The independent., 1903-03-26

The Legislature

The house finally finished its labors
on H. R., 344, the. revenue measure,
passed it and sent it over to the sem
ate. There, it seems likely, the party
lash will be applied and the bill passed
in double-quick time. The measure
Las turned out to be sort of white
elephant on the republican hands and
The majority seem anxious to turn 1T
over to the governof.
"A good many of the republican men1-
bers foresee the final result OF enact
ing H. r. 344. 1t will increase the
burdens of taxation on the farmer and
business man and tighten the already
light burdens of the corporations. This
shows good faith on the part Of the
majority. The republican platform of
last year, when intelligently. inter-
preted, meant nothing else than a
relative decrease of railroad taxes and
an increase of taxation on the farmer
and business man-no one short OF a
mullet head could make anything else
out of the smooth sentences Strange
to say the farmer and business man
whooped it up for just such meas
ure as H. r. 344-but just the same, he
will howl long and vigorously when
he pays his taxes in 1904 And it is
the inevitable reaction which is sure
to come as the result of the measure,
that frightens some of the Nebraska
republican solons today.
OF course it will have little effect
upon the election next year, because
the taxes of 1904 will be collected
principally AFTER the election But
the future success of the republican
party in Nebraska depends in great
measure upon this H. r. 344, and those
will be are not particularly pleased
with the prospect
However, they can't we'll turn back
now. They have crowed over wha.
they would dO-and at this writing
it seems likely they will do it. The
Independent some time ago believed
that no revenue bill would finally be-
come law. but it now seems tfat
that was mistaken diagnosis.
Curiously enough the feature of the
present revenue law which has caused
the two millions of floating debt is to
be repeated in the new law. That is
to say. the folly of fixing maximum
rate of levy which the state beard
may impose upon any county. 1t
stands at I mills now, but the senate
talks of cutting it down to five. This
is simply the rankest kind of non
sense. Such a limitation will cancel
the other feature of requiring the
board to levy sufficient to meet the
90 appropriations made-exactly where
the trouble lies with the present law.
u. It seems strange that an intelligent
legislature doesn't know. and can't
find out, that there is absolutely no
constitutional limitation upon the
amount it may appropriate, and that
it it does not empower the state board
to levy at least one dollar in taxes
for every dollar it appropriates, there
is bound to be floating debt. 1t is
enough Of limitation to say to the
state board, You must levy one dol
lar in taxes for every dollar of ap-
preparations. Any mill limit, short of
ten or fifteen. will finally be found to
stand in the way of (a) either a prop
er equalization between counties or
(b) a sufficient aggregate levy to do
the states business without piling up
a floating debt.
Such methods as now in vogue in
this regard, and are seemingly to be
continued, are quite at par with the
ingenuity of the man who locks his
trunk and gives his wife the key in
order to keep himself from robbing
himself
A hundred thousand dollar appro-
priation has been made to erect a
building for the agriculture and me.
chanic arts school. This is good news
if Governor Mickey doesn't use his
veto snickersnee. 81.
The deficiency claims bill" now
carries s120,000 of republican defic-
iencies. despite the lies told by Gov
ernor Mickey and his coadjutors last
fall that the books would be "closed
without deficiency" Which reminds
the associate editor of a young lady at
Fairbury' who once protested vehem-
emily that II can lie If choose to,
because I'm a church member-and
church members have a right to lie."
Stroud @ca1ds DarkSr