"I find that in the expense account there is fourteen hundred dollars for postage stamps and there is $916.63 for a man to lick the stamps. Now, I take the ground, Mr. Chairman, that I am in favor of the Executive of this State educating the people on what is necessary and what is pertaining to the State of Michigan, but I do oppose any man holding a position in this State going to Buffalo and reading jokes and insults against the great men of this State that some other man has written for him, and then come home and send them throughout the State.

"I know of a postoffice in the southern part of this State where from ten to fifteen of these speeches are and never have been called for, the men not having received their mail there for the last five years. If the gentleman from the 17th is in accord with this measure, I hope he will not insist on increasing the number of this committee, because we are here. for the purpose of saving just as much as we possibly can for the taxpayers. It is our duty so to do and I believe that when the House placed three men on that committee they placed enough. I do not believe it is necessary to add two more.

"I will say in conclusion that I believe this bill is a vicious bill. I believe it strikes at the public schools of this State, and carries away from the primary school money large sums, and I am in favor of standing up and fighting it on this issue."

The Chairman:

"The question is on the amendment of the gentleman from the 17th.” Mr. Blakeslee:

"I trust this amendment will prevail. This commission will have large properties, consisting of the railroad properties, telegraph properties, telephone properties and express properties of this State, that will come under their consideration-come within the province of their duties as provided by this bill. It does seem to me, Mr. Chairman, that with so much interest at stake we ought to have a board large enough, and composed of men of such executive and business ability that will insure exact justice, not only to the railroad and express and telegraph and telephone companies, but to the other taxpayers of this State. And I shall feel more justified in voting for this bill when I know that five such men would compose its board than I would to leave it to three. I trust this amendment will prevail."

There being no further remarks, a vote was taken and the amendment was declared carried.

Mr. Westcott:

"I want to offer a substitute to section 1 as follows:

Section 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact: That there shall be elected at the general election to be held in November, in the year 1898, three resident electors of this State, who shall constitute a State Board of Assessors. The persons so to be elected shall serve one for the term of two years, one for the term of four years, and the other for the term of six years, from and after the first day of January, 1899, at which time they shall enter upon the duties of their office. At each subsequent general election held in November, one member of said board shall be elected for the term of six years. At the first regular meeting of said board, which meeting shall be held on the first Monday in January, 1899, they shall elect from their number a president of said board, who shall serve in such capacity for the term of two years; and every two years thereafter, at the

first regular meeting of the board, in the month of January, a president shall be elected to serve for the succeeding two years. Vacancies in said board shall be filled by the appointment of the Governor, made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. A majority of said board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business under this act. Mr. Barnard:

"If this amendment passes it will undo what the Senate has just done in the last vote, consequently I hope the amendment will not prevail. It simply returns to a board of three, and the Senate by a vote taken within the past few minutes has increased the board from three to five."

Mr. Mason:

"I wish to send up an amendment to provide that the Board shall consist of five members."

The Chairman:

"Prepare your amendment."

Mr. Youmans:

"I wish to send up an amendment specifying that both of these boards shall be appointed by our Governor, and on the amendment I wish to make some remarks."

Mr. Mason:

"I would suggest this section be informally passed, in order to prepare amendments."

The Chairman:

"If there are no objections this section will be informally passed. The Chair hears no objections. It is so passed.”

The Chairman then read Section 2.

The Chairman:

"Are there any amendments to Section 2." Mr. Loomis:

"I move to amend Section 2 by striking out the sum $1,200 in the first and second lines and inserting the sum of $1,800. I do not care to make any remarks on that, but I would like to test the sense of the Senate in respect to that."

The Chair:

"The gentleman from the 16th moves to strike out from lines one and two $1,200 and make it $1,800. Are there any remarks?”

Mr. Loomis:

"I only desire to say, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, that it seems to me that the duties required of a secretary under this commission, the one appointed if the bill should pass, is of such a character and calls for such a grade of ability that we ought at least to give to such a man a salary such as we would give to a second or third rate bookkeeper in any of our mercantile establishments, and for that reason alone I submit the amendment."

A vote was taken and the amendment was declared carried.

The Chairman:

"Are there any further amendments to Section 2? If not it will be passed. It is passed."

The Chairman then read Section 3. There being no amendments it was passed.

The Secretary then read Sections 4, 5 and 6.

The Chairman:

"Are there any amendments to Sections 4, 5, or 6?"

Mr. Colman:

"I have one here, Mr. Chairman."

By inserting in line 3 of Section 6 after the word “including" the words "liquor taxes or."

Mr. Colman:

"I want to explain. As I understand the provisions of this bill now before us, unless we put such a provision as this in, the liquor taxes of the State must be included with all others. It does not seem to me equitable that those taxes should be used in determining the rate of taxation on this property which is affected by this bill, when those taxes themselves do not cut a figure in the establishing of the other rates for other property through the State on which this rate is primarily based."

The Chairman:

"The question is on the amendment of the gentleman from the 9th. Are there any further remarks? If not, all in favor of the amendment will say aye. The amendment is adopted. Are there any further amendments?"

Mr. Holmes:

"Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment, as follows:

"By striking out of lines 10 and 11 of Section 6 the words an aggregate sum to be determined by adding to the total value of all property assessed under this act."

Mr. Holmes:

"Well, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Senate: In listening to the remarks of the committee, this was the amendment offered in the House. The assessed valuation of the State is eleven hundred million dollars and the assessed valuation or the approximate assessed valuation of the railroads is three hundred million dollars, which would make a total assessed valuation of fourteen hundred million dollars. As I understand this would make the rate which is computed on the amount of taxes to be raised a much less sum than it would be if this was struck out."

The Chairman:

"Are there any further remarks? If there are no more, so many as are in favor of the amendment will say aye. The amendment is carried. Any further amendments to section six? If not it will pass. It is passed." Section 7 was read.

The Chairman:

“Are there any amendments to Section 7?”

Mr. Prescott:

"Mr. Chairman, I offer the following substitute for Section 7:

"Section 7. Said board shall tax the property of the several companies as assessed by it at one and one-half (11%) per cent, upon the valuation of the property of said companies. And the amount of tax to be paid by each of said companies at that rate shall be extended upon said assessment roll opposite the descriptions of their respective properties and the tax so extended shall be paid to the State Treasurer by said companies, respectively, on or before the first Monday in January, following the said levy aforesaid; which tax when so assessed and levied shall be in lieu of all other taxes for State and local purposes, not including special assessments on property particularly benefited, in county, city, village or town

1

ship. The taxes so extended against said companies shall constitute a lien upon all of the property of said companies, real, and personal from the time of extension of said taxes until the demand thereof, which lien may be enforced by the State like other liens in any court of competent jurisdiction."

Mr. Prescott:

"I offer this substitute as I want to settle the question on this subject once and for all, whether that is a specific tax or not, and in that substitute we have one and one-half per cent. The railroads will know then just what to expect. I hope the substitute will be adopted."

Mr. Moore:

"Mr. Chairman, I do not know but what this may be a wise measure, the substitute just offered for this bill on the question of the specific tax, but I come here for the purpose of equalizing the taxes in the State of Michigan if possible. This will not equalize the taxes in Michigan. The taxes of Michigan are only equalized when we find out how much tax we are to raise and then to divide that tax by the value of all the property of the State of Michigan on which we obtain the main percentage of tax to be raised. I am in favor of fair treatment to the railroads as well as to the people of Michigan. It may be that the one and one-half per cent would be too much for the railroads, be more than their share to pay; it may be that it would not be enough, and therefore the people as they are now paying, would be paying too much. There is no question in the minds of the best attorneys that I have consulted as to the legality of this bill. As I understand it the amendment offered by the gentleman from the 28th is for the purpose of setting at rest the question of the constitutionality of this bill. I do not believe there is any question about it. It is entirely competent for the Legislature to delegate to a commission the proper power of determining the percentage by a division as well as determining any other amount by multiplication. And so there can be no question, it seems to me, possible, as to this money raised under these taxes going to the school fund as it goes today. Therefore, because I want to be fair to the railroads as well as to the people, I must oppose any specific percentage for this bill, as I believe it would not be fair, and we would not be reaching or accomplishing the purposes we came here to do."

Mr. Wagar:

"The gentleman who has just had the floor (Mr. Moore) states that there is no question about the constitutionality of this part of the bill. Mr. Chairman, there has been a question in my mind about its being specific from the first time I read the bill. I cannot see where there is anything specific about it, when you depend upon a township officer in every school district in the State of Michigan for the rate of taxation. But, if you fix it specifically there can be no question in anybody's mind about its being specific. If it is not specific I can look down through the future and see that there may be a coming Legislature that will materially affect the school funds of the State of Michigan. But, if we fix this rate as proposed by the amendment that has just been offered, no Legislature has a right to meddle with it, because there is no question of its being specific. And in the interests of the schools of the State of Michigan I wish to support the amendment just offered.

"Should this vast sum that one and one-half per cent would produce, taking the statement of the gentlemen who have looked into the matter

claiming that the value of the railroads of this State is something like three hundred millions of dollars, at one and one-half per cent it will produce the vast sum of four and one-half million dollars. Place that by any means in the general fund of the State of Michigan and you invite an extravagance in this State that the State has never witnessed.

"Place in the general fund a sum sufficient to run the general govern· ment of this State; place it where those who are in authority have not to come to the Legislature to ask for an appropriation, and I say to you, you are inviting the mightiest extravagance that this State has ever experienced or ever had an opportunity to look to. Therefore, I think we avert a great danger there, and if you rob the primary school fund of the State of Michigan where schools now, in many sections of this State, are holding eight months' school, when you come to put a direct tax upon the property of those school districts, I doubt if you find that they would be holding even six and possibly not four months' school. The great percentage of the school children of the State of Michigan are the children of parents who pay no taxes, consequently their parents have nothing to say in reference to the amount of school money to be raised in the districts, placing the poor children of the State of Michigan at the mercy of the taxpayers, they having no voice in the amount to be raised.

"Gentlemen, possibly it is all imaginary, but I want to say to you that I believe there is danger ahead, should this bill prove to be unconstitutional or the courts hold that it was not a specific tax. I simply drop these words of warning to you to look out for the poor children of Michigan. The cheapest way to make them good citizens is to give them an education. Let it be derived from the railroads; I would be glad if we could raise a fund from the tax upon the railroads of Michigan to pay the entire school expense of this State."

The Chairman:

"Are there any further remarks?"

Mr. Hughes:

"I hope this amendment will prevail. Should this be too high and the railroads be paying too much, then a subsequent Legislature or a future Legislature would regulate this and lower it. Now, it looks to me as if this bill was framed especially for the lawyers and I believe as soon as this bill should become a law, as it now is,—all we have to do is to read the constitution-and who can point out the specific amount in this section 7 that the railroads are to be assessed? It is not there. It is to be fixed upon the value of property which varies every year. Is there anything specific about that? I say we will save the State of Michigan a hundred thousand dollars the first year in legal expenses if we pass this as proposed by this amendment.”

Mr. Mudge:

"I oppose this amendment for exactly the same reason that I supported the amendment in the prior section. I oppose it because I am in favor of equal taxation.

"When there was added that clause in the prior section, adding to the assessed value of the property of the State also the value of the railroads, and making that a divisor, I felt that it was wrong from the fact that it did not place them upon an exact equality with other taxable property. And so this proposed amendment defines some, while the aggregate of