The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-02-20

D00LY AS A 5
TAX REF0RMER
Tells Legislators Remedy For
School Difficulties.
MANY DIFFER WITH fiiM
HOT WORDS FLUNG AT COMMIT
TEE MEETING YESTERDAY.

-, SAS Noulu De plenty or money Tor
lHe schools if assessors did not permit
property to escape taxation" declared
Johh r.. Dooly, ex-banker and ex-
school trustee, before the legislative
committees on education in the sena te
chamber yesterday. why don't you
teachers start an agitation the same
as the Chicago teachers did? Call at
tentlon to tax-dodging, so this vast
property value may be placed on the
assessment rolls. That's the way to
raise funds. The banks pay more than
thelr share of taxes. They are assessed
on their statements.
Big Industrial corporations in this
city have four times the property of
the banks and are not assessed a
fourth as much. Make these corpora
tons pay taxes on the basis of the
statements they send east. Our asses
sors are not getting more. than 20 per
cent of the property on the rolls. Rails
ing the tax rates against property as
sessed I'D to the limit would be dis
astrous. It's effect upon q growing md-
nicipality would be calamitous. 1t is
true we are rich in children in this
community, but we are poor in prop
erty and can't pay any more than we
do now"
The question up before this commit
tee is not how to reach property that
has escaped assessment" said Senator
simon Bamberger, after the meeting in
reply to Mr.. Doolys argument, but
how to save our school system from
imminent harm or ruin. And besides,
never heard of Mr. Dooly's paying
any more than his share of taxes. He
represents interests that are vitality
concerned with keeping down the tax
rate, and he is willing to sacrifice the
schools to attain that end"
Sacrifice, Not Talk.
IF we sit and wait for the grass
TO grow, our horses will StarVe'' said
Judge lie Grand Young in a passoniate
speech on behalf of the proposed raise
or the city school tax limit from SO
TO Z mills. We can't wait to provide
new methods. We must maintain our
schools in their present efficiency We
ought to have ten months term. We
can't keep the best teachers if we cut
salaries or reduce the school year. We
have got to tax ourselves for the sake
of educating our children properly. 1t
means sacrifice. not talking about how
this or that interest ought to pay
more.
Il knew the school board when Colo
mel Nelson and Mr.. Dooly were its lead
ing members, and : remember thew
were very sharply criticised. No one,
however, questioned their integrity or
good intentions. l think they should be
as fair to our present school board as
the public was to them. This board
IS every bit as good as was theirs.
/ have perfect confidence in the pres
ent members, as l had confidence in
the earlier boards And we should not
nave to go to the county board, as
colonel Nelson suggests. We should
trust the men we elect and not tie
them up with restrictions which make
them powerless to save our school sys-
tenn"
Bamberger Like Buz-fuz
Colonel Nelson opened the discussion
by comparing Senator Bamberger to
Sergeant Buzfuz, counsel for the
plaintiff in the famous breach of prom
Use case of Bardell VS.. Pickwick. The
sympathies of the gathering, which
was numerous, were with the senator.
so the colOnels sally provoked no
laughter or applause.
The deficit now confronting the
board of education shows poor finan-
ciering." declared Colonel Nelson. 1T
figured on a $4,000 surplus, and now
finds itself $4,000 behind The mass
meetings in favor of this bill were.
1t appears to me, melted by the school
board. 1t is easy to manipulate pub
lie gatherings by misleading state
ments, and that seems to be what was
done.
''As a member of the school board II
was never disposed to stint the schools. |
We got along without big bills for ex-
tras in our day, il is true, but we CID |
not put up the 'rag-tag and bob.tau
buildings such as our successors have
erected. Our repair bills amounted 10
only $1,000 a year, as compared with
over $4,000 expended last year"
Show Us, Says Moyle.
80 far as the repair bills are con
cerned, the chief repairs were needed |
for the rag-tag and bOb-taiI buildings |
put up under Colonel Nelson's admin |
tstratiOn, declared Trustee Oscar
MOyle. who was the next speaker. |
These indirect accusations of bad |
dnanciering are not sustained by our
critics. Let them point to this or that
expenditure and say it is wrong or 1
should have been less. Our books are /
OPEN let them show where we have |
been extravaganza, 1t is not the fault ]
OF the board if it has to spend small |
fortunes to make habitabe the school |
houses put up by former boards. /. |
our critics want US to cut teachers sai-
aries. let them say so. but they will I
find themselves somewhat inconsistent /
for their board paid higher salaries /
than does ours"
The statement issued by the Com
mercial club is misleading. to put ii
most mildly and charitably," declarec
superintendent of Schools D. II. Chris
Jensen. The club takes figure from
the estimate column when it upholds
us argument, ana takes another fig
ure from the actual disbursement CO.,.
unn when it is on the other side of the
case. The result is an apparent as
crepancy of $4,000 on the face of Their
figures.
Losing Best Teachers.
Il know that we are losing our hes
teachers because of our nine-mon,n |
year. The poorer teachers are not 90
ing, but those we need the most be
cause of their ability are going TO
other states. Last year 1 tried in New |
York, Chicago and elsewhere to engage
good teachers. but I could not offer an
inducement that would bring a single |
one here. Accumulation of this policv |
will greatly cripple our educational sys-
tenn"
The house committee on education
held a meeting late in the afternoon
and heard opinions from educators on
the Done bill placing a minimum OF
~ mills on the county school tax
State Superintendent A c. Nelson and
Superintendent Christensen spoke in
favor of the bill. as did the following
superintendent: T.. NJ. WhIre7
sides, Davis county; w r. Wilson
Weber; J. L. Brown, Utah; 2. w. ASH
ton, Salt Lake.
KENTUCKIAN ON TRIAL.
IT.