ROAD TAX.
Mr. STEWART'S bill [H. R. 23] to amend Section 27 of an act concerning roads and highways, so as to permit of the working out of road tax in the same manner as the law provided previous to 1881, was read the third time.
Mr. STEWART explained that the bill simply amended Section 27, by providing that both poll and property tax may be paid in work, and that the Supervisor should issue certificates to such persons, which certificates the County Treasurer shall receive in payment of such taxes. He thought this bill should pass and not run the risk of another bill passing which would include the same provision.
Mr. JEWETT thought the passage of this bill might embarrass the passage of regular road laws and he would, therefore, vote against it.
Mr. MOODY said: I am opposed to the present road law, and my people, without any exception, are opposed to the law. During my entire campaign I heard no voice raised in favor of the law, and for this reason I am in favor of any measure that will relieve my people from the effects of the present odious law. I voted two years ago for the present law upon the understanding that the bill was amended just as this bill proposes to amend it. In fact, I refused to vote for the bill two years ago for the reason that the law would not permit persons to work out their road tax upon the highway if they desired to do so. An amendment was then proposed and agreed to, or rather a proviso, which gentlemen will find in Section 27 of the present law, that was intended to apply to Section 10 of the law instead of Section 16, enabling parties to work out their tax instead of paying the money by applying to the Superintendent. The present law is not what we want, and gentlemen say to vote for this amendment will defeat the Senate and House bills prepared on this question with great care, and for that reason we should vote against this bill. If I knew that the Senate or House bill would be passed, then I would not care for this amendment; but how can we defend ourselves before our constituents if we defeat this bill, which, if passed, will cure the most obnoxious feature of the present law, and neither of the other bills is passed? I promised my people all over my County to do all in my power to repeal the dog law, the decedent act, the road law, the oats bill and the proposed prohibitory amendment tot he Constitution, and I have done all in my power to carry out this pledge. I do trust that this bill will pass; and then, if we can pass the House bill, which is claimed to be an improvement on the present law, well and good, and if they fail, we can have the consolation at least, of knowing that when the opportunity presented itself to better the present law we did not fail to embrace it.
Mr. HEFFREN did not think it best to take favorable action on this bill. He favored having the Committee report at once on the road bill passed by the Senate, and take action on that bill without further delay.
Mr. SMITH, of Tippecanoe, was in favor of this amendment, and then he would favor a general road law.
Mr. BEESON thought that, in the interest of the people, this bill should not be voted down. He was in favor of passing the amendment to the present road law.
The bill passed the House by yeas, 69; nays, 26.
Mr. Muck entered a motion to reconsider the vote by which the bill passed.
