of CON-
tract that may have originally estab-
| liShed for his enjoyment the noble privi-
| lege of sharing In the equitable MAIN
| tenance of the expenses of the state The
| county commissioners court or any board
| OF equalization of taxes that has been
| constituted to revise the assessment of
tstaxes is not sui generis final arbiter
Iunless in its decree it has exhausted the
right to collect taxes from specific prop
| erty under the right of the general as
| sembly to tax. The general assembly
| cannot tax under the constitution be-
yond ~ mills fer the state.
| IF a court of any kind has enforced the
rate UP to the limit, the tax commissioner
| can go no further, and the courts decree
| is final and beyond the revisory power
of the tax commissioner. But if the court