The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1920-10-25
State Questions and Initiative
Petitions 10 be Voted on Nov.
End, 1920.

Of State Question No. 9g, Initiative Pc
ttion No. CT. The full title and text
Of the measure reads:
Bill Entitled: "An Act Levyino
upon the Property of Certain Public
Service Corporations, an Annual Tax
Tor the Maintenance of the Common
Schools of this State, Providing for
the Collection and Apportionment
Thereof, as Provided in Section f2a,
Article 10, of the State Constitution"
BE 1t Enacted by the People OF the
State of oklahoma
Section l. For the purpose of main
tanning the common schools of this
State for the fiscal year beginning
July LIST next following the adoption of
this Act, and for each fiscal year there
after an annual tax is hereby levied
upon the proptrty Of every railroad
company pipe line company. telegraph
company and upon the property of
every public service corporation which
operates in more than one county in
this State; such tax to be equal (as
near as may be) to the average rate
OF tax levied upon other property in
this state for like purposes.
For the purpose of determining the
rate OF levy to be applied to the prop
erty coming under the provisions of
this Act for maintaining common
schools for any tax year. it is hereby
made the duty of the County Clerk of
each county in this State to furnish
the State Auditor, in writing, over his
signature and seal, not later than Oc-
tober lst, each year, statement show
ing bx int rs,
poseO tax levy for each school dis
tlict in his county for such year; and
the State Auditor shall add together
the amount of such maintenance (or
general purpose'D levy for each and
every school district in this State, and
shall divide the result by the total
number Of school districts in this
State, and the quotient shall be held
and construed to be The average tax
rate lor this State for maintaining
common schools for such year; and
the State auditor shall, in a book kept
for that purpose, extend the said aver
age tax rate against all property com
ing under the provisions of this Act;
and such tax is hereby made payable
to the State Auditor in like time as
taxes upon other property for similar
purposes are payable throughout this
State; and upon failure to pay, the
owner or owners of such property shall
be subject to like penalties as are
now, or may hereafter he, provided by
law Tor failure to pay ad valorem taxes
regularly levied in this State
Section 2. Alltaxes collected under
the provision of this Act shall, as col
lected, be paid into the State Treasury
TO the credit of the common school
fund of the State, and the same shall
be apportioned and distributed in like
time and manner as other common
school funds of the State.
Section 3. Property coming undsr
the provisions OF this Act shall not be
liable for the maintenance or general
purpose tax levy made by any school
district; but such property shall be
subject to taxation for all other pur.
poses, including the school district
levy for interest and sinking fund"
the same as before the adoption of
this Act.
No one has even advanced a claim
that the above measure is not properly
drawn to make effective the will OF the
people of Oklahoma as expressed in
Section la, Article 10 of the State
Constitution, ratified by the people of
Oklahoma August 5, 1913.
The enemies of Section la will fight
this measure upon the ground that
Section la should not be vitaIzed.
TO advance such an argument is to
claim that the minority and NOT the
Majority should rule
Section la has been before the
people in three elections. In the gem
eral election in 1910 this proposition
was (partly) before the people. The
legislature had ordered it submitted
to the people for their approval or re-
lection.
BY leaving this question off of the
regular State Question ballot and plac-
ing same under the names of candi-
dates upon the State ticket more than
100000 voters failed to find this ques. (
tion or to cast thei votes thereon.
The proposition received 1O1. .636 Eyes,
votes and 43,133 mo votes. Failing
to receive a majority of all the votes
cast in the election it lost.
The measure was submitted at
special election in August, 1913, re-
ceiving 63,330 yes" votes to 3O,294
no votes, Whereupon the same be- 4
came a part of the Constitution of
Oklahoma.
The Supreme Court held that the
section was not self-executing, but re.
quired vitalizing legislation.
Section As, Article of the State I
reads:
THE Legislature SHALL PASS
such laws as are necessary to
make effective the provisions of
this Constitution"
Not only was this plain mandate of
the Constitution ignored by the Leg
islature, but in 1916 the people of the
State were asked to repeal Section
la. 76,099 votes were cast in favor
Of such repeal and 127, votes were
cast against the proposed repeal.
The Legislature still refusing to
obey Section As of Article 5 of the
the measure above
shown was initiated and is now sub
nitted to the people of Oklahoma so
hat by the power of our own franchise
We may enact the legislation necessary
70 make effective the constitutional
provision heretofore ratified.
During the seven years that have
elapsed since Section la became
part of our State Constitution, ap-