The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1917-05-25
THE TAX SUITS DECIDED.

Our news columns carry a notice of the termination of the
road company against Grenada county. The writer believed
when the litigation was filed that the contention of the rail
What is law is law. court rulings to the contrary, notwithstand-
ing. The action of the courts does not change the law, it only
changes for the time being its enforcement. Judges are no
more infallible than any other set of men; they are just as sub
to public opinion as Editors or almost any one else. We some
times fatter ourselves that we can read and construe a few
lines of plain English just about as well at least as the average
Chapter IS of the Laws of Mississippi, 1916" reads:
Section 1. Be i. enacted by tn. Legislature of the State of Mi"i.
.ppi, That the state ad valorem tax is hereby fixed at six (6) mills on the
dollar for the year 1916, and at six (6) mills on the dollar for the year
1917. The board of supervisors may levy taxes for all purposes Exclusive
of road, court house. county common school and agricultural high school
taxi, which, added to the state tax, will make sixteen (16) mills o the
dollar for the year 1916, and sixteen u6) mills on the dollar for the year
Sec. 2. That. this act take effect and be in force from and after its
passage.
Now if it was not the purpose of this statute to limit the
amount of the tax levy, in other words, to state that the maxi
mum levy for any county should not exceed a certain sum, then
it was purposeless and meaningless. 1t will be observed that
the act states that the county levy added to the state tax"
may be as much as sixteen 90 mills on the dollar for the
1917, and no more" Note the words mo more" 1t will also
thes Gest tovwit: !na ac snsrf h ase eec coumts sx eommon s sivea an and Pa asri.
cultural high school tax" but the reader will bear in MIN that
these exceptions. The total levy was % mills in Grenada
county for 1916:
county is better off by the county's having won this suit. But
there is something more than temporary vantage involved; it
If the board of supervisors can levy 7 mills extra, it can also
levy IT mills, and if II mills then why not II mills?
LII Jul NShSh GS SOOAS 0SSASAO S1HSo WV A0S
If the property of one concern can be taxed so can the
property of every mar and of every woman in the county.
Possibly there are some who will say, 'Oh, it was big corpora
tons, the rail roads, that filed the suits and it does not matter
a tinker's damn about their complaint" The Sentinel files bear
to the fact that we have never been a champion of the
of the rail roads or of any other interests or corpora
tons, but we have stood and stand today for a square deal for
all. If we want justice ourselves we must try to give it to the
other fellow. Now this is simply our view. There are others,
whose judgment and opinion we readily admit is superior to
ours, who take a different view of this litigation. The courts
seen the proposition from their viewpoint evidently. 1t
be inquired, why lock the door after the horse is stolen? %
or "why discuss a case already decided" but the matter has
the subject of much general comment and we are only
to give at least partially the reason for the faith that is
us.
No responsibility can Justly be laid at the door of the SUI
pervisors. That body did most probably what any other five
men in the county would have done. We willingly admit that
with the problem the board had at that time, and
with the lights then before us, we should most probably have
voted for the extra 7 mill levy Just as the board did had we been
a member of that body, but that vote would not have altered
the law.
In our judgment an issue far greater and graver than
paltry dollars was determined by this litigation. The bride
off as to the amount of the tax levy in any county of the state.