The Savannah morning news., 1902-10-24

would probably sell if taken up and
offered at auction be taken as its true
value, and that the proper officer of
such companies be required to return
their property for taxa ton upon this
basis. The Controller General should
have the same right he now has to
raise the valuation put upon the road
in the return, if in his judgment it is
too low, and if the authorities of the
road are not satisfied with the vau-
alton of the Controller General, they
should be given the right to appeal to
the State Railroad Commission, whose
decision should be final. This would
be better, more expeditions and
cheaper than the present mode of ar
bitration If any constitutional bar
rier is in the way of the enactment of
such an arbitration law, the constitu-
ton should be amended to remove it.
Taxation of Colleges.
In justice to some of our institutions
for higher education, 1 desire again to
call the attention of senators and rep
resentatives to a departure from
long-established policy of the state
with respect to her colleges, and I can
not perhaps do so more forcibly than
to repeat what was said to your i'm
mediate predecessors who passed in
the Senate a bill which was, for want
OF time, never reached in the House
or Representatives, to carry the recon-
mendation into effect.
BY an act approved on the 21st day
or February, 1850, the colleges of the
state were exempted from taxation.
This statute was never formally re-
pealed, but an unsupported paragraph
OF the constitution of 1877, which was
perhaps not carefully scrutinized be-
fore its adoption, has been construed
TO repeal 1t. There was no demand
from the people for its repeal, and
there is good reason for believing that
a majority of the people did not and
do not desire the property of the col
leges of the state taxed. The taxation
OF these institutions of learning Grip
pies them, but it does not appreciably
increase the income of the state nor
senstbly tighten the taxes of the in
dividual citizen. The incorporated
colleges, the title to whose property is
vested in board of trustees, are not
conducted for purposes of private
or corporate gain, but they render
public service of great benefit to the
commonwealth. Their value to all the
people of the state in the promotion
or learning, in the contribution made
by them to the teaching force of the
common schools, and in the general
uplifting of the material and intellect
ual prosperity of the state. entitle
them to the consideration accorded
them by the act of 1850. Their taxation
acts as an embargo upon enlighten-
ment, and as encouragement to that
generosity toward colleges and univer-
sites which is all too uncommon in
the South. The hardship which results
from such taxation fails especially
upon colleges for our white people. The
colleges for the coiored are maintained
for the most part from sources of in
come located in organizations and en-
dowments beyond the limits of the
state, and thus they escape much of
the taxation which falls on the colleges
for the whites.
In view of all these and other con-
siderations which might be mentioned,
1t would seem that it behooves us to
return to the enlightened policy of the
state adopted before the war between
the states, and from which we. with
out the knowledge of the people, un-
Willingly departed in 1877. At any rate
no harm can be done by submitting to
the people an amendment of the con-
stitution permitting the Legislature TO
exempt from taxation the property of
colleges the title to which is vested in
a board of trustees solely for educa-
tional purposes, and not Tor 1ndlVldu0
gain. The people may be safely al
lowed to say at the ballot box if they
can afford to trust the General Assem-
bly, with such power.
Believing that the welfare of the
state would be promoted by such ex-
emption, recommend that an amend
ment of the constitution authorizing
it be submitted to the people for their
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