Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-07-02
FOUR BIG FIGHTS
In 1914 ASSEMBLY
Tax Bill, Prohibition, Sehoo
Books, New Counties
SESSION TO BE LIVELY
Politics to Play an Important Part
Fight to Repeal Tax Act Doomed
to FaiI-Interesting Gossip.

1
ATLANTA, Ga, June 29.-Tht
last session of the geenral assembly
of 1914-15 opened Wednesday, June
| "a, and will be in session to August
12-ffty days.
Four or five matters will probably
absorb the entire session: The fight
to repeal the new tax equalization
act prohibition; the effort to- commit
the state to printing some of its
school books new and adequate
child labor law, and the effort to
| create four or five new counties.
Each of these matters may be dealt
with briefly to give the reader an un'
Outstanding of the same.
First, the fight to repeal the new
tax act, passed last summer, ano
which was designed mainly to eaten
| the tax dodger, to equalize returns
| as between counties on basis OF rela-
tive values, and to redeem a states
credit, as the governor and its back
| ers generally contend.
Conservative estimates now give
reason to prophesy that taxable values
will be increased 5000, 900, prob
! ably two thirds of which will be prop
erty never before on the tax books
Up to this year taxable values in
| Georgia approximate $500, 100000
Add to this the 5000, 100000 increase
estimated under the new law and
Georgia moves into the billion-d dol,
| lar class.
And here is the strong and con-
| vincing argument for the law. 1t Is
believed that without further appro-
priations by the legislature this year
| land the governor has warned tbs
| lawmakers that he will veto any save
absolutely imperative appropriation
bills) the tax rate may be cut the
| very first year the new law is in effect
from five to four mills! Furthermore
with increased values in the counties
| bringing in more revenue, many
counties will cut their local rate
Therefore, instead of working an in.
dividual hardship, save on the taz
! dodger, the new law will prove of ac-
| tual benefit to the farmer and hon
est men who have been bearing theil
| Just burdens through all the years.
There are some honest and square
men in the legislature now oppos-
ing the bill and want it repealed but
| they are misinformed. 1t Is also
largely true that larger percentage
are trying to repeal this act for self
ish or demagogic reasons. 1t has
been charged that politics is playing
no small part, in that enemies OF
Governor Slaton want to repeal the
act to discredit him and injure his
chances for the United States senate
However much Of truth there is in
this charge, it does seem sure that
the attempt to repeal the tax act will
fail.
Bills offered in the house and sen.
ate, some say, are responsible fol
bringing on an acute prohibition is
sue, and, oddly enough. these bills
were offered by -prohibitionists
These measures, similar in general
purport, want to legalize the sale OF
real beer in such cities and towns as
now authorize the sale of the So
called near beer" Authors of these
bills say they are doing nothing more
than trying to wipe out a palpable
fraud to which the state is a party
the fiction of near beer" They say
further that real beer is sold anyway
because there is actually no such
thing as near beer" 1t is claimed
conditions now prevailing, but that a
beer dealer convicted of selling liquors
is forever barred from a license in
the state, is fined $1,000 and must
spend time in Jail.
The prohibitionists retaliated with
a bill offered by Mr.. Fullbright, which
limits the percentage of alcohol in
all beverages manufactured, sold OF
given away in this state to one halt
of / per cent. Which, in plain Eng
lish, means total and iron clad prohi-
bition, for it is a fact that one half
of l per cent of alcohol would, not
preserve the fluid in which it was
emDOuleu.
The fight will be made around these
two extremes.
Mr., McCrory, of Schley county.
has been the steady and persistent
advocate of state printed school
books.
The commission named last sum-
mer to investigate THIS matter adopt
ed a report unfavorable to such o
movement. Mr.. McCrory will SUBJ
nit a minority report, and State Su-
perintendent of Schools Britain
wants to experiment with one or two
books, civil government being one.
Unless there has been a consider
able change in sentiment in the legis-
lature, the bill for state printing of
school books will fail at this session.
The members seem to see grave dam
ger in the proposition, and have not
yet seen convincing facts adduced
from the experience Of other states
trying the plan.