The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-10-26
The Tax
Amendment.

After much mature elaboration,
INC BANNER has concluded to OPP
pose the adoption of the proposed
tax amendment to the State Con-
stitution, to be voted on on the
afth day of November. We
have reached this conclusion
without bias or through any feel
ing of antagonism for Gov. Hall,
who is the prime champion OF this
new system oftaxation, preferring
the present so-called "antiquated"
system, as it is claimed. Our fret
objection to the tax amendments
is the segregation clause, which
takes away revenues from the
towns and cities for the benefit OF
the State. This is hardly in line
with the Governors contention.
before election, that the States
revenues were susceptible of re-
trenchment. The next and most
formidable objection is the fact
that the terms of the amendment
vest too much power in the Legis-
lature, which is given power to
raise the rate or take over more
taxable property from communi-
mites whenever the revenues of
the State are deemed insufficient.
We all know the readiness with
which extravagaps Legislatures
make appropriations. and one
such General Assembly would
play havoc with and impoverish
and practically ruin the towns and
cities by taking away from their
revenues. The people and pro-
gressive citizens of this State are
not prepared to neglect their
homes for the general benefit of
the State. Furthermore, this would
tend to block and retard all de.
velopment in many directions.
There is another feature about
this tax amendment which is truly
condemnable. 1t is this: The
people of Louisiana some years
ago clamored hard for q curtail.
ment of the Governors appointivc
perogatives. The Legislature
which followed, and then since,
hearkened to the people and made
many appointive Offices elective.
Then the primary election law re.
turned practically all power to the
people, extending az far even as
the Justices of the Supreme Court.
At this time it may be said thai
the Governor has comparatively
little power in that respect. It
therefore looks quite clear to US
that to give the State such
money power az ia expressed or
implied in the amendment. as
above said, would be ten times
more,. politically, than was the
power welded by the Governor in
making appointmente-in which
strictly parishes and towns were
solely concerned. With the
Legislature solely to judge it's a.
nancial wants, and such an easy
method of procuring them, think
Of the powerful political machine
that could be at once erected by
the State in every parish COM
posing it. We are given the
"Balm of Hilead" that the rich
would pay the bulk of the taxes
under the new system and that
the poor man with q modest home
and q small farm would be exempt
from State taxation, but it natu.
rally would follow that, this being
90, the poor man would be
squeezed heavier and heavier by
his local tax-gatherers, as the
Legislature grabbed up the reve-
nues of his town or parish, and it
would not be long before he would
have to pay great deal more
taxes than he now has to bear.
No, no, .fellow-voters, let's do
away with this amendment. Let's
defeat it. The present plan is
much the best; ito only fault
seems to be. in many places, with
the assessments. Let the Cover.
nor devise some efficient plan to
establish more equality in this
matter and the whole trouble will
be settled. There are 90 many
other defects in the Governors
tax hobby that we have not space
to enumerace them. The whole
thing SCENE to be specially fit for
defeat and more mature study at
q later day.