The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1902-01-18

to the general public, and a declara-
ton in favor Of taxation for school
purposes, Mr. Martin says:
"No tax, whether general or local,
state, county or municipal, al justly
be levied and assessed except upon the
theory that they who pay receive in
actual or supposed benefits an equiva-
lent for the sum assessed. A fair and
reasonable return for taxes paid in the
protection and security Of property
and individual rights is the basic
principle upon which the right to levy
and assess taxes exists"
This leads the writer up to the
question of the collateral inheritance
tax lay which provides that on all
estates of deceased persons which pass
by descent or devise to collateral
kindred there shall be levied and col
lected a tax of 8 per cent. By the
amendment of 1901 to this act the
fund derived from this tax shall be
deposited in the state treasury to the
credit Of the estate Seminary Fund, :"
for the maintenance, support and
better equipment of building, appara-
tus, book instruction, ETC., OF the state
university, to be disbursed in per-
suance to regular appropriations of
the general assembly.
He adds:
"Now it is not the purpose Of this
article to criticise this law in so far as
it requires the payment of the inheri-
lance tax imposed. With that / have
no complaint to make; but in so far as
the application of the fund raised by
this tax to the objects provided by the
act, it seems to me it does not meet
the purpose for which taxes should be
assessed and collected, the general
benefit to the people; nor have | any
objection to urge here to legitimate
and necessary appropriations by the
legislature for the support of the state
university, but insist that the support
and maintenance of the public schools
are of greater Importance to the peo-
pie than the university, and that the
fund raised by the inheritance tax law
would be of greater benefit to the
people If applied to the public school
fund instead Of to the state seminary
fund.
SIN Lincoln county we have 5000
children who depend solely for the
advantages they may obtain upon
public schools, and have not over a
dozen attending the state university.
In other words, for every n of the.
young people of our county who are SO.
situated as to be able to attend the,
state university there are five hundred
who must be content with the advan7
tages and improvements received in
the public schools.
~ am informed that during the
past year there was assessed against
estates in this county Of deceased per-
sons who died without lineal decend-
ants over $1,000 collateral inheritance
tax, and that already there has been
paid into the state treasury under this
law, from the various counties Of the
state, over 1925, 900 and that the
amount that will be paid under it will
exceed 5000, 900 for the year. The
amount paid by the property of this
county will not be more than an
average of all the other counties in the
state and if instead of having the
money raised by this tax applied to
the erection Of costly buildings in
Columbia in which the people of the
county have so little interest and
obtain so little benefit, the fund was
distributed to the public schools Of the
state, we could have added to the
school fund of this county over SO, 900
each year, enough to continue every
public school one month longer than
now taught without additional taxa
ton, and thus all the people of the
county would obtain some benefit
from the tax.
"Now, my suggestion is this: That
this law be so amended as to make the
fund derived from this tax a part of
the public school fund Of the state and
distributed to the counties as other
public school funds are now distrib-
uted, and in order that this be done
that the people of the county make it
an issue in the nomination Of a candi-
date for the Legislature"
Whitelaw Reid of New York has
been named as this governments
special ambassador to the coronation
OF the British king and emperor Of
India. While across the Atlantic il
might be a good idea for the empire
state editor to use his influence Will
Edward VII inthe direction Of a ces.
sation Of hostilities in South Africa