Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-06

ter III of the Public Laws of 1909, en-
| utled AN Act relating to the com
| mon school fund and the means OF
| providing fer and distributing the
same" The plaintiff is resident of
Mattamiscontis, an unorganized town
| ship in the county of Penobscot. He
| is the owner of II lots of land in the
| township, and has one child of school
| age
The case comes up on report and
| by stipulation, the only question rails
| ed and to be considered is the censu-
| tutionality of the chapter above re-
| ferred to, under the state and federal
constitutions.
The act in question provides for
general state assessment on one and
| one-half mills on the dollar upon all
| the property throughout the State, for
| the purposes of the common schools
| and the distribution of the proceeds
| to the various cities, towns and plan
tatiens one third according to the
number of scholars of school age, and
| two-thirds according TO the valuation.
| The act also provides that sums re-
| ceived by any city, town or planta-
| ton from this distribution shall be
! .deemed to be raised" by such city,
| town, or plantation within the mean
| ing of the r S, c. Is, sec. 13, as
amended. which is the section requir-
| ing local taxation for school purposes
of at least so cents per inhabitant.
| Held:
| 1. That the method of levying the
/ tax cannot be assailed. Section OF
| Art TX of the State constitution,
| which requires that "all taxes upon
! real or personal estate. assessed by
| authority of this State shall be ap-
| portioned and assessed equally ac-
| cording to the just value thereof is
/ fully met No property escapes, no
/ locality escapes, and the rate is uni
| form. There is no discrimination.
I . That the fact that while the
i fund is created by the taxation Of
| property in townships as well as in
cities. towns and plantations. it is dis
| tributed among the cities, towns and
| plantations alone, is not fatal. The
| same is true of the school and mill
| tax of 1872, which the justices of this
court held to be constitutional in their
opinions to the Legislature. 6S Maine,
! 4S2. The tax is assessed for a public
4 purpose ana Is 1Dt iit ifutiit VI tiiC
whole people. like that for the sup
! port of government. In order that
! taxation may be equal and uniform in
| the constitutional sense. it is not
| necessary that the benefits arising
/! therefrom should be enjoyed by all
| the people in equal degree, nor that
| each one of the people should partlci-
| pate in each particular benefit. The
| true policy is that each citizen must
| contribute for the common good. and
| the benefits are received not directly
! i'm dollars and cents. hut indirectly in
/ n wider diffusion of knowledge, in
| better homes saner laws, more etii-
! cient adrninistra ton of justice, higher
| social order and deeper civic righte>
| BUSINESS.
!, g That as matter of fact the
| Legislature has made more generous
| provision for the education of chill
'dren in unorganized townships than
| in incorporated places. as each schol-
| ar on the average in the townships re-
| ceived for the year ending Apr l, 1911,
| $40 for school purposes, while the
| amount per scholar throughout the
! state averaged only $2.52.
| 4. That the fact that this common
! scool fund is distributed to the towns
| one-tkird according to number OF
| scholars and two thirds according to
| valuation, instead of all according to
| number of scholars. does not of itself
| render the act unconstitutional. In
| EQUALITY of assessment is necessarily
| fatal inequality of distribution is not,
| provided the purpose be the public vel
| fare.
The particular method of distribu-
| ton rests in the wise discretion and
sound judgment OF the Legislature,
| The constitution provides no regula-
ton in this matter and it is not for
the court to say that one method
! should be adopted in preference to an
other. We are not to substitute our
Judgment for that of a coordinate
branch Of the government working
| within it's constitutional limits.
8. That there is no force in the
contention that because the town re,
| ceives back from the State two thirds
of what ii has paid to the state
i therefore il can relieve itself from To-
cal taxation for other purposes thar
schools, and can devote the proceeds
when received, to the support of pau
/ pers. or the maintenance of roads, oil
the running expenses of the town
thereby making the unorganized town
| ships contribute toward these loca
charges. Section five of the act IL
question forbids it, by providing tina
this eund shall be used for no othe
purpose than the maintenance of com
mon schools.
: 6. That section six permittins
sums received from the State unde