Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-10
FAIR AND PROPER TAXATION

In the year 1877 a constitutional cOnven-
ton was held in Georgia, the last of its kind
up to date. The Civil war had been over a
little more than ten years. The passions of
war had cooled down perceptibly, and the
Reconstruction era had passed along into it's
appointed and dangerous place in history AS
taxation and appropriations always hold the
stage in both state and nation, the chief INFER
est of this 1877 convention centered around
those two great items. 1t necessary to
protect the taxpayers and limit appropria-
tiOns, and the way opened by General
Toombs, the giant mind of that convention, to
do both necessary things. When the conven-
ton closed and was accepted by the voters Of
Georgia, the way was closed, the strong
box of the nation was protected and there
was a limit placed on the authority of the
state to eXtOrt more than 5 mills, and there
are certain things the state may appropriate
money for, and no others. 1--WE have locked
the door and flung the key away" said this
master spirit in Georgia legislation. We had
survived BullOck's time and the ruthlesSneSs
of his administration. Thank God! Up to
a few years ago we lived and prospered un-
der the limitations of the conyenton-1877
constitutional convention-then the dykes
were opened by constitutional amendments
and the flood of enormous extravaganza began
to drown the pleas for economy and honest
treatment of the taxpayers. The story of this
degeneracy is too long to print in my allotted
space in the Country Home column at this
time. 1t begins by trying to sell the W. & A.
r. r. to a terrific combine of railroad opera
tors. The majority report in the middle 80
placed the sale proposition to the front and a
price was fixed at six million dollars Years
before the constitutional convention of 1877
Ex-Governor Joseph e. Brown protested be-
fore an investigating congressional committee
for he the trend of wholesale extrava-
gance-saying it was the "best property Geor-
gia ever owned or ever would own, and Geor-
gia should hold to it."
I say it, with due respect to those who
might have been guled into the belief that
the state should not own the railroad: there
when so much depended upon the integrity
and patriotism of Georgia legislators as when
this valuable asset was so cheaply rated and
when the spectators hearty had their own
way in the state capitol
[ know. The lease act, which finally saved
the states most valuable property from al
most cOnfscation was written in my own home
by a legislator and copied on official paper by
my own fingers, to be presented to the legis-
lature. All these matters are of recorded his
tory [ mean the rescue of the railroad from
the grasp of the spOiler, and l also say, with
due respect to those who favored the sale.
that there wouldn't have been grease spot
left in five years to show where that six mil
lion dollars had been used to the state, what
ever.
With that preamble, I will venture to say
that the era of wild extravaganza set in about
that time. Everything in the state drawing
an appropriation from the treasury began to
wall like the Horse Leech's daughter, crying
| "More," then "More" and forever more. -
The money had to come from somewhere, and
the plptters put their heads together to select