are pursued necessary for a good business education, or to prepare the pupil for the college, the school of technology, or the professional school. In some states (4) the state university crowns this system. Most of the states. have in addition to the schools already mentioned, (5) normal schools for the training of teachers. It is eviIdent that if the state should furnish education to its citizens, it ought to provide suitable instructors. Hence, as a matter of necessity, normal schools should be maintained everywhere to train properly those who should teach in the public schools. This, in brief, is our American system of public school education.

CHURCH AND STATE. In our republic the church and the state are separated. There is no state church, and no preference must be given by the government to one religious denomination over another. Consequently, the distinctly religious or theological education which in the early times characterized the schools of New England, is inconsistent with our republican institutions; but the necessity for virtue and an upright life in the republic is greater than the need of intelligence. Hence our public schools everywhere should inculcate the purest principles of morality, and as morality must be based upon the sanctions of religion, and that responsibility for human action which comes from the recognition of God and our responsibility to him, so religion without sectarianism should characterize the teaching and the atmosphere of all schools throughout the country.

CHAPTER IV.

TAXATION.

It follows from necessity that government, whether of town, state, or nation, has the right to raise the necessary funds to carry on all the functions of the government.

The different officers of the state, county, and town must be paid salaries. Public buildings, such as the capitol at Washington, the buildings for the different departments, state, treasury, war, etc., patent-office, general post-office, custom-houses, light-houses, and post-offices throughout the country, by the national government; state-houses, court-houses, jails, by the state government; town-houses, school-houses, etc., by the town government; all these and others are to be built and paid for. The money which is needed for the expense of the government is raised by taxation.

This tax is a sum of money which the government demands from the individual or from his property to pay for the uses of government. The government protects him in his rights, protects his property, and often advances its value by public improvements. Thus gov

ernment has the right to levy a tax upon him and his property.

The tax necessary for the support of the national government is usually, in times of peace, when there are no extraordinary expenses, raised by what is called indirect taxation. During most of the period of our

national history the entire expense of our government, or nearly so, has been paid by duties upon manufactured goods imported from foreign countries. The greater part of our direct taxes, therefore, are levied by the state and the town. Some states levy a tax upon all male citizens over twenty-one years of age, others upon all voters. This is called a poll tax. The state and the town, however, rely principally upon money raised by tax upon property. This is called property tax.

VALUATION OF PROPERTY. - For the proper apportionment of this tax, it is necessary that all property in the town should have a proper valuation placed upon it. Hence the town appoints assessors, whose duty it is to make a list of all tax-payers, and of all taxable property in the town. They are required to estimate the true value of every piece of property liable to taxation. It is customary to fix this valuation at an amount somewhat lower than the full market value of the property. In this respect great differences are found in different parts of the country, and sometimes in towns and cities near to each other. In some places the taxable valuation is placed at the, full market value, or even at a higher sum than the property would bring if sold. In other places the custom is to fix the valuation at such a sum as the assessors suppose the property would bring if sold at a forced sale in times of financial depression.

It makes little difference to the tax-payer whether the valuation is high or low. A definite amount of money is to be raised, and if the valuation is high, the rate of taxation will be lower. If the valuation is on a low scale, the rate of taxation will be higher. It is, how

ever, important to any individual tax-payer that the valuation of his property shall be neither higher nor lower than that of others.

Each town, in this way, through its assessors, determines the valuation of all the property in the town which is subject to taxation. In many states where county taxes are levied, it is found necessary to have a county board of assessors, who receive the tax lists from the assessors of the several towns and cities within the county, and if, in their judgment, the valuation in one town is higher than in another, it is their duty to equalize the assessments, and to make such changes as justice seems to demand.

For the state tax there is, in many states, a state board of equalization. This board receives the lists from all the counties and makes the necessary estimates for the equitable adjustment of taxes throughout the

state.

LEVYING OF TAXES. When the assessors of a town have placed the valuation upon all the property of the town, the next thing is to determine the rate of taxation. First, the amount of money to be raised by the town for all purposes is fixed; second, from this sum the amount of the poll tax is subtracted, and the remainder is the sum necessary to be raised by the property tax. If this sum be divided by the total valuation of the property of the town, the quotient is the rate of taxation; that is, the sum to be raised on each dollar of property. In small towns with no fire department, no police, and in all respects a small expenditure needful, the rate of taxation is sometimes as low as two mills on one dollar, or perhaps less. This rate would make

twenty cents on one hundred dollars, or two dollars on each thousand dollars of property. In large towns and cities the rate of taxation is often as high as two per cent, or twenty dollars on a thousand: possibly in some instances it is much higher than this rate.

COLLECTION OF TAXES. In the older states, and in some of the newer ones, the custom prevails for all taxes, town, county, and state, to be collected by the taxcollectors of the town. In other cases the county system prevails, and the county collector receives the assessors' lists for the entire county and makes collections of the taxes.

The law fixes the time of payment of taxes. If one neglects to make payment within the specified time, a fine or penalty is added. If the person is still delinquent, after a further specified time the property is sold at auction. The government thus collects enough money to pay the tax and expenses, and gives a tax title to the purchaser. The former owner has a speci fied time in which to redeem his property, by payment of the tax and all costs.

TREASURER AND AUDITOR. The collector pays over the money collected as taxes to the treasurer, whether town or county, and takes a receipt from that officer for the amount paid. The treasurer is required to give bonds for the faithful performance of his duties.

It is customary for the town, county, or state to have an officer called an auditor, whose duty it is to audit every bill presented for payment, before the treasurer is permitted by law to pay it. The treasurer's final account must therefore correspond with the final account rendered by the auditor.