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Show THE POLL TAX LAW IS CONSTITUTIONAL ; SAYS SUPREME COURT . The poll tax law is constitutional, constitu-tional, says the supreme court in an opinion recently. Throughout the state the collection col-lection of the tax was generally suspended at the time of the district court ruling, pending the appeal. The suspension was due to the fact that under the lower court's ruling it was fear ed persons who had paid under protest might be able to recover jThe opinion is rendered in the case of Salt Laty? City against M. E. Wilson, an attorney, which began in the city court and was certified up to the district court. There a demurrer to the complaint, com-plaint, based on the ground that the law was unconstitutional in that it was not of equal and uniform uni-form operations inasmuch as women are exempt, was argued and sustained. The city elected to; stand upon its original complaint com-plaint and appealed to the supreme su-preme court. After the district court ruling tfie city eliminated its poll tax collection department, dismissing dismis-sing three men engaged in that woc The usual collections, pri or to the ruling, amounted to j;2(',000 a year. Last year they tjnted to $000, and so fan JWflot aAlollar has been ' v Passiiijr on the contention nTitlllCT laTr- is t?ioo.Tr,4it-tttrrsfil bcrause women are exempt, the supreme court points out that thepoll tax comes under the classification of police powers rather than a tax proper. It declares de-clares there is nothing in the constitution preventing a rcas onable classification of the citizens citi-zens of the state with regard to the performance of some duties which may be require by the. state under its police powers. The tax is founded on the ancient an-cient requirement that male citizens citi-zens between 21 and 50 years of age, not incapacitated for manu al labor, should do a certain amount of work on the public roads. The fact that under the law of 1909 in this state the privilege of working out the tax was abolished and a straight tax of $2 was Imposed does not change the character of the ta? from an exercise of police power to a tax in the usual sense of the term, says he court. |
