The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-19
THE PARAMOUNT DUTY.


changes are writing about the neces'
sity of increasing the accommoda-
lions of the various institutions of the
State, establishing new and desirable
institutions, and planning for other
measures of progress and growth
when the Legislature shall assemble
in January. The people of North
Carolina expect great things Of the
Legislature and hope that the condi-
ton of the State Treasury will war
rant progressive steps for the growth
and progress of the educational and
charitable institutions of the State.
But, men and brethren, the para
mount question before the Legisla-
ture will be the increase in the length
of the term and the betterment Of the
public schools of the State. For bet
ter schools and longer terms the DEM
ocratic State convention made a SOL
emn pledge in the invention which
nominated its candidates in April last
and in every county in the State, the
speakers, led by Governor-elect Ay-
cock, pledged to the voters that school
facilities should be so improved that
before 1908 there would be no occa-
sion for the son of any voter who sup
ported the amendment, to be denied
the exercise of the voting franchise.
The carrying out of that pledge tran
sends everything else. If we fail in
that, we fail in all. 1t will not be
possible to carry out that pledge I'M
less reasonable, Just and effective
measures are taken to see that all the
property of the State, individual and
corporate, pays it's just proportion OF
the burdens of governments and That
a franchise tax, modelled after the best
features of the Minnesota and New
York laws, is enacted. In the in
term between now and the meeting
that the Legislators will give this
that the Legislature will give this
question their most serious considera-
ton to the end that proper fran
chise {: gross income tag can be en-
acted by the General AssemD'.!, and
that other measures that will reach
the pre- perry moi now paving its full
measure of tax, may be enacted.
At the investigation at Greensboro
last week, in the case of the three
great systems of railroads against the
corporation commission, while no uni
form system of differentiation was
established, glaring inequalities were
said to have been established. 1t is
claimed, for example, to have been
shown that one building worth sixty
thousand dollars was taxed for only
twenty thousand. There must be
some way to reach such cases. The
remedy is not to permit the railroads
to escape an admittedly just tax be-
cause here and there other corpora
tons or individuals are assessed too
little, but the remedy is for a better
system of taxation which will prevent
differentiation by individuals or cor
porations. The railroads of the State
are worth at low forced sale, cash
price, over one hundred million dol
lars and yet they are assessed for tax
less than one-third of their admitted
value. There may be a few other cases
of large corporations where the assess
ment is so ridiculeusly out of proper
ton to the value OF the property, but
we take it they are very few. In the
main, the owners of small homes and
small farms pay tax upon an assess
ment that is fair. 1t is only the great
corporations and those individuals
who have large holdings, and not all
of them, that are Disseminated in
favor of by the assessors. The advo-
Gates of just taxation of railroads are
not making any fight against railroads
and will not be satisfied with any
thing less than the enactment of such
measures as will secure the proper
assessment of all property in the
State and the payment of a just and
fair franchise tax by such corpora
tons as telephone companies, tele-
graph companies, railroad companies
and other quasi public corporations.