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PAGE FOUR uirHLANDS MACONIAN THE FRANKLIN PRESS AND THE HIGHLAN^ THURSDAY by A. B. c mmf CtlAPIN €he ^mnklin and ^Ktxinmn Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press At Franklin, North Carolina Telephone No. 24 VOL. LI Number 41 BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Entered at the Post Office, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter SUBSCRIPTION RATES ~ One Year $1.50 Six Months 75 Eight Months $1.00 Single Copy 05 Obituary notices, cards of thanks,, tributes of respect, by individuals, lodges., churches, organizations or societies, will be regarded as adver tising and inserted at regular classified .advertising rates. Such notices will be marked “adv.” in compliance with the postal regulations. The Forgotten Amendments IV^OST voters seem to have lost sight of the fact that five proposed amendments to the state constitution, all of them of far-reaching importance, are to be submitted to them for acceptance or re jection in the November election. Interest engender ed in state and national political campaigns has overshadowed the proposed amendments and de tracted attention from their consideration, al though four of the amendments carry greater im port to the average resident of the state than the question of whether this or that candidate should be elected to the legislature or to the governor’s chair. Let’s take a look at the proposed constitutional changes as they are outlined on the amendment ballot: 1. “For Amendment to the judicial section of the constitution. 2. “For exemption from taxation of homes to the value of $1,000. 3. “For classification of property. 4. “For increasing limitation of income tax to ten per cent. 5. “For limitation upon the increase of public debt.” The first amendment would permit the addition of two new-^iembers to the state supreme court and is espoused by the State Bar Association, which has pointed out that the present court is overworked and that the addition of two new members would speed up the machinery of justice. There is little or no opposition to this amendment and, if enough voters take the trouble to consider it, there is little doubt that it will be adopted. For some time there has been developing opposi tion to some of the other amendments, especially the one for a $1,000 tax exemption on homes, and it was only recently that organized efforts were launched in behalf of these amendments through the creation, under the guidance of Clarence Poe, editor of The Progressive Farmer, of the State Committee for Tax Reform Amendments. Strong arguments for adoption of the home ex emption amendment were voiced by Mr. Poe in a statement published in the press last Friday: “On none of these amendments does there seem to be any serious misunderstanding, except on that one which would mean most to the little man, name ly, authorizing the Legislature to grant a tax ex emption never to exceed more than $1,000 on the value of a man’s own home. We have some exemp tions on every other form of taxation—personal property, solvent credits, incomes, inheritance, polls. Only on a man’s home does the government tax the uttermost farthing. Those of us advocating this amendment have never for a minute proposed that the full $1,000 exemption be reached at once, x x x Nobody asks that, x x x The advocates of the homestead exemption will be quite content if we can go by stages as county finances will permit— first say $200 or $250, then $500, then $750, etc.” Of course, if the full $1,000 tax exemption were made effective immediately, it would have the ef fect of decreasing'county valuations and increas ing tax rates very measurably. But as Mr. Poe points out, the amendment only authorizes exemp tions. It does not enact them. It remains for the legislature to grant the exemptions when and to what extent they are advisable. The third amendment would permit the classifi cation of property for taxation in such ways as will promote the public welfare. Fine, if it is exercised to this end; but we wonder whether it might not pave the way for classification to the deteriment, rather than to the advantage, of the public welfare. Frankly, we would like enlightenment on this amendment. By classification of intangibles, such as securities, it might make it possible to obtain greater revenue from this source even though at a lower level than upon real property. There are pros and cons to this proposal that deserve mature con sideration. the fourth amendment proposal speaks for itself and not even those who are so fortunate as to be subject to income taxes in the higher brackets have grounds to complain that it is an effort to “soak the rich.”^ The rich know only too well that the state of North Carolina leans over backwards try ing to do the just thing by them. The fifth and final amendment would forbid the state, counties and cities from makmg more than $2 of new debt for each $3 of old debt paid off— unless approved by vote of the people. Without that last pi ovision we would be inclined to voice objec tion, although the intention is the best. We all would like to see diminishing rather than increas ing public debts; but such a limitation might prove an insurmountable obstruction in the path of the state s progress. Suppose we had had such a limita- tion before the twenties? How many hard-surfaced r 1, iT' Carolina? S school build- feS. Would we be called one of the South’s most progressive states? We think not. But that as have a nlh ° shouldn’t they the question of incurring if >" Bruce- Barton CARZY LAWS THEN- AND NOW In the year 1720 the British Par- ament enacted a law providL ^wt any woman who inveigled a man mto marriage by mea^ of -scent, paints,, cosmetic washes arti ficial teeth, fa]s,e hair Sn wool, iro.n stays, high-heele^.r or bolstered hips should incur The penalty prescribed for witc^crS days. Surely Ensri;=i, , ™°se jokd. and d.”a';t'h”S r mim?t ''>eauiy. But wait the wit I 8*and had access to and ™ Shakespeare of Franric! r ’ philosophy the Dopr Locke; iJryden Pepvs^tlfp'f were ' Samuel 0^ of S. Newton, Daniel t S time; Crusoe”- T°^’ “Robinson satS wit and els”- Rirh° “Gulliver’s Trav- Addison, brilliant''''' AleWer-pi P ’ whose Essay on Man” sparkles with epijn rhyme. The people in try could not be wholly!*'^ Occasioiiaily in our lail.j free an old “blue law” is! and enforced; blue lawsfcN hibited nearly every kind oi:g amusement and providei J ment for people who darelil thing on Sunday except; church or sit in solemn ( tion. We wonder at tki of folks who could permit 1) actment of such laws ot-ii their enforcement, yet the st'urd'y forefathers A quered the wilderness mJ: this country on its W)'- THESE ARE HARD, J HARD YEARS j A woman went back toi_ reunion of her college Special efforts had been n promote a large attendanct* a fine lot of middle age some of them grandinotW their first chance for a ti>! they were college prk- through rose-tinted conciuest of the world. i They published a hUle^ which each contributed a-i ography. O.ne woman too'J home and showed it toaj year old daughter who « passed it back to her an exclamation Q.f dis . dull lives your classniJ had,” she said. “Hasnt«M citing happened to them- “Do you think . have had a dull life," asked. iji “Oh, no,” the yo«”S '‘“‘wfha.e h»d» continued. "All that ^ Not much money, we fell in love o*'J* we married; we a of finding a tiny picking out our fun ing it piece by .J a great day when ' together enough o hand car, and thr when you _ and yo« brother arrived. The woman sam things impressed ^ these classmates years. “Most 1"'^* (i,)ii L,d. “xMuch hard thank God! In any college ,|,t ful are fortunate, daily struggle. j spiritual look m j classmates and tm ond impressive gi found something > as girls. Something come only with p (; (Copyright- ' j
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Oct. 8, 1936, edition 1
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