The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-02-25
TAN BILL MAY PASS.
Now Believed That It viii Get
Through Senate.

Senator Smith believes that he now
stands a good show 10 get the tax bill
through the senate. He admits that q
few days ago it was practically defeat
ed, but he has been at work lining up
members for it and believes he now has
enough to get it through.
1t the senate passes the bill It Will
then be up to the house to either pass it
or kill it. The house is not anxious for
the job and has been putting off its
consideration in the hope that the SEN
ate would save it the trouble of acting
on it. It was set for a special order
yesterday, but was laid over until this
afternoon in the hope that the senate
would vote on it in the meantime but
the senate has not done so. If it should
pass the senate it is doubtful what the
house would do about It.
Bale Waggener will try to get the
house to adopt his idea of exemptins
notes and mortgages from taxation. He
has introduced the following resolution
in the house on this subject.
Resolved, BY the house of represen-
tatiVes, the senate cOncurring, that it Is
the sense of this house that notes and
evidences of Indebtedness secured by a
mortgage or deed of trust on real or per-
sona1 property do not within the mean
ing of the law Tor the purpose of taxa
ton constitute property, and no at
tempt should be made to tax the same
Resolved, That the boards of county
commissioners and assessors of each
county are hereby requested to omit
taxation of the same for the ensuing
two years and until the legislature can
put into a law an express declaration
of the sense of this resolution"
The resolution was laid over under the
rules.
Two amendments of considerable inn
portance took up the time of the senate
committee of the whole for an hour
yesterday afternoon. One of them was
the much discussed mortgage exemption
amendment while the other, to exempt
money not drawing interest, from taxa
ton, was new and was advanced by
Senator Smith. In support OF his new
amendment Smith said that he believed
money should only be taxable when it
was bringing in revenue to its possessor-
The tax dodger knew when to withdraw
/ 1t from the bank and escaped taXaIlQn
anyway while the money saved up in
the stocking foot ought not be made a
subject of assessment Smith said he
regarded the assessment of money be-
ing saved up to meet an obligation upon
property for which the owner was tax
ed, as unjust and double taxation. This
amendment was adopted.
Senator Cubbiaon moved to tack the
mortgage exemption clause on to a sec
ton under which the term credit is
defined This brought UP the fight that
had been waged so fiercely in the COM
mittee and the motion was lost after
considera BILE debate. Some of the sena-
tors voted against it because they
thought it was put in the wrong place in
the bill. that it properly should be
/ placed under the head of property,
and the vote upon Cubbison's motion
may not indicate the attitude of the
I senate upon the amendment in another
/ section.
An unusual incident occurred during
the discussion of the bill Bale Wag-
gener, the Democratic member of the
+ house who has taken an important part
in the formation of the new tax bill,
4 wandered into the senate chamber while
the bill was being discussed in commit
+ tee of the whole When the mortgage
exemption clause came up for discussion
i somebody moved that Waggener be
+ asked to speak on it. Such a motion is
in order in the senate only under sus-
! pension OF the rules and there were OBJ
jections. Mr.. Waggener said he would
not have accepted the invitation had it
I been unanimous.