The Adair County news. [volume], April 07, 1915, Page 2, Image 2

About The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987

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THE ADAIR COUNTY NEWS
Constitutional
Amendment.
Editor Hews:
In a recent issue of the Louisville
Courier Journal, on the editorial page,
(though it does not purport to be an
editorial) which is not signed by anv
one, there is a full column setting
'forth the woes of au imaginary tax
payer of Kentucky. The' word pict
ure represents a man as having died
owning considerable estate equally di
vided on the one hand; lands, horses,
cattle and other tangible personal
property. On the other hand, stocks,
bonds and other intangible personal
.oroperty. Having two children, one
& son and the other a daughter, they
.are represented as being allowed to
make choice of the kind of pioperty
they will take. The sou is represent
-ed as choosing lands, horses cattle
-and other tangible property, and the
daughter being the wiser of the two
-as having chosen bonds, stocks and
other intangible property. At this
point the daughter drops out of the
allegory, but the son is represented as
being constantly pursued, harrassed
-and oppressed with burdensome taxes,
until in dispair and anguish, he pro
claims that "He will vote for the tax
.amendment. " The inference evident
ly intended to be drawn from this ar
ticle is that the sister was all -right,
. and was not being taxed because there
was no law to tax her, or that she was
in some way able to escape taxation,
xmd the brother by reason of the in
equality of the present laws on the
subject of taxation is being greatly
oppressed, and he would vote for the
tax amendment. But why does not
the gentlemen that produces this
.horrible picture pursue the subject to
the point of telling the public what
tax amendment he refers to, and fur
ther explain how and why the amend
ment referred to will relieve the poor,
unfortunate brother? This article
would not have been written or pub
lished except that it might be read
and considered by the people. Why
3top by picturing the unfortunate
.man's woes, and ending with sub
lime climax that he "'Would vote for
che tax amendment." This unfort
unate man needs light on the subject,
.for he must be in dire distress. He is
.entitled to know and should know
what the amendment is, that is to re
. lieve him from his great burdens. If
-it is a Constitutional amendment that
is being proposed, why does the writer
not say so? Let the poor fellow look
anto the present provisions on that
subject and iee what they are. Why
.lotgive the text of the proposed
.amendment, and let the poor tax pay-
er decide for himself what he thinks
of it? It would not have taken over
one-eighth of the column occupied by
this article to have inserted the vital
part of the tax amendment that the
writer evidently desires the tax payer
to vote for. Fact is that this article
is evidently the forerunner of a earn
.paign in favor of a constitutional
. amendment proposed, in which as
heretofore, the real purpose of the
amendment and the amendment itself
. is to be carefully with held from the
people and a lot of slush from time to
time to be published in all the papers
that will receive it for love or money,
trusting that as taxes are high the
people will be willing to vote for any
thing that promises a change The
promoters of this tax amendment
scheme well know that if the people
are led to know what the proposed
amendment is, and the purpose of its
promoters that it would be voted
down by a iarge majority.
There are many sections in both the
.present constitution and the proposed
.amendment, but flhere are only two in
.the present constitution that contain
the vital principles of taxation and
one in the proposed amentment.
Our preseut constitution after pro
viding that certain household guods,
church property, charitable and ed
ucational institutions, and crops
.grown in the year of assessment shall
ie exempt from taxation, has the fol
lowing sections.
"172 All property not exempt from
taxation by this constitution shall be
assessed for taxation at its fair cash
value, estimated at the price it would
j bring at a fair, voluntary sale"
Section 71. "Taxes shall be levied
and collected for public purposes only.
They shall be uniform upon all prop-
- erty subject to taxation within the
territorial limits of the authority
levying the tax, and a:l taxes shall be
levied and collected by geurrai laws."
Now under these provisions should
Vfhe Proposed
the Legislature undertake to pass ;uiyiVey in 1912, included the counties of
. law that would place a tax upon
t property of any kind no matter by
whom owned, that was not based on
its fair casn value, or that made a
property, or if any county or town
should try to do the same it would be
contrary to the constitution and void,
so that unless the conscitution is vi
olated there can be no legal inequality
in taxation, so that if under the
present constitution any person es
capes his just aud equal proportion of
taxation, it is not on account of any
fault of the constitution, but because
he is a violator of the law just like the
fellow that violates any other law.
What honest objection can there be to
every man or woman, rich or poor,
bearing their just proportion of the
taxes; be they high or low, for State,
county or town purposes.-' In other
words what objection can there be
honestly urged to equality among all
t he people on the question of bearing
the burdens of our public dffaits be
they great or small?
JSbw let us consider the vital points
in the proposed amendment. Here it
is "The General Assembly shall
have power to divide property into
classes, and determine what class or
classes of pioperty shall be subject to
local taxation. Bonds of the State
and of counties, municipalities, tax
ing and school districts shall not be
subject to taxation."
Why classify property, and why,
should the Legislature be permitted
to say that one slass should be subject
to local taxation and another not, un
less there is to be some inequality?
If some class of property should be ex
empted fronf local taxation, what class
of property is to be exempted and
why should one class be exempted in
prefer to arrother? All taxes are
local except State taxes County tax
es, town taxes, school, county and
district taxes are all local. When the
local taxes are added tip, they are al
ways much more than the State taxes.
Yet these taxes have to be paid.
Who is going to pay them, and whose
property or what class of property is
going to be exempt from their pay
ment under the proposed amendment.
If any is exempted, which is the ev
ident intention of the promoters of
this amendmeut, then the burden will
necessarily be increased on those who
are not exempted, for the expenses
must be paid in some way. and by
some body. Xow my idea is that this
i is a question in wnicn an t'ie people in
the State are vitally interested. It is
a public xuestion and a very import
ant one. Any man that thinks this
amendment should be adopted, should
urge its adoption either through the
papers or by speeches, but he should
deal fairly with the people, and in
stead of contenting himself with prat
ing about the present burdens of tax
ation tell the people how they are to
be relieved If by a constitutional
amendment show up the amendment
and explain wherein the relief is to
come about by its adoption. If by
classification of property for taxation,
let him give his idea as to how it
should beclassied, and why, and what
property should be subject to local tax
ation, and what property is to be ex
empt from local taxes and why, and
what he proposes to do with the prop
erty that is not to be subject to local
taxation. Come out in the open, take
hold of and discuss the proposition as
it is. and not try to represent it in al
legories; as is done in the article first
herein referrtd to
J. F. Montgomery.
HEALTH OFFICER'S COLUMN.
BY U. L TAYLOK.
My subject for this week is Tracho
ma, granulates eye lids, or old fashion
edsore eyes. The mountain counties
of Kentucky are infected by a disease
known as trachoma, and quite a num
ber of cases were on exhibition at the
Health Olllcer's School lastSeptember
at Pineville, JCy. Many cases had
beeu brought, there for the purpose of
showing the visiting doctors that the
mountain counties have other troubles
beside the hook worm disease. It is
a disease which was somewhat com
mon in Adair county about the mid
dle of the 19th century, when I began
the pracoice of medicine Among the
cases which I saw at Pineville, were
some totally blind, some blind in one
eye, and then all grades from the very
slightest, to the most severe. There
have been many commissions from the
United States hospital . service at
Washington D. C , for the purpose of
seeing to what alarming extent the
people of Kentucky were afflicted with
this severe maladv. The orielnal sun
Knott, Leslie, Perry, Breathitt, Lee,
Owsley ana uiaru, an 01 which are
mountain counties with the exception
of Clark, which is in the blue grass re
gion, although bordering on the moun
tains. In these seven counties 3,974
were then examined and five hundred
of them or 12 per cent., were found to
be suffering from trachoma. I sup
pose that many of the Adair county
teachers take and read the Adair
County Kews and I hope to induce all
of them to do so, because it is for
their benefit largely that these letters
are being written. The last investi
gation has included 23 counties, all
but three of which are in the moun
tain or Eastern part of the State. A
detailed survey was made in all these
sections, each one being visited for
the purpose of locating the most heav
ily infected portions. While the dis
ease has been found widely scattered,
it is not evenly distributed, but exists
in nests so to speak, and some sections
are comparatively free from it. A to-
tal of 18,016 persons were examined,
and 1,280 or practically 7 per cent.,
were tound to be suffering from tra-
coma. Of these examined, 16,G9G were
school children, and 1,324 were persons
examined outside of the schools On
ly a small number of negroes were ex
amined, since there are very few in
the mountains The census of 1910
gives only 13,000 blacks in a popula
tion of 561 8G1 in the 35 mountain
counties. We found very few blacks
infected, and like hook worm, the
blacks seem to be practically immune
from it. The type of the disease in
this section is very severe and its mu
tilating effects are. seen everywhere
In order to fully appreciate the suffer
ing among the victims of this disease,
one would have to actually see these
cases in Kentucky. The disease un
treated remains more or less through
out the lifetime of the individual, a
constant bodily discomfort to himself,
damages his eyesight, and constitutes
him a meuace to his neighbor. Tra
choma is a .very contagious disease,
and it used to be generally believed
that it could be transmitted by sim
ply looking atone wich sore eyes, but
I think this is a mistake. It can be
caught however, by using the same
washpan, the same towel, and the
same dishes at the same table, and us
ing the same dipper for drinking pur
poses It can be contracted in many
ways, and the wonder to me is, that in
these mountain counties all are per
mitted to attend school together.
The census of 1910 shows that the pop
ulation of these 20 counties is 300,000,
and the general average of tracoma
found among the people examined was
8 per cent. If the same rate of prev
alence would exist among the rest of
the population there would be 24,000
cases of the disease iu 20 of the 33
mountain counties. Estimating that
the other 15 counties have 250,000 pop
ulation and the same amount of in
spection, this would add 15,000 more
trachoma cases, making a total of 33,
OOOof this communicable disease in the
mountain section alone. Teachoma
is also ..jported in the Western por
tion 0! he State, particularly in the
counties of Muhlenburg Butler and
Andet on. An investigation made by
the sei vice in the winter of 1913-14, of
the school children of Jefferson county
showed that S05 had trachoma, and it
would not be surprising therefore, to
find upon investigation, that the dis
ease was present in practically every
part of the State. In the hook worm
campaign, conducted by Dr. Lock in
Adair county, he found one case of
trachoma, but it was so mild that it
would, and did escape my notice. But
the foregoing facts show a fearful con
dition of affairs in our State. A fear
fully contagious disease, iunning riot
among our people, causing blindness
and defective vision among tens of
thousands of our citizens, with prac
tically nothing being done to relieve
the situation. When I start out to
visit the schools this coming summer,
I shall make it a point to exp.mipethe
eyes of every pupil present. Of course
the time allotted to me in' my visits
would preclude the idea of making a
critical examination, but I will be
able to tell if the disease exists fo any
great extent,. and I shall remove from
the school every suspicious case, and
turn them over to their regular fam
ly physician.
Tolft Thai There Was No Cure for
Him.
"After suffering for over twenty
years with indigestion and having
some of the best doctors here tell me
there was no cure for me, I think it
only right to tell you for the sake of
other sufferers as well as your own
satisfaction that a 25 cent bottle of
Chamberlain's Tablets not only re
lieved me but cured me within two
months although I am a man of 65
yeais," writes Jul. Grobien, Houston,
Texas. For sale by Paull Drug Co.
Ad
The Perfect Laxative
For Elderly People
Age has Its attractions no less than
youth in a more serene and quieter life.
Hut it is this very life of rest without
Mifllcient exercise that brings with it
hose disorders that arise from in
activity. Chief of these are a chronic,
persistent constipation.
Most elderly people are troubled in
this way, with accompanying symptoms
of belching, drowsiness after eating,
headaches and general lassitude. Fre
quently there is difficulty of digesting
een light food. Much mental trouble
ens-ies, as it is hard to find a suitable
remedy. First of all the advice may be
pien that. elderly people should'not use
st.lts, cathartic pills or powders, waters
or any of the more violent purgatives.
What they need, women as well as men.
Is a mild laxative tonic, one that is
pleasant to take and yet acts without
griping.
The remedy that fills all these re
quirements, and has in addition tosic
Pellvton.
Mr. B. F. Rubarts and family
left for Knox Indiana last Mon
day. Mr. Ben Allen, of Casey coun
ty, was in this locality Thursday
and Friday buying cattle ancH
sheep.
Mr. Jarces Taylor, of this place
made a business trip to West Va.
Rev. J. N. Johnson, of West
Virginia, has lately moved to
this place.
Mr. Joe Rubarts, of Phil Cas
ey county, has moved near this
place.
Mr. 0. P. Lemmon, of Camp
bellsville, is over here preparing
to erect his new residence.
Rev. C. C. Baker, of Dunn
ville, preached here last Sunday
and Sunday night.
Mr. John Brcckman and wife
were visiting Mrs. Brockman.s
grandmother, near Jones Chapel.
Mrs. Page, of Romine Taylor
countv, is visiting her daughter,
Mrs. Joe Coffey.
Mr. J. L. Campbell and wife,
of Dunnville, visited near this
place Sunday and Sunday night.
Casey CreeK.
The roads are in bad condition
at this writing from recent rains.
Mr. Albert Bright, of Mans
ville Taylor county, has moved
into our village and started a
hotel and fed stable.
Mr. G. L. Wolford returned
from Martinsville Ind.. last Tues
day, where he had been to be
treated for Rheumatism.
Mr. J. Q. Alexander, travel
ing 'for the Carter Dry Goods
Co., called on our merchants the
last of the week.
Mrs. D. C. Collins i3 on the
. sick list this week.
Mrs. E. E. Goode, who has
been confined to her bed, is no
bdtter.
Mr. A. F. Scott will leave for
Indiana in a few days to visit
his parents.
The church at this place has
employed Bro. Bill May, of Dan
ville, as pastor for the rest of
the year.
A Sunday School Teachers
training class has been organized
here .with '24 members.
if Yen Arc Losing Weighs
and your serves are in bad condit-jn.
we rc2oaid
?it9eM
Olive O:'?
Emulsion
containing Hypophosphitc
a food and nerve tonic prescription.
Paull Drug C.
properties that strengthen the stomach,
liver and bowels, is Dr. Caldwell's Syrup
Pepsin, which thousands of elderly peo
ple use, to the exclusion of all other
emedies. Trustworthy people like A. B.
Tigrett, Oaklawn Farm, Isewbern. Tenn.,
and Mrs. Lizzie S. Brooks. Paris. Ky.,
say they take it at regular inter
vals and in that way not only main
tain general good health, but that they
have not in years felt as good as they
do now. You will do well to always
have a bottle of it in the house. It is
good for all the family.
Anyone wishing to make a trial of this
remedy before buying it in the regular
way of a druggist at fifty cents or one
dollar a large bottle (family size) can
have a sample bottle sent to the home
free of charge by simply addressing Dr.
W. B. Caldwell, 405 "Washington St.,
Monticello, 111. Tour name and address
on a postal card will do.
WELL DRILLER
I will drill wells in Adair and
adjoining counties. See jne be
fore contracting. Latest im
proved machinery of all kinds.
Pump Repairing Done, Give
me a Call.
J. C YATES
A Splendid
Clubbing Bargain
We Offer
he Adair Counly News
and
The Cincinnati
wppkiv r.namrer a
, t ii
Both One
Year
For Only
$1.35
Subscription may be
new or renewal
What the Weekiy Enquirer is
It is issued every Thursday, subscrip
tion price 51.00 per year, an d it is one of
the best home metropolitan weeklie of to
day. It has all the facilities of the great
DAILY ENQUIRER for obtatninc the
world's events, and for that reason can
giue you all the leading news. It carries
a carries a great omount of valuable farm
matter, crisp editorirls and reliable up-to-date
market reports. Its numerous de
partments make it a necessity 'to every
ome. farm or business man.
This crand offer is limited and we advise
you to take advantage by subcrib'ne for
the above combination Irish t now. Call
or mail orders to
The AdaipCounty News,
Columbian Ky.
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