The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-16

| VS. OWenSD0rO, there was proportlo.
 of taxes which had been levied, en'
 joined. from being applied for schoo
 purposes for white children. but there
 the tax which had been levied, al | though by separate acts was an equa
 taH upon the property of both white
 and colored people. and the unconsti'
 nationality of the act consisted in the | unequal distribution of the tax levied | and collected. in that the division was
 attempted by the law upon the color l line. But here there is no constitu- tional authority for the levy of the tax at all; hence the court cannot grant to
 the complainants the relief prayed fer. " | Now. If this Is good law. and it seems
 to me it is. it settles the question of
 the minority report. They undertook,
 in their report. to get around the de-
 cision in the Owensboro case by not
 levying, in the same district, a uni
 form tax upon the property of all
 white and colored people. and then ap-
 portioning it in proportion as it was paid by the different races. So they
 provided, and that was the basis of | their whole argument, that the tax
 should not be levied upon the proper | ty of the colored people. but only by a vote of the white people upon their
 own property. and then applied exclu- sively to their own schools. Under that decision which I nave just read. | the Cloverport case. the Court has held 1 that an unconstitutional tax.
 make this statement to show why I have abandoned the ordinance intro-
 duced by me at the opening of the ses-
 sion. I introduced as substitute for
 a section of the report of the Commit
 tee on Taxation. a provision almost identical with the one that has been
 reported by a majority of the Com
 mittee on Education and which was
 printed. and am heartily in favor Of
 this section as reported by the maJor- ity of the Committee.
 MT. Graham (Talladega)-Mr. Presi- dent and gentlemen of the Conven-
 ton, this matter has been thoroughly
 discussed from a legal standpoint, ana I want to say a few words in conclud-
 ing the discussion in regard to the ne
 cessity for this plan. The recent Fed- eral census shows that there are III
 Alabama 723,000 children within the
 educational age. The school fund
 which we have just provided for in this Constitution will give us in round figures about one million dollars. This
 will give a per capita educational fund
 of one dollar and thirty-three cents Tn
 this State. and I agree with the gen
 tleman from Henry who said on yes- terday that Alabama could not be con- tent with one dollar and forty cents per capita for school purposes.
 Now. then as to the unit. The State of Alabama has been the unit hereto fore. The ideal unit. admit, IS the district. or the township. but we can not so suddenly come from the large unit of the State to the ideal unit. we
 kna L. and I favor it on this occasion Tor tnis reason especially: The development Of the State is not equal. The distrlou- tion of wealth is unequal. The distri- hutton of corporate property IS un' equal and the centers of wealth are scattered. If we take the township as the unit. then these centers of wealth will profit by this. and the poorer sec lions of the State, especially the farm- ing sections. will not receive any pen eft of 1t. I can possibly give you tue best illustration by referring 10 ny own county. There are thlrty-tMo school districts and townships III tnal county. It so happens that the rau roads and furnaces Of that counts o e. he found in twenty of those disIrlcls' ieov;ng twelve districts which happen tn he aericulturaA districts. with pos sib,v the poorest quality of soil. Iney would receive no benefit whatever we adopted the township or district as the unit whereas If we take the couh- tv these twenty districts that are es
 necially favored with raliroaus or c9
 r,orate nroperty would give or thelrs to the twelve adjoining townships aho districts that have no such propeIey If is hut fair between man ana niaD that we adopt this basis now, because educationally and otherwise. III A,a hama we have not developed peSo that point where we are sun uaen- large sense ''our brothers Keep and it would be un- fa;r for those of us wno hanren to live in the favored districts where there are railroads ana corp'- rate rrcrerty to 1esire to hold all 'He taxer from that property ourselves. IL ts, hut just and right that some "l ns pivn to our neighbors who nave uo such property. You will readily reca9 with me an incident that occurEed nineteen centuries ago, when an num- hla woman came with the box or pre- ciors ointment to annoint the weary feet of the Iowiy Nazarine. There were those who stood by and said. why all this waste?" And the SaVlor ad- ministere1 a rebuke to those mlsers wtc stood there that has made that woman famous through all the dges. There are those today who ask us .cN'hy all this waste?" in regard to ed- ucational matters. In reply to that say to you every time vou build school near d fam you enhance the value of that land: every time you cd ucate a child, you add to the prosperity ard power of tte state. and the more you give to the schools in the rural sections of this State the moro you en- nance the value of the lands there and the more you increase the tax values in Alabama. There is TO waste. That | question has been ansv cred. and there | is no necessity to raise it any more. | This is only one mill. 1t 'S not com pulsory. There are many counties in | the State that will not levy 1t. but | there are many counties especially in 1 Alabama that want the privi- I lege, and 1t is limited tO four years | each time. If they try 1t an dtind they | don't want it, 1t passes after four | years. and tho three-fi fifths vot: is but | fair. Those who own property can not question the majority that is re- 1uired in order for it t. be levied. Ihe ideal plan of this would oe for the ma jurity of the voters but w. never tried local legislation iE Alahanli and hence We come. leaving property on the safe side of the issue. No man cln say nat 1t is unjust in the present condition of affairs. Ind my only hope IS that with in d few years. when We shall have purgei the electorate of Alabama from the ignorant and the vicious vote that