The weekly soliphone., 1916-11-03

Good Roads Association, to change the caption of Amendment No. IA so that it will not show any increase in taxation. There is yet time for ithe change to be made before coun- ty ballots are sent out.
 Friends of proposed constitution 6 al amendment No. IA, known as the good roads amendment, drawn by a Senator J. M. Futrell and to be | voted upon at the coming general d election, are up in arms over the \ action of the state board of election \ commissioners composed of Gov. ! Hays, Secretary of State Hodges and 4 IAttorney General Davis, for putting "a false and misleading caption ot \ the measure on the official ballot. a The caption designates the amend & ment as one to increase the road and bridge tax, when in fact the < measure does not increase the road and bridge tax and contains no pro \ visions by which the tax could be RI officially says the tax cannot be in creased over the three mill tax now \ levied in every county in the state for road and bridge purposes. The amendment simply authorizes the q voters in any county to levy this three mill tax for period as long as thirty years, on both personal ana real property, the funds arising from a the tax to go into sinking fund and be used for the liquidation of
 bond issue and interest. It pro s yides the simplest and most inex- pensive manner of constructing model roads and bridges and does this without taxing the people one penny more than they now pay. By putting a misleading caption on the amendment the board either Intentionally or negligently Jeop- ardizes the passage of the measure. It is a known fact that Gov. Hays opposes the amendment, while Sec retary Hodges and Attorney General Davis have not openly expressed themselves on the measure. How < ever. they have used their official position to stab the amendment by giving it an odious caption which d will cause thousands of electors to vote against it.
 & It is understood legal proceed VI ings will at once be instituted to q force the board to recall the ballots # and have the misrepresentation cor $ rected.
 8 Senator Futrell, the author ot M the amendment. was much incensed 5 when he learned of the trick that & had been played on the friends of & the amendment, and gave out the % following authorized statement: FUTRELL'S STATEMENT. My attention has just been call M ed to the fact that the state board T of election commissioners has certi- # fled amendment No. 14 as a meas ss ure providing for an increase in RI taxation for road purposes
 S "The word increase is the fly a in the ointment This amendment Ss would neither increase nor make il & possible to increase taxes for road S purposes, as will appear from the 8 amendment itself which reads as & follows:
 "'The county courts in their re- al speetive counties, in addition to the VI alI tn ha 1auia1 oh All d have power when authorized, as al hereinafter provided, to levy an an & nual tax not exceeding three mills on the dollar on all taxable prop H erty, which shall be collected and expended in making and repairing public roads and bridges in their respective counties; and said court X shall have power, after authority % given as hereinafter provided, to levy a tax not exceeding three mills on the dollar on all taxable prop erty for a period of time not to ex- ceed thirty years, to borrow money, X issue bonds, and pledge the revenue arising from the tax levied for a j period of time, to pay the interest and principal of any sum or sums so a borrowed. All bonds issued by au- l thOrity herein given shall bear a rate of interest not to exceed six ! per cent per annum. All sums so 8 borrowed shall be used exclusively in making and repairing the public roads and bridges in the county,
 "'The annual tax and the tax for period of years shall not both be
 levied and be in force at the same time in any oounty--the levy of one shall exclude the levy of the other. "The insertion of the word in- crease is not the result of ignor- \ ance, for no one outside of the in 1 sane asylum could misinterpret the language of the amendment. The
 caption placed upon the measure by the state board evidently escaped the : attention of the members of the 7 board for they are intelligent men