The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-04-22

monthly by the City of Bay st.
Louis through a tax on the OPP
Grafton of slot machines in that
city, Attorney General Greek
l.. Rice says that mo city in
Mississippi has the authority
to legalize gambling and that
is what slot machines are"
Meantime Mrs. Thomas l.. Bal
ley, administrators of the State
of Mississippi's 10 per cent
BLACK market" tax under which
the state levies and collects a
right healthy sum on the sale
Of illegal whiskey. says that her
office is investigating" to find
out If the state can get in on
the slot machine racket along
with Bay st. Louis Gas well as
others who collect unofficial
taxes) in securing q share of the
profits from operation of the
"one-armed bandits.
. . .
Three cities have followed
the states lead in cutting in on
the illegal liquor traffic by levy
ing a 10 per cent "black mar
ket" tax modelled after the state
law. They are Pascagoula,
where the tax went into effect
April /, Natchez and Vicksburg.
In addition TO the liquor tax,
Natchez also collects a tax on
gambling and gamblers, but
does not allow the operation of
slot machines. That, incident
ally, is sort of like straining at
a gnat and swallowing an ele-
phant.
But in any event, General
Rice's words have a curious
ring when stacked alongside the
tax racket that the state has
maintained for more than four
years. The ''black market" tax
was passed at the urging of the
late Governor Bailey who said
at the time that it was designed
to "chase the twin evils of boot
Logging and black marketing
out of Mississippi. Abolish
ment of price controls, of course
knocked the bottom out of black
market operations. However.
under the able administration
of Mrs. Bailey, the state col
lected a million dollars last year
in taxes on illegal liquor sales,
of which Mrs. Bailey took
healthy slice for administering
the office.
Meanwhile. during the more
than four years that the tax
has been in effect, the big
wholesale bootleggers, far from
being CHASED out of the state
have grown fatter and richer
and become even more ardent
champions of Mississippi's dry
laws, and more determined than
ever to keep them in effect.
The retailers have done all
right, too, and unsavory juke
Joints have mushroomed along
the states highways like a can
cerous growth.
In the face of all this, Gen.
eral Rice tells us that a COM
munity cannot legalize gam
bling. We would like to make
it plain that we are opposed to
the operation of the slot ma
chimes and the racketeering
that goes along with their OPP
Grafton. But, as we understand
it, Bay st. Louis didn't legalize
the operation of slot machines
when it placed a tax on them
any more than the state legal
lied the sale of whiskey when
it levied a tax. If the state can
collect a million dollars a year
in tax on a commodity whose
sale is prohibited by state law,
then we fail to see the reason
ing of General Rice when he
says Bay st. Louis can't collect
it on the operation of the "sil-
ent robbers.
It looks like the state wants
the tax racket on illegal opera
tons all to itself. Frankly. we
believe that the black market
tax would be illegal if ever
tested. However to get a test
through, is the problem. The big
wholesalers don't want it, be-
cause they want things like
they are nice and comfort
able and undisturbed with
juicy profits rolling in in a
steady stream. The little fell
low can't afford to force a test
case because, in the first place
il would be too costly, and he'd
rather go on and pay his three
bucks a case tribute to the state,
plus an extra three-bucks in
communities where the local
tax is in effect. HE passes it
on to the consumer, anyway.
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