Tensas gazette. [volume], May 12, 1922, Image 1

About Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current

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THE TENSAS3 iAZETTE
lensas Gazette Publishinq Company, Ltd. Ofticial Journl of the Parish of iesas. Board of Schoold recrs, fifth Lusla Levee lstrict aid fow of St. Joseph. 2.00 Per .
NEW SERIES-VOL,. XXI ' ST. JOSEPH, LOUISIANA, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1922 NUMBER 83
The New Edison
THE PHONOGRAPH WITH A SOUL!
To Hear It is to Want One
come and Let Us Demonstratellt
elarke & eo.
Vicksbur, Miss.
SWrite for aatalogues
Have Your Old Hat Cleaned!
Y ,1 :.t ii ,,v have your ,1 I hate, either STRAW, FELT,
PAN .4\ , r lK ;',OK,( , clet e I, hl,,ke l anI trimrnrned at the
follIo ing pri:ce-. ,f til or .eell then to us. All work guaranteedl:
dleasnd and blocked ................ $100
New Band ... ..................... ........ OC
New Sweat .. ................ .......... .....SO
N ew Binding .... ............ .... ..........
Dyeing $1.*0
GRADY'S HAT RENOVATING COMPANY
406 Main Street, Natchez, Misl
Screen FLIES BRING DISEASE!
Early!
KEEP THAT FIRST FLY OUT.
The Fly that Flits About the Face,
Laghting on Food, Leaves in His
Wake Possible disease and Death.
You can't Kill every Fly but Yoe
C Scan Keep Every fly Out by Proper
A. creenig. A mild winter and spring
Moan moro Flies.
iL a , The Screen is important. One fly
Lumbr now Means a thousand More later.
Don't Give the Dread Disease hear
er a Chance to Enter your Home.
SWe are Prepared to Supply you
With a variety of Doors, Windows
And Screening Materials at reason
abi prices. Our lare stock gives yOU
a Variety to Select From. Shipments
Natchez are Made Fromptly.
Ask For our Folder describing The
MiIss~iiIppl Line and Price*.
Visit Our Art Department
WHEN IN NATCHEZ
Our Holiday Line ol Gilts Now on Display
DIX ON BROS.
Wall Paper, Paints and Glass
,pp..ep...pe0pes0e-...0...00 ::000 s:4z(eeeso1s::*S*
F'he Roof
Eternal
Heart Cypress Shingles - $6.O50
( :. . I. St. Joseph)
Sap - * - - 4.00
SIF'.o. B. St. Joseph e
F. A. BLANCHE
St. Joseph, Louisiana
Butchart & Phelan
Katchez, Mississippi
Corner Main and Union Streets
...Plumbing, Heating and Sheet Metal Woirkers...
Galvanlzed 6Isterns a Specialty
Arcola HoT WSTFR Heating Plant
.ee TlIs Pleat is Opeetiooa Is Oar Showr Wilelw
ITH OTH[K SIDL Of TIl
AR6UMfN i.
Baton Rouge, May 2, 1922.
Superintendents and School Board
Members.
Gentlemen:
I am sending you herein encloseu
copy of an article on the subject
of taxation written by Mr. J. W.
Bolton, of Alexandria. The article
outlines the tax situation so clearly,
especially as it concerns the public
schools, that I am sure you will find
it of great interest and highly in
structive, ;nd I therefore take great
pleasure in bringing it to your at
tention.
Yours very truly,
T. H. HARRIS,
State Superintendent.
TAX PROBLEM DISCUSSED
Presests Careful Analysis of State,
I Levee, City, Parish, Good Reads
ad Public School Taxes Paid
by Property Owner in
Louisinas.
By Mr. James W. Bolton.
Alexandria, La., March 31,1922.
Mr. Editor:
There has been considerable discus
sion in the newspapers of late on the
subject of the taxes that ar paid by
property-owners in Louislana. I do not
claim to have any solution- for the
problem, nor do I wish you to con
sider me an advocate either of an
increase or of a reduction in our
taxes. My object in asking for a few
moments of your time is to analyse
the taxes we pay in a way tba; I
have not seen any one analyse it yet,
anld I bolieve a careful study of the
analysis which I desire to present may
be worthwhile.
I call your attention to Article No.
10, 6ection No. 1, of our Goastitution,
adopted last .es'r, reao'iag as follows:
"No pruoery .hull be asaesed
for more thieasts actual cash
value, and *U taxpniers shall
have the sight of testing the
correctness of their assseoment
before the courts at the domi
cile of the assessing authority.
The valuation and lamic alonl
fixed for State purposes shall
"be the valuation and classiftica
tion for local purposs- but the
taxing authorities of local
sub-divisions may adopt a dif
ferent percentage of meek lai
ation for purposes of local tax
ation."
I now call your attention to a
portion of Section No. 1, Act No.
109 of- the extra sesson of Louis
iana Legislature bold in 1921:.
"All property subject to tax
ation shall hb amessed for State
purposes, as herein provided, at
actual cash value."
Article No. 10, Section No. 2, of
the Constitution, prede a millage
for State purposes of' % adlls Wpro
vided the Legislature may, by a two
thirds vote, increase the rate to not
exceed 65% mills.
We have a board in our State
known as the Louislana tax commis
sion, consisting at three members,
whose duty is to equalise all assess
ments. If, therefore, all property Is
assessed at Its actual cash tahe for
State purposes, as provided by the
act referred to, no one can have any
just complaint as to his assessment
This leaves us for discumion the
millage that we pay.
I live in the City of Alexandris
I where we pay a total tax et 84%
mills, and which is probably as high
as is paid in any municipality in
the State. Let uq take it as an ox
ample. Similar analysis may be Imad
of any other taxing district in the
State.
We pay: Mills
State tax of-------................
Levee tax of4----.------
City tax of8--------------
Parish tax of -------------
Good roads tax of.---------- %
Public school tax of'--------........ 10
Making a total of..-- -- 84%
What I wish to do is to analyse
this millage.
Of the State tax the act of Legis
lature referred to requires the fol
lowing distribution: Mills
For the payment of the principal
Sand interest of bonds of the
SState of Louiasiana........ 1.1
,or the support of the Publie
School----------------.................. 50
For the Confederate veterans.u .75
For the general engineer's fund,
used for levees---------- .32
For the general fund of the
State----------------...................- .
Making a total of_------- 5.25
Of the 4 mills that are aid to the
levee board I do not have the exat
figures befo:., me s to bow much of
this is requrel for the tiaL hgfoirc
and the intsrsnt upon the bont 1ssucs
of the levee board, hbut I am mte in
saying that at least wm mill le aused
for that purpose and jtm remainder
s uasd for the purpose t lgtlag
high water, repairflg, ~heRtn and
extendIng or levee Sqam -
Of the % mtlls that we to * the
eiy atd Alegenests. 1, alli Y ** th
support of the city government, and
3 i mills is to pay the principal, in
terest and sinking fund on its bond
issues.
The parish tax of 3% 'aills is used
for the support of the parish, which
includes the salaries of the pariash of
ficials, ci iminal expenses, health
ooard expenses, building and main
tenance of bridges and read work in
the parish, and other parish expenses.
We pay 3% mills for the purpose
of paying the principal agd intezest
on our bond issue for good hard
surfaced roads.
Of the' 104 mill] paid for the
public schools, 2% mills is used to
pay tie principal and interest of
bonds issued for the purpose of con
structing school buildings, and 3 mills
for parish-wide maintenance tax, and
5 mills for district maintenance tax.
This makes a total of 34% mills.
Now let us analyse a little further.
We find of our 34% mills, that we
pay 1 15-100 mills for state bonds and
interest; 3 ' mills for city bonds and
interest; 3% mills for good roads
bonds and interest; 2 % mills for pub
lic school bonds and interest; and one
-nill for levee bonds and interest, or
a total of 11.025 mills for bonds
alone.
We find that the State of Louis
aana contribbtes 2% mills to the
maintenance of the public schools,
that there is a 3 mill perish-wide
maintenance tax, and a 5 mill disrict
maintenance tax; making 10% mills
for the maintenance of our public
schools.
We find that % of a all is set
aside to pay the Confederate veterans
the $30 per month peasion allowed
them by law, but this is only to vet
erans whose other income does not
exceed $1,000 per annum, or to their
widows whose other ineeme does not
exceed $1,000 per annum, and whose
marriage to such reteran was et
tracted prior to Decembs t1, 1900.
We find that 81-100 of a mill is
set aside for the geneual engineer's
fund and used for levee work.
We thenm find that the State of
Louisiana has for its support only
68-100 of a mill to be used for the
support of the State government, the
public institutions thereof, and to
preserve public health. Just a litM
more than one-half of a mill of the
enatire State taxes is used for the
support of the State government, the
balanee of it being dedisated to
special purposes as has just been
outlined. To be added to this 65-100
of a mill is the State liceases re
ceived from various ocupatioa.
We find of the total of 84% mills;
11.025 is used to pay for bonds and
the interest on the same; 10.60 mills I
used to maintain the public schools;
and 13.10 mills is used for all other
purposes, being for Confederate
veterans, for the general eagineer's
fund, for the general fund' of the
State, for the levee board, for the
support of the City of Alexandria,
for the support of the Parish of
Rapides, as has just been enumer
ated.
.Now let us look into some of the
principal expenditures in order Ytat
you may understand that our levee
board, city commissioners, polies
jury and school board are not ex
travagant.
The overlead penses of our Levee
Board are $4.00 per day and So mile
age to the three members when at
tending meetings of the Levee Board;
two inspectors at $100.00 per meath,
and one at $75.00 per month, and a
secretary who furmishes an ofle and
whe also draws contracts and ftare
nishes legal advice in minor matters,
at $75.00 per month.
The City of Alexandria finds that
its 6 mills, plus the city license, is
not sufficient for its support, and the
remaining amount necessary is de
rived from the preits of our uunici
pally-owned Electric Light and Water
works plant. The mayor and comuzis
sloners reaive a salary fixed by the
State Legislature. Some of the other
salaries are as follows:
City engineer, $2400 per annum.
City secretary and collector of
taxes and light and water revenue,
$2400.00 per annum.
. Superintendent of waterworks
plant, $2700.00 per annum.
Chig of police, $2400.0o ter an
num.
Patrolmen, $1500.00 per annam.
Chief of fire depdtment, $2100.00
per annunm.
Firemen, $97.00 to 1014.00 per
month.
Engineer at Electric IJght and
Waterworks plant (for 12 hours
watch 7 days in the week,) $185.00
per month. '
First assistant (msme hour of serv
ice) $160.00 per moena.
Two additional asueltrats (ase
hours of service) $105.00 permont.
Other employees of the city are
paid in proportion to service resd
ered, and laborers are paid the cur
rent pries in our city.
The Police Juo7 reeetives for the
support of the paeish 3¼ mills, plus
the perish licenses, whicaaer ma only
collected outside of the incorporated
nileiplpitiesr of the parib, and
which does not amount to nmuck. Te
Poee Jrrs get $5.00 per lay and
Itssns am pd e umns Ueei
The salary of the sheriff, assessor,
clerk of the court and registrar of
voters, and possibly other officials,
is fixed by State ~sw.
The Police Jury I sys its secretary
$175.00 per m ntb, its treasures
$200.00 per mo!lt' and its road su
perintendent '$200.(4) - per mnth.
These are three permanent officers
elected by the Police Jury.
For the supp t of the public
-ehools the School BoarJ- receives
22% mills from the State, 3 millk
from the parish-wide maintenance
tax and here in Alerxandria 5 mill
from the district ta.c The School
Board members are paid for their
services $5.00 per day and 5c miie
age when actually attending meet
ings. The only other overhead ex
penses of the School Board is for its
superintendent, assistant, bookkeeper
and stenographer, all of whom are
necessary and who are paid salaries
paid by other School Boards of ti e
parishes of the State of equal size.
We pay our teachers is accordance
with the schedule adopted by the par
ish superintendents about two years
ago. Our grammar school teachers
begin with an annual salary of $810
00, and the highest salary of $1,810.
00 per annum. The salaries paid to
our high school teachers, range from
$1,100.00 to beginners, up to $1900.
00. We, of course, pae our principal
and our first assistant in our high
school, and the principals in our
grammar schools, a higher salary, and
these are based not only on qualifi
cations, but length of service .Our
grammar school teachers must have
had at least two year's training be
yond a high school course in our State
Normal College, or its equivalent,
and our High School teachers must be
A. B. or B. S. graduates of a stand
ard college, which means a four year's
training beyond the, high school
course. These teachers are required
to spend eight weeks in school every
third or fourth summer. I am re
ferring to the salaries of our white
teachers.
I submit that these expenditures
of our Levee Board, City of Alex
andria, Parish of Rapides and our
School Board are not out of line with
compensation paid to people of equal
ability in other lines of endeavor.
There has been some discussion as
to the sonselidation of boards. Our
Levee Board is composed of three
members one from each of the three
parishes included in our Levee Dis
trict, and our City Commissioners are
elected by the voters in the corporate
limits of our municipality. Our Police
Jury and School Board have entirely
different dtiaes to perform, and are
only, paid by the day when attending
meetings, and it would not be practi
cal to consolidate these two boards.
Assuming that I am correct in my
statement tbat the compensation paid
is not out of line with compensatione
paid to people of equal ability in other
avocations, and if it tkes the various
millages quoted on a 100 per cent as
sessment of the cash value of our
property to pay the expenditures of
these various beards, which I mlnta-n
are not out of line, will you tell 7ie,
please, just what paticular tax rate it
is proposed to reduce?
Have I made myself clear? May I
n•w call your attention to the fact
that our public school teachers are
paid rather meager salaries for serv
ices rendered? Six years age when we
paid grade teachers in our grammar
school $60.00 per month they could
get board in Alexandria at $25.00
per month. They are now paying $40
00 to $46.00 per month for the same
board. I am advised by a leading me
chant that all clothing cots at least
50 per cent more now than it did
six years ago, and other expedsee amrs
in proportion.
High school teachers are scaree and
alaries paid them are somewhat lag
er, and besides they must have two
years' additional training in eollege
beyond that of the grnar school
teachers. I submit, therefore, that
we are not paying any higher eslares
in propltion to living costs to our
teachers than we paid them six years
ago. The salaries are not as much as
are paid to people of equal capaclty
and training is other lines of endeav
er.
I do nat believe that the facts that
I have outlinea in this article can be
succesefully contoverted. take the
present millage on 100 per cent a
se-sment to take care of the expendi
tres of the four boards just men
tioned. Bow are we to reduce the
millaget? It an only be do'ne by re
dling the efficiney that the public i
naow receiving at tle hands of these
boards through the various employes.
Let us analyze again. Do we want a
less effiient system of leveest Do we
want every time the flood comes to
have our property in great danger
merely that we might save one or two
mills on leve beard taxes?
Do we want to do away with our
paid Ire departmet, our struet s
partmen~mt, sand do we want to decrease
the efflelene-of our splendid ee-o
tc light and waterwerks plat, and
do we wish to redue the number of
the poee which is already small con
d~lat a city of our set Surely nao
a* imats to go bh to the -old
days e msddy Ma , no
1) ·~~
inefficient electric light service which
we had a few years ago, volunteer
fire department, and an inadequate
number of police.
Do we want to do away with our
health system paid for by our city
and police jury?
Do we want to get back to the old
days of working the public roads by
syndics, and i..adequate bridges and
other expenditures of the parish, for
it must be borne in mind that we
ca.:nht avoid those expenditures fixed
by the State Legislature, nor can we
avoid the criminal expenditures of
the parish.
Lastly and most important of all do
we want to go back to the old inefi
cient system of public schools that
prevailed in our parish up to eight or
ten years ago? We are now operating
every white school in our parish nine
months in the year, and we are op
erating the negro schools an average
of six months in the year.
I hear someone say that we are de
riving a large sum of money from the
severance tax on oil and gas. This is
true, but our present governor is com
mitted to the expenditure of that
money to build a university worthy of
our great state, and I most heartily
approve of his idea. Someone else says
that we receive a large sum of money
from gasoline and automobile taxes.
This is true, but these funds Lave been
dedicated to the construction and
maintenance of the hard-sarface'
roads in the state, and surely tils is
an ideal method of paying for out
ha d surfaced roads.
It has been proposed by one mem
ber of the Legislature to peas a con
stitutional amendment requiring all
local boards to fx the percentage of
ausemment for taxing purposes at 50
per cent of the cash value of the prop
erty. If this should be done the levee
board could hardly be included, be
cause the people of the lowlands would
hardly stand for a decrease in the'
efficiency of our present levee * ys
tem. So far as that partion of the
taxes amounting to 11.026 mills that
i used for the payment of the bonds,
and interest, as outlined above, we
would simply be compelled to double
all of this except the 1.15 mills that
s used by the state to py tl.e prin
lipal and interest of its bonds, so the
same amount of taxes would Le cel
lected from the taxpayers for the
payment of the bonds. So far as our
city is concerned, unless we could
et increased ras from the electric
light and waterworks plant equal to
the amount that would be lost in taxes
we would impair the effresency of
our municipal government by redue
ing our police force, pail fire depart
ment, street force and 'other em
ployes. If we make up the differenice
between the present taxes and the
proposed amount by increasing the
electric light and waterworks rate,
(Continued on second page)
EDG AR W.
Louisiana Sold
Planta- WandE l
chan
tieBS_ ST. JISEPIh
seo00noeuosese .0: 9 :e ::sggw4es : 4 em 6
SREUITERED
For HEREFORD BULLS
Do away with that '"SCRUB" and re
place lim with a PURE-BRED that
you can be proud of. Special prices to
planters and stockmen of Tensas Paru.
J. B. WALKER
P.e. ei ss5 - ST. 1OSEPH, LA.
.- LE. MORRIS
(uoesbor to L.opokdl EstgU r, Dec.esd)
$ .talisa CASKETS t
Paints, Roofing, Wall Bord
Wi.iw rs n an S uoas
OuiL. 4I are nut teo do
boys wearh g and te aeoad
thLe ad tdume after aghag
You can judge of the style boee
buylag and if durablty fats we
stand .behind the sit to rale
good.
For boys from 8 to 16 years, emr
specidal school suits 28.00 are
a sfe boyy--lur dlfrest oedbis,
12 diferet patter.
For aoys frm 4 to 8 years $1.0S
to $2.00 buys a good suit.
Waner & Seales C.
pii
Str. "Percy Swain"
EOo. PRXCU, Oamus I
JNo. H. 5ANxUINWuPrl, aa
Ncucr and Vcku rPac&
La tiaVskuwg pysaers, wlams.
days ad ulds as ees, or mntuawl
of BRe= Oulau.
Pobis. masn.e Is hmey g
That "IjNWOOD" planlesr "TAY.
LOR," "COMO," "WEST PODT,"
"SHACKBPIJORD" sand "CYPSHU
planttiona, .in Teasi ptri~, I.,L
are posti aganst HUNTING, TBAP.
PING, WOOD CUTTING and OG1
REAL TRESPASSING. VaitmLeso wl
be proseuted.
MARTIN JAOS'o,
Newelta, Ia.
....~ k ,0,,,,