The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-19
FIND THE LIQUOR
HARD TO SWALLOW
THE HOUSE CAN'T AGREE
sc TO THE TAXATION OF THE
DISPENsARIES.

of tEc Natter MOI let NeuShOu'
1mnortant Measures Introduced in
senate.
Atlanta. July 1S.-The House adj
!,,rred after a two hours session to-
5oy with the dispensary tax question
s,iu pending, and there is every likeli-
hood that there will be much more dis
.rssion before the question is disposed
If The dispensary counties are as a
r,la willing now to accept the 5000
sna,ifc tax and an ad valorem tax
tbs same as is put on other liquor
Ao7lers. but they are fighting any eff
fort on the part of the state to mulct
them more severely which would be
the case of the percentage if net re-
CENTS amendment should be adopted.
BEFORE the House convened members
from the dispensary counties spent an
hour or more in campaign work, WITH
view to defeating the plan to make
the dispensaries pay into the state
treasury a part of their cash. They
evidently considered they had done
some good work against the proposed
measure for one OF them was neard 10
remark:
Il think we've got it fixed all right
now. don't believe they can do it,"
Amendments offered.
Paragraph 16 of Section of the act
relating to dispensaries and liquor
dealers was first taken up. and Mr..
Evans of Washington offered all
amendment proposing to require dis
pensaries to pay into the state treasury
all Of their net profits over and above
$1,000. The object of dispensaries, Mr..
Evans said, is police regulation of the
Gouor traffic No city or county
should be allowed to maintain a dis
pensary for the purpose of reducing
taxes This constitutes a strong temp
taton to dry counties to go into the
liquor business. Dispensaries, he said,
were in many instances now selling a
very poor quality of whisky at high
price. If they were run as they Should
be- for police regulation only, they
would furnish the people a good class
Of liquor at almost first cost.
Nh Moses of Coweta offered an
amendment to require dispensaries to
pay the state Z per cent. of their net
profits.
If any of these amendments prevails,
said Mr. Gambler of De Kalb, it will
commit the state to the dispensary
system. This is big question, Mr..
Gambler declared. and he said he was
not prepared to commit the state to
any such proposition.
Such Decision Wrong.
IF the Supreme Court in its decision
meant TO say that liquor bought for
sale at a profit because the sale is con-
Quoted by a city or town or county is
public property and therefore cannot
he taxed, 1 say with all due respect"
said Mr.. Gambler, that decision is
wrong and / believe it violates the
spirit of the constitution on that sub
ject'
Mr.. McHenry of Floyd spoke for the
500 specific tax and the ad valorem
tax He said there was no doubt of
the right of the state to tax dispense
rles, just as other property, because
the constitution simplay says the state
may exempt public property from
taxation. The state, he declared, could
tax every court house and every
school house in the state, if it saw fit
10 do So He strongly opposed any
plan 10 put any heavier tax upon dis
pensaries than upon any other prop
erty of the same class.
During Mr.. McHenry's speech there
was a crossfire of questions from
Messrs. Hall and Fielder of Bib, Mr..
Moses of Coweta. Mr.. Shackelford of
clarke and Others. Mr.. McHenry made
several comparisons involving the bar
room business in Macon, and the Bibb
members were frequently on their feet
IN reply to him. Mr.. Hall made the re-
mark that if he had his way about it
not one dollar from the sale of liquor
should ever go to the education of
Georgias children
In the midst of Mr.. McHenry's
speech. the hour of adjournment ar
rived and the bill will be taken up at
the same point tomorrow.
Special Orders Rule.
Special orders are the order of the
Gay IN the House now, and the bill that
IS not hxed as special order, unless it
oe a local bill, stands little chance of
getting through
me House to-day fixed two more spe-
ca! orders, one by Mr. Grice of Pu-
idskL providing for constitutional
amendment, under which the LegisIa-
t'Te may grant to municipalities and
counties the right to legislate for them
selves IN certain local matters, and the
ollef 10 increase the Governors sal
aIy from $4,000 to $4,000. The Home
RUE Dill, il is said, will save one-third
VI inc time of the General Assembly.
II IS 10 come up as soon as the special
uIoers following the general tax act
aIe disposed of. The Governors salary
Oil VIII be acted on next Tuesday.
Mr.. McRae of Lowndes introduced a
nil! giving the Mayor and Council of
Naldosta the right to issue $4,000 of
Dohds for certain public improvements.
The Day I'm the Senate.
The Senate did little to-day except
pass few local bills.
several interesting measures were in
Ioquced. Senator Harvie Jordan III
1Ioduced a resolution providing for the
appointment of a committee from the
mouse and Senate to investigate the
duQlterations of commercial fertilizers
sion.
senator J. D. Harrell of the Eighth
Introduced couple of military bills
winch will prove of interest. one Of
,nese provides that the title of brevet
uIlsadier general shall be conferred
upon the senior colonel of the line of
Georgia State Troops, and the other
provides that the two assistants of the
ouJutant general shall have the rank of
lively.
To Cancel OLD Bonds.
The General Judiciary Committee of
s rne House to-day. by vote of s to 6,
commended favorably the passage OF
o.e nlll providing for an appropriation
~ Sz4'ZOO to pay the principal and in
Isl OF twenty-five $500 bonds issued
:, epruary, 1861, I'm payment of arms
~ Chased under a contract signed
Nv. a. 1850. These bonds are now in
ne possession Of the estate IF the late
~ "Ise Mattingly of Washington.