Arizona republican., 1913-05-05
Whipple's Protest.


 In explaining my vote, l wish to make few preliminary statements When l consented to become d can didate for representative to the first legislature, l hoped that, if elected my efforts in the legislature might result in real benefit to the state; and in no other class of legislation had | hoped to be able to accom- plish greater good to the state than assisting to place upon the statutes of Arizona laws that would result in an equitable assessment of all classes of property at an actual cash value.
 We all know. that of all the func tions exercised by the government the right to levy and collect taxes is 1 plainly the most important and l necessary; that it is evident to the most minimizing that. without reve- nues. the business of administering l the government and executing the laws could not continue. The mode | of leVying and collecting taxes on the different classes of property by a state. constitutes the system. If the system is q just one, all classes Q 1 to make the burden just and equit ! able between the different classes. 1 When the laws are such as to make l the burden of taxation fall more heavily on one class of property than 1 it does on another, to just that extent l does the government become tyranny; | and not less so when the laws are made by a legislature than when 1t results through the commands of q l tyrannical king or emperor. There | fore, in applying this text to our
 state, it takes no expert to know and
 it is universally admitted that taxes l have not been equitably levied and
 collected on the different classes of l property. The mining industry hay 1 ing been the most highly favored on l the one hand. and farming, on the
 other hand. most discriminated
 against.
 i In the first session of the first state legislature, S B. AS, the law | creating q state tax commission and giving this commission supervisoral 1 powers over county boards of super visors and county assessors in mat
 ters pertaining to taxation, and sev 1 1 harmoniZe the taxing machinery of
 the state, were passed. It was found, | however. that some of the provisions | of these measures conflicted with the l constitution it was consequently | made necessary to pass an amend ment to the constitution and refer l the same to the people at the next
 election, in order that the provisions I of these bills could be carried into
 effect The people of the state lndi- l cated by their votes that they were 1 in hearty accord with the efforts of
 the legislature, and passed the con- i stitutional amendment by an over whelming majority. Now, however. l at the first opportunity, the legisla 1 ture has had since such ratification by the people to perfect these laws, we see as result. creature that
 is neither the one thing nor the oth- CT neither fish nor fowl, and if fin ally made into law, would, in effe ,t,
 leave us in a condition as unsatis- l factory as we were in when Arizona 1 became a state.
 l The attempt being made to single out the mining industry and make of l this class a favored one, ought never
 to be consummated, as it would re-
 suit in allowing this industry to fix l a taxable base that is much less l than half the cash valuation of the industry. and less than half of what
 ed at In support of the foregoing