The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-04-13
Peoples Mandate Was 10
Raise More Revenue.
WRGINlAS ASSESSMENT DOUBLES OURS
The New Law Shown to be Fair,
Equitable and in Accordance
With Sound Principles
of Taxation.

of Taxation.
Never in the history of the State dur
ing the life of this generation has any
legislative act been SO misrepresented
and misunderstood as the revenue
and machinery act passed by the Legis-
lature OF 1861. While it was pending,
there seemed to be a malevolent pur-
pose to work up a scare" with refer
ence to plain provisions that had been
in every revenue law for twenty-five
years. and to denounce as "socialistic"
and 'anarchistic" the necessary provis-
ions to secure the listing of proper
~ that had in full or in part escaped
taxation. SO widespread were the mis-
representations and misconceptions pub
lished that many good men became
alarmed and delegations FASTENED to
Raleigh to protest against the social
istic and agrarian' methods of taxa
tion they had been told the Finance
Committee was going to present With
hardly an exception, after level-headed
business men talked with the Finance
Committee and found that they had
been the victims of Misrepresentation,
they returned home satisfied, and when
they read the bill in the Laws thew
viii be surprised that they even per-
mitted themselves to believe that tho
wise and sensible men who composed
the Finance Committee would frame an
'anarchistic or agrarian Law
The misrepresentation were so wide
spread that upon his return to Whining
ton Hon. NJ. S. Willard found himself
criticised by we'll known business men
for the part he took III framing the
bin, and very properly he took occasion
TO reply to the criticisms at the next
injecting of the Chamber of Commerce.
His speech is so clear and SO valuable
that Mr.. Willard was requested to fur
nish copy for publication. We have
condensed it in some places and omitted
many citations of authorities from
writer's of political economy. In sub
stance Mr. Willard said:
When the last Legislature assembled
it was with positive instructions from
the people that more revenue should be
raised The previous years record had
shown that without additional revenue
the State was absolutely unable to meet
the legitimate demands made upon it.
that our State government is not econom-
ically administered; there is not the
slightest suspicion that the State does
not receive full value from the appro-
priations made to it's various charitable
institutions every one believes that there
is the same amount of wealth in North
Carolina that there is in our neighboring
States upon which taxes should be levied.
and yet we are confronted with a deficit
in our treasury while our sister States
have no such trouble.
To my mind the difficulty lies in the
fact that while North Carolina has rapid
ly developed in matters relating to edu-
cational advancement; has taken prom
inent place in the list of States pledged
TO care for their unfortunate blind, and
deaf and dumb has undertaken to sup
port her INDECENT insane; has engrafted
permanently upon her statute books the
purpose to aid as literally as possible
her old and needy soldiers and has
adopted in various ways a policy which
places her among the advanced States of
the Union, she has failed to realize the
fact that with these increased burdens
new methods should have been adopted to
produce increased revenue
The areas of North Carolina and Vir
ginia are about the same; the population
of the two States are about equal the
same needs Of government have to be
met in each State, and yet the total
assessed value of property in Virginia,
according to the last census, is nearly
twice that in North Carolina. Only one
State in the Union has a lower per
capita valuation than North Carolina, and
while the per capita valuation for the
whole United States in 1890 was $407. .SS,
in North Carolina it was only $14543
For years other States have been secur-
ing great part of their revenue from
other sources, but we have been content
TO secure the greater part of our rev.
cnue from the poll tax and the general
property tax
The present constitution Of the State
provides that Laws shall be passed tax
ing by uniform rule all . real and
personal property according to its true
value In money Before the adoption
Of the present constitution there had
been no constitutional provision govern
ing the property tax, and that a return
to the older constitutional provision is
necessary. is becoming more apparent
every year
A HEAVY TAX ON THE POOR.
In my opinion we fail to realize how
the poll tax and the general property tax
bears so heavily on the small property
owners. Take for instance two property