The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-07
TAXATION AND GOVERNMENT


four years; it has created sundry new ofiices with more than adequate sal- aries; 1t has enormously increased the salaries of those already in on1ce; 1t has also created most expensive ma chinery for increasing the taxes of the people so as to raise any additional lmoney that may be needed to carry out this foreshadowed policy of extrava- gance--truly cormorant eating out the vitals of the State. And strange to relate, no member of either. house during the late session proposed any reduction of taxes, or opposed any pro- would increase expenditure. And yet every member of each house, with two exceptional was in name Democrat: but were they in fact lQemocratsf The Constitutional Convention supposed that 1t had fully protected the people from extravagant taxation when 1t in- corporated into the fundamental law of the State the following provision: power to levy in any one year a great CT rate of taxation than sixty-fve one- hundredths of one per centum on the value of the taxable property within was submitted for ratification. this clause was regarded as an absolute protection to the tax payer against all imposition of exorbitant taxes by the the peoples constitutional shield has been pierced by the cunning spear of crafty legislation. No longer- is it protection to the taxpayers of the stitution might as well be stricken out. In fact, 1t might as well be writ ten in hieroglyphics on one of the pyr- anlids. in the midst of an Egyptian s esG M the nsess trss it aess age Is all right. But how, easily Is it evadedi A court of County Commits sioners. or other board of appraisers. say that the assessment does not ex- ceed the constitutional percentage; that the price of property assessed is too low; they then proceed to put 1t up as high as they please, and thus are your taxes indefinitely increased. The tax payer may give in his land to the As sessor at s per acre, which is all that he can sell 1t for; but the board of appraisers say NO; 1t Is worth SIC; you must pay this raised assessment; the government needs this money to squan- der" and the tax is accordingly raised, though 1t cannot be sold for any such sum. Thus the taxes of the owner are
 The Legislature created a commits sion of three members with jurfsdic- ton to increase tax valuations in ev- cry county so as to raise all the money that this extravagant policy might de- mand. In other words, the Legislature created O commission of keepers whose sole duty 1t is to feed the rapacious hunger of the legislative cormorant. There is but one meritorious jurisdic- tional question given them requiring adjustment, that is. the equalization of taxes. and even this, 1t seems to me. might otherwise be better provided for. For the salaries and expenses of this commission the Legislature has appro- priated $30.000 per year.
 Then, again. suppose that the local Board of Appraisers does not satisfy
 this State Board; the latter can at it's own sweet will raise the taxes of any
 particular citizens, of you. of me, or of our neighbor over and above the os-
 timate of the local board. Who is the better capable of estimating the true value of our property, our neighbor
 who knows us and the value of our property, who is familiar with the sur
 roundings and the there existing con- ditions. or some one perhaps hundreds of miles away who never heard of us,
 who has never in his life seen our property, who would not know our farm from Adams prehistoric bean patch? The answer is evident.
 Our Governor. Conner was emphat-
 ically the choice of a large majority
 of the voters for the exalted position
 he now holds. He rode triumphantly