USA > Nebraska > The history and government of Nebraska > Part 7
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The State.
connected with the revenue system.1 On account of the importance of the railroads in commerce, the board of transportation 2 may be named along with those already given. Also may be mentioned the board of school lands and buildings,3 the board of health,4 and the state printing board.5
Each of the district judges is allotted to a dis- trict, as in the case of the members of the legisla- THE JU- ture. Nearly every one of these divisions DICIARY. have several counties, and its judge holds court at stated times in every county compre- DIS- hended within its limits. The grouping TRICTS.of counties for this purpose is temporary, but the last apportionment (1891) is given in Map VI., p. 106, to illustrate all such arrangements.
The subject of the courts and what they do is a large one. It is short to say that the judges in- terpret the laws which the legislature makes, but there is not space enough in this book to mention
CHAR- the subjects of discussion connected with ACTER. the department. It is important to know that this is the most reliable and permanent part of the state organism. It changes least and is made up of the most able men.
SUGGESTIVE TOPICS AND QUESTIONS.
1. Why are bills relating to finance allowed to originate only in the house of representatives ?
I Below, p. 109.
2 See p. 102, note 2.
3 Constitution, Art. V., § 1.
4 Governor, Attorney General, and Supt. of Pub. Inst.
5 Auditor, Treasurer, Sec. of State.
.
15
9
11
6
13
12
5
5
JUDICIAL DISTRICTS. LAW OF 1891.
14:
10
7
1
.
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The State.
2. How do senatorial and representative districts com- pare in size ?
3. Are bills of rights needed now in state constitutions ?
4. What benefits arise from a separation of the functions of government into three departments ?
5. Give instances where one department has powers be- longing to another. See constitution, Art. III., § 14; Art. V., § 15.
6. What is a seal of state for ?
7. Has there been any gerrymandering in Nebraska ?
8. Is the tendency now to enlarge or to decrease the num- ber of officers in the State?
9. Is the tendency to collect the powers into the hands of fewer officers, or to separate and specialize the duties ?
10. May a district judge hold court out of hisown district ?
II .- TAXATION.
In the administration of government there re- main three subjects of great interest. The one of these that most closely concerns the citizens of the state, is taxation. In the mind of the ordi- nary citizen the process by which he is taxed is vague and far away, except the terrible reality of taxes. The system in Nebraska, at least, is not complicated, and may be easily understood by giving the subject a little attention. The main idea involved is a simple problem in percentage. The people of the State have property, a certain
TAX IS fractional part of which may be taken each
ALER-
CEN - year to defray the expenses of government.
TAGE. Certain officers of each State, county and lower division estimate the amount that will ' be needed for the next year. The problem is sim- ply this: Given the amount from which to raise the tax and the amount of tax needed; to find the rate. Divide the percentage by the base, and the result is the rate of taxation for the next year.
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
The manner of finding each item, however, may not be clear. What kinds of property may be taxed, and how does the State know the amount of
TAXA-
it? In regard to the first question, the
BLE laws of the State name four kinds. First,
PROP-
ERTY. all real and personal property; second, all moneys, credits, bonds, or stocks, and other in- vestments, the shares of stock of companies and associations and all other personal property, in- cluding property on the way to or from this State, if the owner lives in Nebraska; third, the shares of bank stock, if the banks are doing business in this State; fourth, the capital stock of companies organized under the laws of Nebraska. The proc- VALUA- ess of valuation begins with the assessor
TION. of each precinct or township. The first step is the annual meeting of the assessors of the county at the office of the county clerk, on the ASSES- third Tuesday of March. The purpose
SOR. is to fix the value of the various kinds of property to be assessed. The blanks which the assessor of a precinct or township uses are provided by the auditor of public accounts. They pass through the hands of the county clerk, who fills in the lists of lands and lots to be as- sessed. The assessor visits every part of his dis- trict between April 1st and June 1st, and values BOARDS all taxable property of each person. The OF EQUAL- books are returned to the county clerk, IZA-
TION. and in the early part of June the county
board hold a meeting, at which they review
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The State.
the work of the assessors. The board is said to sit as a board of equalization at this time, because it equalizes the values in the several dis- tricts. In metropolitan cities and cities of the first class, the council sits as a board of equaliza- tion. Those who think their lands valued too high may complain to the county board, or city council, while it is sitting as such a board. In this manner the valuation of the property in a county is corrected, and justice is done to all, as nearly as possible. These boards fix the rates for the county and for the city.
Not only is this equalization made in each county, but the governor, auditor and treasurer
STATE form a board to adjust the values in the
OF
BOARD State as a whole. They examine the var-
EQUAL- IZA- ious county assessments, and if it appears TION. to them that the valuation has not been made with reasonable uniformity in different counties, they adjust matters by varying the rate of taxation, instead of changing the values of property. This state board of equalization, hav- ing before it the valuation of taxable property in the state, proceeds to find the rate for the several STATE amounts to be raised. There is the gen_ FUNDS. eral State tax, the sinking fund tax, and the school tax. Each of these or any other spe- cial fund to be raised, is divided by the whole valuation to find the rate. After the state and county boards have made all adjustments and the rate has been fixed, each county clerk makes out
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
another list of the amounts due from every piece of taxable property, and delivers the list to the county treasurer, formally commanding him to
COLLEC-
TION OF collect them. The law provides, however, TAXES. that "no demand for taxes shall be nec- essary, but it shall be the duty of every person subject to taxation under the laws of the State to attend at the treasurer's office at the county seat and pay his taxes." In cities, the municipal taxes are paid into the city treasury. State All the funds are paid into the county treasury. county and state taxes are added and the CONSOL-
IDATED result is called the "consolidated tax." TAX.
It even contains local levies for school pur-
poses. Thus all the money for taxes, except in cities, comes into the county treasury, from which it is sent either to the state treasury or to the dis- trict for which it was collected.1
1 Example of taxes in Nebraska for one year. A resident of Bennet had state, county, and village assessments. The city levy was paid by residents of Lincoln, besides county and state taxes.
STATE LEVY. Mills.
General Fund 5.00
Sinking Fund. 0.125
School Fund. 0.5
University Fund .0.375
Inst. Feeble-Minded Fund. .0.125
State Relief Fund 0.125
6.25
COUNTY LEVY.
General Fund. 7.2
Road Fund .. .2.3
Bridge Fund 2.8
Sinking Fund 4.2
Insane Fund 0,9
Soldiers' Relief Fund 0.3
17.7
a
VILLAGE LEVY. Mills.
Bennet. 10,
Firth 10.
Hickman 5.
Roca.
10.
University Place. 10.
West Lincoln 10.
Waverly
18.
Bethany Heights. 10.
Capital and Midand Prec 10.
CITY LEVY.
Interest and Coupon. 5.
Water 1.
Police .. 0.3
Library 0.75
School. 5.
Fire.
0.4
General 10.
Sewer 2.
Water-Emergency. 4.3
Judgment.
1.5
Road
7.
Storm Water Sew'r J'dgm'nt. 5.25
Sinking Fund, Road Purposes 2.5
45.
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The State.
Besides these general taxes, there are other special assessments. Every male inhabitant of each road district between twenty-one and fifty years of age, is subject to pay a labor tax
SPE- CIAL of three dollars, which may be paid in cash TAXES. or by work. It is called more commonly a poll tax. A village or city tax of the same kind takes the place of this road tax. In cities, espe- cially, the number of different taxes multiply rap- idly. Inhabitants of particular districts may be assessed for building and repairing sidewalks, for sanitary purposes, or for sprinkling the streets. LI- Other charges are made under the name CENSES.of licenses. These are usually levied to regulate some class of business, such as the sale of liquors. They are imposed not to raise money, pri- marily, but to regulate the sale of intoxicating drinks. So with the dog tax in cities. It is not to raise money, but to make owners responsible for the damage dogs may do. A tax upon peddlers ap- pears to be levied, not so much for regulating the business, or for raising money, as to insure the fact that the peddler shall pay a tax somewhere in the State. All people who enjoy any of the pro- tection and benefits of the State government, should aid in defraying its expenses.
There is always an effort on the part of the per- son whose property is being assessed, to have the value of his property placed as low as possible. The assessors, in turn, have generally estimated the value very low, and the result is that value of
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
taxable property in the State has been much less than it should, and the rate of taxation much higher. Nothing at all is gained by such low estimates, and a great deal is lost, for capital is prevented from coming into the State on account of the high rate.
SUGGESTIVE TOPICS AND QUESTIONS.
1. What advantages or disadvantages in a low valua- tion ?
2. Is there any moral question involved in using saloon money for school purposes ?
3. What power regarding revenue did the Continental Congress have ? What result?
4. Problem: Valuation of property in a school district $18,000.00: money to be raised for a school building $540.00. Find the rate of the levy.
III .- ELECTIONS.1
The American people pride themselves upon the right to vote, for it is the power by which they govern themselves. The system by which
the voters, or electors, of the State exercise ELECT-
ORS. this right in choosing their officers should be thoroughly understood by every citizen. The first inquiry is, "Who are these electors?" as they are called in the statutes. The constitution fully answers this, and students may refer to that document.2 The legislature has completed the first paragraph of Section 1, Article VII., by mak- ing it read, "in the county forty days, and in the precinct, township, or ward, ten days."3 There is no separate residence qualification for cities, ex-
1 Consol. Statutes, 1891, §§ 1582-1778.
2 Article VII.
3 Consol. Statutes, 1891, § 1584.
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The State.
cept for those of the first class, having more than 25,000 inhabitants. Here a voter must have re- sided three months. A clause of the Federal con- stitution provides that all persons born
CITI- ZENS. and naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they re- side. The constitution of Nebraska provides that persons of a foreign birth who, thirty days before an election, shall have declared their intention to become citizens, may be voters. This
ALIENS.
means that they shall have taken the first step in naturalization thirty days beforehand. The first step of a foreigner in acquiring citizen- ship is an application, in which he not only af- firms that he wishes to become a citizen of the United States, but that he renounces all allegiance to the government to which he previously be- longed. Criminals, persons of unsound mind, and those belonging to the army and navy of
THOSE NOT the United States are not entitled to vote.
VOTERS
The reasons are evident, at least in the case of the first two classes. It is clear, too, in regard to those in the employ of the United States, that if they could vote in any state where they happened to be, there would be a strong tempta- tion for the authorities to place the soldiers where their votes would be most needed. Minors, or those under twenty-one years of age, are not per- mitted to vote, for reasons unnecessary to give.
8
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
Except in school matters, women, in Nebraska, have not yet obtained the franchise.
The next question that presents itself to the mind of the student is, "For whom do electors vote ?" May a voter cast his ballot for any one to
CANDI- fill a certain position ? Nothing prevents DATES. him from so doing, but a regular process is prescribed in order that voting may be more orderly. Nominations for office are made (1) by convention or primary meeting, and (2) sometimes TWO by petition. The latter is a statement, or WAYS TO NOM-certificate of nomination, signed by voters. INATE. Five hundred are required if the office con- cerns all the voters of the State. For a county or smaller district, only fifty are required. A conven- tion or primary meeting is any "organized assem- blage of voters or delegates" that represents some political party. The system of party nominations varies somewhat according to the needs of the party, but the general plan is as follows: Each particular district has a central committee. Chief in the State is the state central committee. When there is need for a state convention, this body is- sues a call to similar organizations in the counties. Each of these in turn brings together the com- mittee of every ward. Arrangements are then
1
WARD
made for a ward caucus of the party voters,
CAUCUS.which nominates delegates for a county convention, to be voted for at the party primaries. These are elections in which, according to law, only the members of the party may vote whose
-
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The State.
delegates are to be chosen. County conventions,
PARTY thus formed from elected delegates, PRIMA-
RIES. place men in nomination for county offices, or, in other words, make out the ticket for
the county. At the same time delegates
THE
TICKET. are elected to go to the state convention. Such a body, representing the party of the State, sends men to the national party convention. The business of the inter-state body is to choose presidential candidates for the party, and to
make a party platform. There are also
VAR- IOUS conventions in the several representative,
CON-
VEN-
senatorial, judicial, and congressional dis-
TIONS,
tricts, consisting of delegates elected at the county meeting. Altogether; the system is by no means simple, and the parties do not always go through the formalities.
'The questions that now remain to be answered are mainly concerned with the conduct of voters and the system of recording the election returns. In cities of more than 2,500 inhabitants REGIS- TRA- there is a registration law in force, requir-
TION.
ing voters to register on certain days be- fore election. Three supervisors of registration are appointed by the council for each election dis- trict in a city.1 On one of the registration days2
1 Qualifications of supervisors are stated somewhat minutely in the law. The three must be of at least two political parties ; citizens of good character and voters of the precinct in which they serve; able to read, write, and speak the English language intelligently ; and not candidates for any office concerned in the election in which they are supervisors.
2" Tuesday four weeks, the Wednesday of the third r. Lux, the Thurs- day of the second week, and the Friday and Saturday of the first week preceding the day of the November election of each year."
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
a voter should have his name, place of residence, date and place of birth, citizenship, etc., recorded. Otherwise, on election day he must get a certificate of citizenship from the city clerk and have it signed by two freeholders of the district in which he lives. Except in cities, registration is not necessary.
Up to a recent date voting has been open to such endless frauds that even with great care an
OLD honest election was not often secured.
ELEC-
TION Scenes at elections under the old law are LAW. still fresh in the minds of Nebraskans: challengers at the window on either side of a long line of voters, each awaiting his turn to cast a bal- lot ; ticket peddlers by the score ; electioneering on every hand, and withal an atmosphere suggesting the opposite of order, square dealing, and good citizenship. Election carousals are a thing of the past. By the new ballot law of 1891, a marvelous change has come over the character of election day. Now electioneering must not be car- AUS- TRA- ried on within one hundred feet of the LIAN
BALLOT election place. Saloons are closed. The LAW. ballot box is removed from the window to a room fitted out with compartments, stalls or booths. Each of these is supplied with desk, pens, and ink, and so arranged that the voter may not be watched as he marks his ballot. A rail encloses the writing compartments, so that no one outside of it can come within twelve feet of them.1 The
1 Six feet in country districts on account of small rooms.
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The State.
number of voters in each election district is re- stricted to three hundred, and one booth is re- quired for every fifty.
In each precinct three judges and two clerks of election are chosen, and in cities where regis- tration is required, two additional judges. The judges designate two of their number to hand ballots to the voters. Every ballot must be signed by two judges before it is handed out. Two kinds of ballots are required to be printed. Sample
KINDS ballots are made and given out six days be-
OF BAL- fore election, so that any one may see that LOTS.
they are correct. They must be on green or red paper, not on white. Official ballots, on the other hand, are only on white paper, and no one but the county clerk may print them. They must be ready in his office at least four days be- fore election. The number of ballots that are sent to each voting place is recorded, and when the ballots are returned after election, there must be the same number. A voter has no ballot be- fore he is given one by a judge, and under no circumstances is he permitted to take one from the room. Upon receiving it he goes to one
MARK- of the unoccupied booths and there marks ING A BAL- an X opposite the name of candidates
LOT. for whom he wishes to vote. If a ballot is spoiled he may have as many as four, but each must be returned to the judges before another is received. The names of candidates are arranged al- phabetically under each office, like the following:
.
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
FOR COUNTY TREASURER.
VOTE FOR ONE.
(Mr. A.)
Independent
(Mr. B.)
Prohibition 1
(Mr. C.)
Democrat |
(Mr. D.)
Republican
+ +
FOR SHERIFF.
VOTE FOR ONE.
(Mr. A.)
Prohibition
(Mr. B.)
Republican
(Mr. C.)
Democrat
(Mr. D.)
Independent
-
When the voter has completed the marking, he must fold the ballot so that nothing shall appear on the outside except the signature of the judges.
Every precaution is thus taken to secure se- crecy in voting. After the polls are closed the first thing the judges are required to do is to compare the poll books and correct mistakes until COUNT- the books agree. Then the ballot boxes ING are opened and the ballots counted with- THE
VOTES. out being unfolded. In case the number of ballots exceeds the number of persons voting, the ballots are put back into the box, shaken up, and enough drawn out to make the number of voters and ballots the same. The canvass must be public. The several kinds of ballots are made into separate packages and sealed, each being marked "ballots cast," "ballots rejected," or "spoiled and unused ballots." And all are sent to the county clerk, who makes within six days an abstract or complete statement of the vote
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The State.
from all the precincts. The votes for most of the state officers1 are canvassed by the legislature, but those cast for presidential electors are counted by a state board of canvassers,2 consisting of gover- nor, secretary, auditor, treasurer, and attorney general. In case of a tie in the number of votes for an officer of a county or some smaller district, the two parties involved decide the matter by drawing lots at the county court house.
SUGGESTIVE TOPICS AND QUESTIONS.
1. Derivation and meaning of alien, franchise, caucus, precinct, canvass.
2. Origin of Australian Ballot system: Review of Re- views, III., 609, July, 1891.
3. Should the right to vote be restricted by requiring an educational test?
4. Is there any property qualification for voters in the United States?
5. What is residence? If one's business is in a different precinct or ward from his family, where does he vote? May a state or county officer vote where he resides temporarily two years on account of his office ?
IV .- EDUCATION.
Mention has been made of the land set apart by the organic law for the maintenance of the schools. SCHOOL The whole amount of land devoted to this LANDS. purpose is more than two and one-half millions of acres.3 Two sections out of every
I Votes canvassed by legislature are those cast for governor, lieu- tenant governor, members of Congress, secretary of state, auditor of public accounts, state treasurer, state superintendent of public in- struction, attorney general, commissioner of public lands and build- ings, and district attorneys; also votes expressing choice of people for United States Senator.
2State board canvasses votes for presidential electors, judges of enpreme and district courts, and regent of university.
3 Number acres set apart in sections 16 and 36 in each township : 2,733,500.
.
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Civil Government of Nebraska.
township in the State is a magnificent endowment for the common schools. Likewise the State has endowed its normal school and university.1 The wealth thus set apart is never diminished, the in- terest only being used. When school lands are leased, the rent forms a part of the fund. From this source alone the revenue is not sufficient. The districts tax themselves for local school pur- OTHER poses, according to the length of term, MEANS
OF SUP- number of teachers, cost of school build- PORT. ing, etc., desired .? The State levies an additional tax yearly for educational purposes, but this may not exceed one and one-half mills. Besides this there are various fines and licenses that are paid into the general fund. Here are four sources of revenue. It is natural to inquire at this place how much this amounts to in a year. COST OF During the school year ending with July, SCHOOLS. 1891, the total expenditure for the com- mon schools was over four million dollars, one- half of which was paid to teachers.3
At the head of the school system is the state superintendent, who is recognized as the leader in the work and the interpreter of the school laws of the State, and whose decision is authority, unless reversed by the courts. Next below him comes the county superintendent, who may be
1 Normal school, 12,804 acres. University, 134,566 acres.
2 Limited to twenty-five mills on a dollar of valuation.
3Total expenditure, $4,123,799,54. Cost of hiring teachers, $2, 116,. 668,58. Buildings, etc., $749,632.89.
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The State.
said to be the manager of the county schools.
STATE His duties of laying out districts, visiting COUNTY the schools, and holding institutes make AND SUPER-
IN- him the center of that school system. Above
TEND-
ENTS. the common schools are the two higher institutions, the normal school and the university.
NOR- The first of these is mainly for the pur- MAL pose of fitting students to be teachers.1 SCHOOL. On the other hand, the state university is intended to give a student the choice of many courses, in order to fit him to be a useful citizen UNI-
VER- and servant of the State .? The unity of SITY. the whole plan of free education is its im- portant feature. Every part is made to work
1 State Normal School at Peru :-
1 .- Superintended by board of education, consisting of state treasurer, state superintendent, and five others appointed by the governor for terms of five years each. Board elect president and secretary. 2 .- Managed by a principal, who is responsible for the condition of the school.
3 .- Completion of common school course of study entitles a student to a diploma good for two years. Completion of higher course of study and a certain amount of teaching after graduation entitles a student to a life certificate.
4 .- Tuition free.
2 State University at Lincoln :---
1 .- Governed by a board of regents. (See Constitution, Art. VIII., Sec. 10.)
2 .- Departments provided for :
(a) College of literature, science, and art.
(b) Industrial college, embracing agriculture, practical science, civil engineering, and the mechanic arts.
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