The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-01
PITT STOP TO A GRAFT.
amendment Provides State
Adopted Books Must Be Used.
Senator Avery and Gov. Stubbs
Quarrel Over Mortgage Bill.

When the senate passed the Benuel
,,,' - noon 70 1av. it changed the en-
+tro machinery which has cohtrolieU
the election and Jurisdictions VI
bers of school boards IN cltles u ~
first and second class Ohoei ~
law, the board is reduced ny 49,
precinct lines are drawn anu 80
members rotate in the electlohS iioiN
in odd years Each member Is eleo
ed for a term of six year anu :"
members are chosen at each CITY oioo
ton. ,.,- ~, similar
90 tbose surrounding commission form
of government and recall proVlSitJ1t
Is injected into the measure 10 -
the public to secure QUICK -. ~
dereiict members. Under the teI t.s.,o1 t!is
+bis hill an entirely new educdll
hoard ie created and the old system %
many years standing is aooIsheu.,
the measure becomes a law, memper,9
of the city boards OF ecucdtlon nd
stem down and out next august an
the new crowd Will requisite t ~ cleo
fairs. The bill provides for the e'7No ele
tioI of six members at the 1911 sprlns
olac+ion which will have the same au-
thority as the old board o. IL mem men
bers. Two of the members TO pe 80
ed will be named for term VI for
sf,r years AT each city election mere
after two members of the boaro VIII
he named for a term of SIX years.
one of the decided changes over the
old law is the provision apollslllIe
ward lines in the election or mem
hers of the board. Under the proVl-
sions of the law, any number OF mem mem
hers may be named from one PIeclliS.t
Senator Stewart took exception "
the bill generally and Salo ms pooPI0
N the
I,re and asked a provision which WoLlo
eliminate Sedgwick county his pro-
vision was adopted and Stewart voted
for the passage of the Dill: ,.
Senator Cambern, the ERE panhei ata
and oficial grammarian of the senate.
tooI exception to the phraseology OF
+he bill He injected several ameno-
ments which aided in beaut1ylhg tne
document but was not aware thdt tne
bill had been drawn by the supeTlHa
+endent of the Kansas City puphc
schools. ,5
senator Bender offered an amend
voent TO his bill which provided that
the board should be bound to the use
of uniform books in the schools: anu
it was this amendment that founo
more trouble than any ore provision
His amendment was adopted after con-
siderable debate. This Is to stop the
supplemental book gra1t
on the final roll call but four votes
were
nv Avery, Hostrup, Myers and StaVe!y-
There were 26 votes cast for the bill
The state normal appropriation bill
has been made a special order Tor
1870 Thursday morning in the senate.
Senator Glenn's bill, the first intro
duced this session, and providing for
the redistricting of the senatorial d1s-
trfcts. is still on the calendar. one
dav the senate removed the enactlng
clause from Glenn's pet measure, but
reconsidered it's action and put the
bill back on the calendar under gen
eraI orders. 1t is still there with but
little chance that it will get by this
session of the legislature.
Senator Avery and Governor Stubbs
are having a hard time in an effort
to agree on the Wakefield mans
mortgage registration tax bill. The
governor sent his opinions to the leg
isIature this week in which he said
very few kind words for the bill. Now,
Avery has taken his typewriter to a
quiet room and issued declaration
for the uplift of humanity. In his
discussion of the measures of his pet
measure, Avery says:
1.-The really cheerful thing about the
governors message concerning my
bill for the registration fee for real
estate mortgages and thereafter ex-
empting them from taxation is that it
shows that the governor is a convert
to the idea of "a registration fee for
real estate mortgages The princi-
pal objections to the governors rec
ommendation are that it does not re-
Iieve the principal objection sought to
remedy my bill, viz, the double tax
alton of property, and leaves the same
unfair and unjust discrimination be-
tween home and foreign capital that
compete in the same field for invest
ment. Home capital bearing the bur-
den of taxation averaging $1.00 per
$4,000 throughout the state, while
foreign capital pays none at all. Ev-
cry advocate of reform in taxation is
striving to avoid double taxation. I'm
der the present law, municiapl bonds
mortgages owned by banks and cor
porations doing a loan business are
practically exempt from taxation
while the individual who makAs the
same kind of loan on the same terms
is compelled to pay taxation on the
face value of his mortgage and the
owner of the land on which the mort.
gage rests also pays taxation on the
full valuation of the land-plainly
double taxation. There can be nc
question but the man who is SO nm.
fortunate as to have a mortgage or
his farm is less able to pay the bur.
dens of taxation than the man who
has no mortgage yet the law make,
no distinction between them.
For reaS sons known to many it il
impracticable to deduct the amount o
mortgage from the assessed value O
the land for the purpose of taxatio,
and the only relief that is safe an,
practical is to relieve the mortgae
from taxation and rest on the theory
which think is reasonable, that capi
tai will invest more readily and at
lower rate of interest in mortgag
exempt from taxation than one that
not. The exemption Of municipal bond
and the fact that they are being nego
tiated at from to per cent is a prac
teal illustration Of the result of VIVA
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