Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-08-12
HOUSE UNWILLING To
CREATE TAX BOARDS
Kills Tax Equalization Bill on
Last Daylight Session
Probable

/ There will be no county and state
boards Of tax assessors this year. The
house OF representatives has decided
to Indefinitely postpone the bill by Mr..
Reid, Of Campbell, providing for these
oards and aimed at tax equalization.
~he vote on this measure was complet-
| ed at the last moment Of Wednesday S
| morning session, after three hours OF
debate. The vote was IS to indefinitely
postpone and So against that action
The opposition based their argument on
the contention that the state has al
| ready reached the constitutions limit
of taxation, and that this method Is
now proposed so that the tax rates and
revenue can be raised.
The tax equalization bill blocked the
morning session OF the house from 10
o'clock on till adjournment, holding
back a number OF measures which the
| rules committee has prepared for at
| tention OF that body. Unless every
thing before the house is rushed
through Wednesday afternoon, or un-
| less the house decides to adjourn with
many measures before 1t, a night SEES
! sion on the last night OF the session
! is a strong probability, although not
The present intention.
| DETAILS OF SESSION.
| At o'clock Wednesday afternoon. the
house has notified the senate OF Georgia
| by formal resolution offered by Mr.. An
derson, of Chatham, the house will be
ready to. adjourn sine die and for its part
pass into history as the Georgia house of
representatives of 1909-1910.
Whether the senate will meet this view,
whether the house will have everything
cleared out of the way by o'clock, no
body knows now. According to Mr.. An
derson, of Chatham, chairman of the
rules committee, which Is guiding the
affairs of the house, there is no indica-
| ton now that the house will have to hold
night session on the last day of its ex-
istence The house. If the senate does not
hold it back, and If 1t does not get into
some unlooked-for deadlock with the
senior body, may even adjourn before 8
o'clock. With the exception of two tax
| bills, which the house reached at 10
o'clock Wednesday morning with the
prospects of a hard fight ahead on both
Of them, there was nothing before the
house during the morning save bills Of
minor Importance Comparatively speak
/ ing) on which the majority of the mem
bership would be willing to limit debate.
| SENATE BILLS UP.
Nothing but senate bills, of course, were
on the special order which the house
rules committee had on its list Wednesday
morning. House bills passed by the sem
ate were to be received as fast as they
came House bills amended by the senate
were to be acted upon as quickly as the
opportunity offered now and then during
the day.
The only thing in sight on which q
deadlock seemed possible was the bill
| to increase salaries Of judges of the
court OF appeals to 5000 so amended
| by the senate, originally passed by the
| house to leave the salaries at $4,000 on
| an amendment of its own to the first in
! tent of 5000. The house, on Tuesday
morning, refused TO concur in the senate
/ amendment, the effect being not to in
crease the salaries. If the senate insist
| ed on concurrence there might be q
| deadlock.
The anti-lobbying bill is dead for good
| and all, the senate having been prevented
! from reading II a second time on Tues
| day by successful flibuster.
| Immediately after converting wednes-
| day morning. the house adopted the An
| derson, of Chatham. resolution formally
| notifying the senate that II Cthe house,
would stand ready to adjourn sine die at
| 6 o'clock. t
A resolution by Mr.. Tuggle, of Troup.
expressing the sympathy Of the Georgia
| legislature with Mayor W. j. Gaynor,
| Of New York, Gin the brutal assault
made upon him and hoping for his
! speedy recovery. was adopted.
4 The house concurred in a minor senate
amendment to the Brinson and Parker
or Decatur house bill prohibiting removal
from Georgia of property purchased I'M
der conditional bill of sale.
1t also copcurred in an amendment nv
the senate to the Faircloth of Johnson
and Lewis Of Hancock house bill amend
Ing the code so as to designate who shall
be subject TO road duty, the amendment
providing an assessment of 30 cents per
day (as the authors of the bill originally
had IT. instead Of 81 per day Gas II was
! amended In the house,.
! The house disagreed to the anoendnnent
of the senate to the Hall of Bib house
bill providing for succession OF governor
/ in event of death or disability, through
secretary Of state and comptroller gen
eraL The senate amendment placed the
| president of the senate and speaker of
the house. next In succession. Mr.. Hall
/ opposed the amendment, saying that the
succession so provided was temporary
| anyhow till the legislature could convene
and the house took this view. By this
law the secretary Of state will become
! governor, II the governor dies or Is dis
abled, during the interim between the ad-
journment of one legislature and the or
ganizing Of another. It does not apply
| during the recess OF an organized Iesis-
lature.
DEBATE ON TAX BILL
| At 1880 o'clock the house got to de-
! batting the tax equalization bill, No. IT,
| by Mr.. Reid of Campbell chairman of
the ways and means committee, on which
one of the hardest fights of the session
! was ahead
| This bill had come back from the SEN
ate, passed with numerous amendments.
j 1t is called the tax equalization bill.
| This bill is to provide for state and
county boards OF tax returns and valua-
lions, to provide the powers and duties
OF such boards, to provide for just and
adequate returns of property and for eQui-
table valuations thereof for taxation.
| Mr.. Hall of Bib was the first speaker
on this bill, attacking IT. Mr.. Alexander
/ OF DeKalb defended the bill. Mr.. Per-
/ sons of Monroe spoke against 1t. Mr..
! White OF Screven against, Mr.. Anderson
of Chatham for, Mr.. Lovejoy OF Troup
| for, Reid of Campbell for, Sheppard of
Sumter against, and Converse OF Lowndes
! against.
| BILL INDEFINITELY POSTPONED.
There was a strong fight on the mo-
ton to indefinitely postpone, made by
Mr. Adams of Hall and which had been
pending during all this discussion.
At l o'clock the call of the roll was
completed, three hours after the debate