The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-09-29
MEAD At THE COUNTY FAIR
Continued from Page One.)

POA liOII VI tiC puOliS uOlll1lIl LII
educational purposes ought to be a
fact rather than a fancy. Whatever
promise for the conveyance of land the
government gave under the terms of
the enabling act ought to be relig-
iously carried out.
The plain declaration of this act,
whereby the state of Washington was
to receive SO many acres of land, can
only be given force and effect by the
diligence and industry of the agents
of the state in making selections of
public lands in accordance with Its
terms. That course is being fol-
lowed now by the land commissioner,
and I undertake to say that he will
pursue that policy until the state de-
rives the benefit to which it is justly
entitled.
Divorce State From County.
In my message to the legislature l
spoke about the great desirability of
divorcing the state from the counties
in the matter Of taxation, and I am
glad to tell you that the officials hav-
ing charge Of the raising of revenues
are working to this end, and will, no
doubt, recommend to the next sue
ceeding legislature a bill that, if pass
ed, will enable the state to raise it's
entire revenue for state purposes from
excise and license taxes so that each
county can levy it's tax for county
purposes and pay not one cent for
state purposes other than for sup
port of the public school system. Now,
if system can be devised that will
in no way impair our school re-
sources and will tax the lands and
personal property of the people only
for county purposes, it does seem
that it would be long step in the
right direction, and 1 sincerely hope
that the people and the press of our
state, without regard to politics, will
give to those charged with the duty
of investigating and formulating a
system SUCH as above outlined, moral
and earnest support that will encour-
age them in labor that any one
must Sc is great. The chief obstacle
that lies in the pathway of this effort
is the duty now resting upon the state
of collecting a direct tax from all the
counties for school purposes and then
returning it to the counties on the bas-
is of the attendance of children in the
public schools. This objection, how
ever, is not serious one. I am in
entire sympathy with the sentiment
contained in a recent editorial of the
Seattle Post Intelhgencer, wherein the
writer, after referring to the fact that
the recent board Of equalization or
dered a levy of 21a mills for the
general state fund, one-tenth of mill
for the support of the militia, and 5
mills for school purposes, states:
1.-The first step in this direction
would be to relieve the state Of all
connection with the disbursement of
the school fund raised by direct tax
alton and to place the disbursement
of this fund with the local officers OF
the districts where the tax is raised
and in the counties where property
is assessed for this purpose and the
tax collected.
This school tax is two thirds of all
of the tax raised for state purposes.
To place it's disbursement back into
the hands of the school districts where
it belongs would do away at once
with two-thirds of the inequalities in
assessments, which the state board OF
equalization makes a more or less in
effectual attempt to correct. 1t would
deprive the county assessors and the
taxpayers in each county of two
thirds of the present inducement which
they now have for making or securing
a low assessment in hope of thus
being able to dodge their proportion
ate share of taxation for state pur-
poses
by franchise taxation and some
system of license or occupation tax,
it would be possible within a few
years to give the state an income fully
equal to it's necessities from other
sources than direct taxation. Then
the assessing of property for taxa
ton would be purely local mat
ter with each county and each could
adopt the system of valuation which
seemed most suitable to it's needs,
without the action affecting in any
manner other counties which adopt
or follow a different system. This is
one direction which reform Of the
present system of taxation should
take
This departure from the present
system of collecting and disbursing
school taxes will not, in my judgment
do violence to the provisions and prin-
ciples of what is known as 1.-THE
Barefoot Schoolboy" act for the rea-
son that the interest and earnings of
the permanent school fund can be
distributed in such a manner as to
adequately provide for districts that
are sparsely settled and have but few
school children.
No Extravaganza.
To those VINO affect to believe that
the state administration has been
guilty of extravaganza in the admin
istration of the affairs of state, l say
be not afraid To those who are en-
ieavoring to borrow trouble and who
predict that this state will be COM
PEELED to further increase its in
debtedness, 1 would ask what rea-
son have they for indulging in such
forbading? In the history of the ad-
ministration thus far we have applied
upon the bonded Indebtedness of the
state, created prior to the first of jan
uary of the present year, the sum of
$4,000. Since then we have borrow
ed from the permanent school fund
the sum of 100000, making a net in
crease of the state debt in the sum of