The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1913-09-11

themes of vital interest to the people
of Georgia
Mr.. McLendon thinks it is time for
Georglans to take the advice Mr..
IOombs gave some years ago, and
that 1T will only be by getting back
to the Constitution that the evils
which now Cypress us, can be les
sened.
Speaking of the financial condition
OF the, State, Mr.. McLendon said:
Not one dollar of tax money ever
gets into the State treasury except a
lew days or few months in advance
or the maturing of a lawful appro-
prlation, the maturing Of which i'm
mediately WithdraWs the money from
the treasury. Every dollar in the
treasury is there waiting to be called
Tor for some specific purpose There
can, therefore, never be any surplus
In the treasury except such casual
surplus as might arise from an I'M
expected increase of the value of tax
able property above the gross sum
upon which the tax levy was based.
Any declaration to the effect that
there is Or ever was a surplus in the
treasury other than trif1ing casual
surplus is only the distressed cry of
confused ignorance or the bold
speech of defiant and self-seeking
knavery. This casual surplus, if it
ever exists, being in the nature of a
trust fund would disappear the fol-
lowing year because it would be
taken into account in the tax levy
and appropriation bill. No tax can
be levied to create a surplus. To
show that pay-as-you-go is the recog-
nized policy of the State, it is only
necessary to read code section 1914,
which declares that the amount of
taxes assessed shall not exceed the
actual wants of the State.
THE pay-as-vOu-go principle, is fur
Their accentuated by those provisions
of the Constitution, which absolutely
forbid any increase in the bonded
debt of the State, except for purposes
OF Self-preServatiOn and also forbid
the mourning of any debt other than
a bonded debt except for the same
purposes of defense and self-preser-
walton, but permits the mourning of
an Indebtedness not exceeding $780,
600 to supply casual deficiencies of
revenue
In 1911 persons unacquainted with
our Constitution and it's established,
and yet simple, financial policy, and
unacquainted with the laws of the
State, made change in the Constitu-
ton. These persons made the Con-
stitution, by the amendment adopted
in 1912, so far as pertinence to the
matter under discussion, read as fol-
lows:
''No debt shall be contracted by or
on behalf of the State except to sup
ply such temporary deficit as may
exist in the treasury in any year,
from necessary delay in collecting
the taxes for that year, but the debt
created to supply deficiencies in rev.
enue shall not exceed, in the aggre-
gate, the sum Of 100000 and any
loan made for this purpose shall be
repaid out of the taxes levied for the
year in which the loan is made"
The requirement of immediate re-
payment utterly destroys for any use
full purpose the value of the power to
borrow, and instead Of increasing the
States power to borrow, this amend
ment takes away that power alto
gether, except as a sort Of fictitious
performance furnishing a momentary
financial delusion. So far as hungry
creditors are concerned, it plays on
them a game Of "now you see it, and
now you don't see it," Ignorant of
our Constitution and laws, those who
framed this wonderful amendment
believed that it would increase the
States borrowing power from $780,