Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-01-10
DECLARES DANGER Turks
in THE ''UNWRIT TEN LAW"
Speaker Byrd Excoriates "Fiction of Legal
Insanity as Recently illustrated
in Virginia Courts.

Those who attended the Democratic
caucus of the House of Delegates last
night heard n speech of rare force
and merit when Hon. Richard Evelyn
Byrd. OF Winchester accepted the
nomination for the speakership. said
the Richmond Journal OF Wednesday.
Mr.. Byrd. after thanking his asso-
ciates for the honor conferred on
him, touched on n number OF import
ant subjects needing legislative at
tention. Anent hastily prepared and
ill-considered statute, he said:
Every enactment should be an.
preached with caution, because a wise
conservatism Is necessary condition
Q: real progress. The presumption
should be against every new law and
the weight OF evidence in its favo.
should greatly preponderate."
a little later on he added: Great
moral and political questions now and
again arise and must be dealt with
but the days work is mostly confined
- The practical details OF administra
tlon.
From most viewpoints state gov
ernment is entirely business prop.
osttion, whose concerns should be
managed as far as possible after the
most approved and effective business
methods. a clear understanding Of
this fact furnishes the key to the more
important of our duties here"
Fiscal 3ystem Needs Change.
Discussing the fiscal affairs of the
commonwealth. the speaker said:
Take. for instance our fiscal sys.
TEN. What great corporation with an
4 MI
low its collecting agents to keen their
accounts upon no systematic or com.
prehensive plan? Yet this Is practi-
cally the condition In Virginia TO-DAY
There should be n system OF book
keeping in this state so linked and in
terdependent that the auditors Office
would Ire correlated with every tax Of
fetal in the state.
Taxation Is purely matter OF bus
iness also, and yet nothing could he
more unbusinesslike than the manner
in which our taxes are assessed.
There is an old maxim of the
Ghancery Court that equity Is equal
ity. For obvious reasons this maxim
applies with great force to taxation
In tax assessments in this state we
meet with such gross inequalities that
oursmethods work not county but in
equity. There are, for instance. in
Shenandoah county six commissioners
OF the revenue, one for each magis-
terial district. horse travelling
twenty miles in Shenandoah county
would find his value for tax purposes
changed six times within n few hours
Values are affected by imaginary lines
because imaginary lines delimit the
Jurisdiction of officials who are not
subject to any supervision or restraint
by any higher or central authority
and whose assessments therefore can
not be co-ordinated upon any basis
OF equity or common sense.
What Is true of personal property
is true OF land. Both the land as.
SCISSORS and commissioners of the rev
,snue are n law unto themselves.
Must Deal With It.
1T will not do to say that this prob.
lem cannot be dealt with. II can and
must be dealt with and 1t will be to
the everlasting honor of this General
Assembly If it approached the prob,-
lem far enough even to appoint a ca
pablo commission TO study, to delib.
crate and to report.
we all know that the pittance left
In trust for the widow and orphan is
taxed to the utermost farthing, while
men in vigorous and productive life
escape their share OF what should be
the common burden.
We all know that the income tax
Is so assessed as to be worse than a
farce, practically penalizing compar-
atively small number of our citizens.
Some Pertinent Questions.
Here are some more striking ex-
cerpts from the speech:
There are other matters pertain
Ing to taxation into which it is with
in the competence of this legislature
to inquire
For instance. why is it that the
three great express companies doing
business In this state-the Adams. the