Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-11-11
DELEGATES TACKLE
T|CKL|SH TASK
Taxation Was the Subject of
Energetic Controversy in
Today's Session
AS MANY VIEWS As MINDS
J. M. Cunningham Leads in the
Fight for Sane Revenue Sys-
tenn for New State.

receive; seek and you shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto
you,' send Thy light before us. Help
US to submit ourselves, humbly to Thy
guidance, and let us not be tossed to
and fro by every vino of passing opin-
ion. Reveal unto us the truth in all
things, so that after having come to
the knowledge of the same truth, we
may find in and through it true free
dom, and press forward to the full en-
joyment of it, which means life now
: and forever Amen"
Thus prayed Rev. Julius A. Hartman
after President Charles A. Spiess had
called the constitutional convention
to order at IL o'clock this forenoon.
The guidance of Providence was in
deed necessary, for the convention
Immediately resolved itself into COM
mittee of the whole to tackle the
knottiest problem before it, that OF
taxation, and on which there were
just one hundred different opinions in
the convention each seething to find
expression.
F. E. Wood was called to the chair
and the applause was vigorous, for
the convention realized that it took
vigor and astuteness to guide the con
day.
The work of slashing began when
J. M Cunningham moved to strike
out Section 1, as it already appears
in another article. The motion car
ried as promptly as the convention de
feated substitute section offered by
G. E. Moffet, vesting the legislature
with power to pass revenue loss.
]. M. Cunningham moved to substi.
tute for Section 2: "The rate of taxa
tion will be quail and uniform upon all
subjects of taxation"
G. R. Brice moved to add the words
according to its reasonable market
value" and made an extended argu-
ment in favor of his motion "Any
attempt to except any class of prop
erty from taxation is wrong" he said
"you must have some basis for taxa
tion and unless such basis is fixed
chaos results"
A. B, Fall argued that the Brice
amendment would strike out occupa'
tion taxes.
The Brice amendment was rejected
and the Cunningham substitute was
adopted.
e. D. Tittman offered an amend,
ment providing that the taxation
rights of the state shall never be CON
tracted away. He argued that such
a clause. is in the constitution OF
Minnesota, the only state which last
Tuesday gave more than $4,000 Repub
lican majority.
A. A. Sedillo called attention to the
fact that this provision is contained
in Section 13 reported by the commit
tee.
These motions were plentifully In
terlarded with parliamentary objec
tions and notions which Chairman
Wood handled with admirable skill.
G. E. Moffet moved to add to Sec
ton Q: According to it's reasonable
market value."
III. B. Ferguson said that the com
mittee on taxation had deliberated fol
weeks to formulate this report. Why
now this heat to change it? 1--WE al
know that the taxes in New Mexico
have been oppressive. Taxes have no,
been equal and uniform. Vast bodies
of land have been exempted from
their share of taxation" There mus
be some reason for seeking to estab
lish a different basis for taxation THAI
/ the value Of property. There is nc
subject on which the people OF New
Mexico are more sensitive than thai
of equal taxation. He warned the con
vention that it is treading on danger
GUS ground. He said the minority Ii
still hopeful that the constitution al
finally formulated will be acceptable
but it will not be acceptable if it Ii
discovered that any special interes
has been shielded from paying it's jus
share of taxes.
G. w. Prichard rebuked the las
speaker for injecting politics into ev
cry utterance and pointed out tina
! there is no difference in effect be
>tween the substitute section adoptet
which provides for a uniform rate o
taxation, and clause providing TO
taxation on market value basis. II
is impossible to make taxation equal
In the very nature of things it, canno
be done. We can only make stagge
at it, we can only try to make /
equal" He pointed out that the ulti
mate consumer must pay the tax n
matter on whom 1t is levied in tn
first place. The tax on a baker fall
heaviest on the man of the large fam
lily which eats the most bread. Their
is no sentiment and there never vii
be any sentiment in New Mexic
against uniform and equal taxation
He scored the demagogery that woul
make political capital out Of such PR
vision.
HI. M. Dougherty said that this
not a political question. The take
must be paid by Republicans and Den
ocrats alike: I'VE must all try to bea
our tax burden irrespective Of our pt
litical leanings." The words "uniforr
and equal' sound very nice and the
have misled many states. They ar
the very words that ought to b