The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-19


 a premium on nonattendance and ac- tually encourage the school teachers of the country by considerations of their own personal interest to discourage school attendance. The real unit of cost in our public schools is not the number of children who may or may not attend, but the salary of the cost of the teacher. It is estimated that the average number of pupils which the average teacher can teach is about 10 and that therefore a school with teacher that teaches only about 10 pupils costs as much as a school where the teacher teaches 40. The best au- thorities on the subject claim that the most equitable basis for the distribu- ton of school funds is according to the number of teachers actually em- ployed and the daily attendance multi piled by the length of the term There could not be worse plan than the one that our constitution now requires, one leading to more inequality, injustice and waste of the public moneys The new constitution should mak . provisions requiring the consolidation of our rural schools and to place checks upon the power of the legis iature to create additional institu- tions of learning of local character at the expense of the state govern ment
 TAXATION
 All thoughtful students of taxatio h are united In the opinion that the les iSlature in dealing with the subject of taxation should not be hampered by a constitutional provision requiring them to en1orce uniformity in all classes of taxation.
 1 No satisfactory just and scientific | taxing system can be established in 1 any state which contains this consti : tutioEal mandate Under the constitu : tion of Alabama every piece of prop 1 erty must be taxed at the same rate, real and personal. Professor Ely, a | noted authority on this subject says: "A one uniform tax on all property in direct taxation never has worked well l in any modern community or state in the civilized world though it has been 1 tried thousands of times and although | all the resources of able men have l been employed to make it work well. Constitutional provisions as to uni- 1 formity of taxation have long become obsolete and the states which have the l best system of taxation permit their | legislatures to classify property with | proper restrictions against unfair dis | er1nlnaticE. The attempt to tax all | property equally. at uniform rate 1 upon it's value and by assessment ma de l by owners. has broken down complete | ly in he case of personal property and especially in the case of intangible | personal property. forcible illustra tion of the benefits which result iron, giving the legislature power to class 1 fly property is found in the experf ! ence of the state of Minnesota For | more than 50 years Minnesota had 1 been operating under a general prop erty tax principle of uniformity and l equality regardless of the nature and use of the property. At no time had l that state succeeded in getting more | than a small fraction of personal or intangible personal property on the tax rolls. Realizing the failure of the ! cid system, after more than half a | century of unsuccessful efforts, the l legislature of that state in 1911 en acted law providing for the separa te | listing of money and credits and i'm posing flat tax rate of 3 mills on the dollar in lieu of all other taxes | In 1910, the year before the new law | became operative, the assessed value of money and credits amounted to S13,. | 519,S06; in 1911. the first year undo, l the new law. the amount returned fo1 l taxation on money and credits wa. | $l15,676,126. an increase of 7S0 per cen | over the preceding year. In 1912 tho assessments of money and credits ros, tO P1oo,Vof, 70, pelnR. accOrQ1ng to tht 1 report of the tax commission of tha state. an increase of 16.7 per cent ovel 1911 and 870 per cent over 1910
 Tn our efforts to improve our taxin, | system we are confronted with the fac that tax assessor is not subject. t
 removal by the governor or the stat tax commission, In those states whicl have approa ched nearest in establshin; just and equitable methods of taxatiol and uniformity of assessments, the as
 sessors have been put under the contrc governor, and made subject to remova of the state tax commission or tn for inefficiency or neglect of duty. Tn tax assessor elected now by the peopl
 of the county is controlled by local influ ences, and no power Is vested In the legis
 lature to authorize his removal for fail ure to discharge his duty or to properl
 aid in securing uniformity and equalit
 in assessments The only remedy is b
 impeachment in the county in which h lives and before jury of the taxpayer
 whom he might favor.
 EMINENT DOMAIN
 Under the constitution of 1875 the powe
 to exercise the right of eminent dc