The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-05
Refrain Caught Up in Black Belt. WANTS CONSTITUTIONAL
 AMENDMENT IN CALL lUniontown Has Boosted Its Tax
 Rate to the Limit. People are satisned With the Actual Conditions, Hut Desire te Have
 Opportunity for More
 Revenue.
ny CHAS l.. HAROLD.

believed that the license system of tax ation was an unnatural taxation. 10 him as to many another dealing with city revenue, a tax on person Is un- American and unfair. Not thrift but property should bear the burden or government expense. Wherefore ms plea for a new maximum.
 Prohibition had that reaction In some of the North Alabama cities. The re- frain seems to have been caught up tn the Black Belt as well. and so one finds Judge w. H. Tayloe of this city addressing Governor Conner on the sub feet. He told the writer today that he considered 1t, one of the most urgent changes that have suggested them selves to the Alabama Constitution. he has written the Governor forcipIe letter, asking him to include the prop osition in his call for an extra sess,un. He would have the amendment sup mitted to the people for vote' the amendment which will lift the maxi mum tax rate of munfclpalitIes iioii. the five mills. The writer does not recall a city yet visited which hao not reached the tax limit on real ana per sonal property, or had not arranged TOT hond issues. which would entail in- rerest burdens sufficient to eat up the rate.t Tn each of these cities, because of the missing revenue from saiu"hH' the licenses were raised sharpiy. Inc! were increased so much that IL ralseo the almost universal question, ohouIo not some change be made m the 'aN ation system of Alabama?
 Of course the only resort IS 10 the licenses on legitimate enterprise. Ihe normal increase in tax valuations nave not been enough to supply the oehcil. In Uniontown the going or the oispen- sary left big void in the town treas ury The effect of removing that m stitution Is somewhat similar to the el- fact in Huntsville and Athens It LOOK away more than one half the city revenue. Last year the dispensary had yielded net profits of $lO'ooe That was applied to the retirement or bonus maturing in that amount January l ,ast Though the county did not par-- take of the profits here as IL oid m The other dispensaries referred 10. the ,nanapement of the business had grad uallv improved The City CounciI hao direct supervision over the traWc' ap, nroying every order for whisKey anu beer as a body All ques.ions @ srst the conduct of the business were nrs' passed on by the Council. The dis- nanser had less discretion here than inc average He was only clerk, car rvfng out the orders of the Couneii. The profits were growing larger each year as the city was gaining e&per per- ence with time. The city must learn the odds and ends of the trade. like
 
 person. -,r tho loss of the dispensary here as III otheI nlaces, The licenses were raised aoout 30 per cent on the average, put no general potest has been raiseo'
 Indpe Tayloe. who is for bigger q margin in municipal taxation, was ] memher of the Legislature in the i eighties, was a member or the last Constttutional Convention, and was , Chancellor of this division at one time. He joins with an apparent maJority here in expressing ms Wiinnsn ~ swap the dispensary and US Tat ihco,lIe for the improved moral status undeT g. nrohibition. As much as he liked tne profits of that machine. he wililngly 2 srrrenders his part as tax payer TOT the good that prohibition has thus Tar done to the negro. Ana 1T there ID any aa nart of Alabama, where the neios are g "dark' with negroes, 1t Is In Ferry 2 County. Anything that reduces the a moral hazard of the plantation hands carries with mighty force among the
 Dispcnsary Taught Lesson.
 novel view of the dispensary anc .e .ba lesson 1t taught is advanced bJ 2 Colonel Tayloe and fellow citizens When the amount of business done Inv the dispensary became publicly known 1t was an education. astonish ed the citizens, both good ane had. to learn of the actual amount O. whiskey consumed in Uniontown ane surrounding country. To realize those nrofits of $1O,OOO last year the dis nensary had to sell between $5O,0O' and s6O,0O0 gross. The sales are be lieved to have been nearer the lattei sum. When saloons were running eV eryone knew that whiskey and bee were being drunk. Dimes and quar ters shot across the counters in steady flow. The small change pour ed rapidly into the greedy till on Sat urdays. but no publicity was givei the grand total for a month or for {
 In this respect leading citizens her, declare the dispensary has serve' s, more than the purpose of revenue. l threw light on the inside of tn trade. It opened the eyes of the pub lie to one fact that was previousl. overlooked to a degree, which was tn money spent in this community was large proportion of the total circula lion. There was $60.000 a year goinl from their midst It took $60,00O t make $lO,OOO for the community, an on reorganization it was found tha oII the capital was missing that ha not been turned to profits. The dis pensary was for raising revenue-i was one of the purposes-and revenu was for paying the expenses Of gov ernment. The community at last ha to pay for running the city. There fore, why not keep the $6O'OOO home and raise the $l0,0OO by taxa stlon? And that was the argumen that brought the people face to fac with the tax problem. That scene to force the question, why is tow limited on It's ad valorem rate? An
 in turn. why should the mere priv uege of doing business be taxed fo any reason and under any circum stances?
 Doubtless the argument of the dis pensary opponent loses some of It force, when one considers the amour of liquor that Is shipped into tn
 city. Still there is no one here to sa
 that the total shipment in a mont approximates the volume of the dis pensary business No one to Sd
 that it is half or a third. The negr was the chief consumer He is nc disposed to patronize the express ot flee. Until he gets wiser he has talk en on more of the spirit If the prohi
 hilton law than has the white mar He is at present afraid to be a part even to interstate booze business H does not recognize such refinement of our Jurisprudence That, of cours, is the average. Some negroes ar setting the stun by express The mum ker in the future may be greater O if may be smaller. Yet 1t is a de aorring factor to have to buy in ju