The Mena weekly star., 1911-09-21

sstssz.4 szzss1e'A-. =~1zzzssa-~azs>sA--aa asking for division of time and a joint discussion.
 l thought this would be the prop CT manner ill which to take this matter up, since it is a very vital lpubllc question: said Mir. Norwood.
 but the governor seemed inclined To different view. He has the right to decline a joint discussion II he desires, but l regret that he dld not stay to hear me-"
 MT. NorWood proceeded immedi- ately to take up the arguments ad- Vanced by Governor Donaghey and reply to them.
 The Turner-Jacobson bill pre- sumes that the citizen is a tax-dodg- CT and that county courts and equal ization boards will not do their duty conscientiously. The governor un- dertakes to explain that our old laws have no blanks for assessments and that the way of the tax-dodger
 IS easy. The real trouble is that the governor doesn't know much more about the revenue system of the state than the Mississippi negro did about the tariff, and by the negro's own confession he didn't know any thing about the tariff at all.
 Il insist that our revenue system Is efficient. We are now getting more revenue than at any time in our past history, and within the past decade it has increased rapidly. Between the years 1900 and 1905 the Increase in assessment was $97,000,- 900, or $i7000,000 greater than dur ing the five years following 1905, and we didn't have any tax commission before 1905.
 Opposition Is Not Political.
 My opposition to the bill is not political. I oppose the centraliza- ton idea, and especially that provis- ion which gives the tax commission the power to equalize individual as- sessments. The commission came to me after it was created and want-- d to know if it had this power. searched the laws carefully and my was that the law of 1909 did not give them power over indi- vidual assessments. Then they went to the next legislature, and they have written into this bill what the legislature of 1909 refused to give them--the right to equalize assess nents between individuals. This is d dangerous policy and one that may work untold hardship upon the 
 As was pointed out by the su- oreme court of California, this would require an individual, on ap- peal, to go from the uttermost sec jon of the state to the capital or to any place where the commission might be temporarily sitting, in or Ter to take an appeal. The supreme courts have invariably held that tax | commissions have no power over in- iividual assessments.
 "I endorsed Act 2i7 of the last leg stature, which gives five equalizers II counties over 25,000 population, | md which gives the right of appeal to the circuit court, after the county court has passed on the equaliza- lions. But I insist that the county court should be retained as the forum convenient for the appeal of the taxpayer. This new law abso- Iutely eliminates the county court. | There is no appeal to 1t. This IS one of my chief objections to it. In an appeal to the county court your witnesses are handy; under the Turner-Jacobson bill, where you take an appeal to the tax commis- sion, the inconvenience may be such as to positively deter such an appeal. The small property owner would prefer to suffer what he night regard as an injustice rather than undertake the annoyance of an appeal, and it's attendant cost.
 Mir. Norwood then went into an analysis of the system of deputy as- sessors under the new law, how they nay be appointed, etc, and declared the system would tend eventually to place the whole taxation system un- ter the virtual control of the com- which is, in turn, appointed by the governor.
 "The change in assessment also to February will work hardship. This was tried in 1883, and the next legis- lature was compelled to restore the old June assessment date"
 Mir. Norwo0d drew rounds of applause in a rather tart reference to 'pullman cars and gravel trains.
 "I want to say" he remarked, that all this talk about the differ ence between people who ride in Pullman ears and those who ride on gravel trains is mere demagogy, and | don't believe it appeals to an au- dience as intelligent as this from Yell county"
 Says Bill Is Unconstitutional.
 Mr. Norwood discussed the con- stitutionality of the bill, and de- clared it is unquestionably in viola tion of the constitution.
 "The extra session proclamation called for bill reducing taxation" ," said he, "and I'll jump into the Ar kansas river if anybody can prove that it does reduce taxation. IL