The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-14

press companies do business over thN lines of railroads running through m1ny cities and villages. Certainly the only just and equitable way to set et how E;uch license tax either one Of those concerns shall pay would be for the State to say they should pay one gross license tax. otherwise you would have ore town fixing one amount Of privilege tax. anJther town another amount O. privilege tax, and another town another amount. and you would fix 1t go that any little town could pro- hibit sleeping car company from rur- ming a dining car over the lines of q railroad company in this State. owing to the degree of madness of particular or town authorities of that town. It Is impossible to say whether enough tax has been levied. or wheth- CT too much tax has been levied under: this plan because 1t Is scattered all over the State and there Is no way to get at 1t. The only just way to levy such license tax as that is for the State to levy 1t in one lump sum, and; If 1t Is not enough they can levy more, but what I insist is that it ss abso- lutely impossible of you leave 1t to these towns to fix 1t according to their own pleasLrel 1t is absolutely impossi- ble to tell whether these concerns pay erergh tax or too much tax, and by leaving 1t with the Legislature 1t ie with the authorities of the State, just as In the case of the assessment of rail- road property. the Board of Appraisers would put ft where just sum can be and you will know exactly what they pay. Now, under this pro- vision of the code with reference to tharx fu,n 1fnAu of rnvv, ntoa S.Ap. sons either, express companies and sleeping car companies, a gross privi-f lege tax has been levied and is coll lected by the State. Now the Com- mittee on Municipal Corporations, the Committee on Towns looking out for the interests of towns, has put pro- vision in this article so that the State { hsll not fix gross amount of privi- lege tax. and prohibit the town from also levying privilege tax, have no doubt that that section was put there to meet two cases wkich have been agreed on by the Legislature. ,f think myself that the tax ought to 90 to the State. I think the system proposed by the Legislature Is right. They do business through the State. and in the State, and in my judgment the tax should go to the State. but the eof1n- mittee thought 1. should go to the cities and put this provision here for that purpose. But If you concede the idea that it should go to the cities and not to the State. then the State should still fix the amount of privilege tax, and let 1t be distributed among the cities In just proportions to which they are entitled. The amendment that ! have drawn for the section, and the chairman of the Committee on Munici- pal Corporations, Mir. Weakley. has agreed with me that this is a proper section. In fact he said that it carried oit his idea of it better than as the committees report fixed 1t.
 Mir. Weakley-No. Gbeg your par don.
 CMr. Pettus took the chair.
 MT. Wilson-The chairman of the committee did not undertake to accept 1t for the committee. but he said that It met his own views. The gentleman from Montgomery. Mir. Graham, told me that he agreed to the amendment also, and he was the author of the proposition and urged It's adoption be- fore the house, and I doubt not but for his argument 1t never would have been adopted. I moved on time to reconsider the vote bu was out of or der at that time, I had a majority vote, but as it was necessary to sus- pend the rules. could not get the two- thirds vote which was necessary to suS- pend the rules. could not get 1t ad- tusted though a majority vote. My amendment is this. The section pro- posed is this:. Section 6. If the Legis- lature enacts any laws which will per- init person. firm. corporation or as- sociation of any character to pay q privilege license, or other tax to the State of Alabama and relieve him privileges and license taxes in this State, it shall provide for a just proportion of such tax to be distributed among the several municipalities in which such person, firm, corporation or association does business.
 It seems that that is better than the other way. In the first place the State ought never to take from itself the right to say what privilege tax should be paid. 4 privilege tax is a hard tax at best. and 1t is only by virtue of the power from the State that these towns can levy a privilege tax at all. and now here the proposition is that the State shall not have the power of pre- venting it's subordinate branches of government from charging an exces-
 
 objection l have to the proposition.
 MT. O'Neal-Is 1t not a fact that the sleeping car companies only pay about three hundred dollars a year in Ala- bama?
 Mir. Wilson-Well. do not know what the sleeping car companies pay. l have loked up express companies. They pay 5000. But l say if they do not pay enough let the State fix 1t 
 MT. O'Neal-But the State doesn't do it.
 Mir. Wilson, doubt not that the State will do it if it is just and fair. My experience has been If you como to the legislature with a proposition for taxation they will put enough tax on 1t.
 MT. Walker-Have not there been fre- quent attempts to change the express company tax, and they have always been unsuccessful in the legislature?
 MT. Wilson-You mean to let towns fix 1t instead of the State?
 MT. Walker-I mean to make any change in 1t at all?
 Mir. Wilson-It has been unsuccess- ful in that particular. because 1t is wrong. They ought not to be turned loose on all these towns. The legisla- ture should fix it. Why you cannot make them take out a privilege license except for business done wholly in the State. You cannot make them take out a privilege tax on business out of Georgia into Alabama. It is only where 1t is business within the lines If the State and it is the people all over the State who pay the privilege tax.