The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-10-25
BY THEIR FRUITS 80 sHALL
KNOW s5i - HEM Fl FAD s w Hat
!. coRNWELLa HAS BONE
HIS POSITION AND THU --tTz5o e HIS.
y PARTY SHOWN UP IN a5lTSS
As TRUE sLIGH

Orlg1 naI TAX 2reIOF1ntIs f1e h StS9SAt-SSe
this in his speeches at Clarksburg and
at Wayne, and doubtless elsewhere.
He bases his record as an original
tax reformer on two facts. First, that
he voted for a bill in 1899 to tax e&7
press companies The bill was I'M
constitutional and was vetoed by The
governor The bill was copied from. a
law passed in kentucky ten years ago,
which was declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court of the United
States. The same law was passed in
Indiana and also declared unconsti-
tutional by the same high court.
Second, that he introduced reso-
luton in the Senate in 1889 request,
| ing some committee to inquire @beth-
| er any State taxes could be taken on
| He was sofin earnest about it that he
says he never heard of the resolution
| after that.
So, Mr.. Cornwelrs record as tax
reformer resulted iu-nothing.
In 1901 the Republican Legislature,
against the solid opposition of the
Democra including Senator Corn
well, passed the Dewson Corporation
Law. This law greatly increased the
license tax on the charters Of corpo-
rations. The most the Democrats ever
collected in any one year from this
| source was less than $4,000. Under
the Dawson Law $4,000 is collected
yearly from the same source. SEN
ator Cornweu opposed this law.
The same session of he Legislature
created the West Virginia State Tax
Comm ssion. Everybody nearly adj
nitted the necessity of the amend
ment and revision OF our taxation
laws. There We're only six, votes in
the entire Legislature against the ere
alton of the Tax Commission. One of
these six votes was that of john j..
| amendment of these antiquated and
inequitable laws.
In the Legislature of 1908 one day
| Mr.. Cornwell voted in favor of con
sidering the bills of tbs Tax Commits
sion The very next day he voted
aga: rst consideration and voted to Kill
the whole matter.
On August &c, 1909, Nj. Cornwell
made an elaborate speech to MS con
| stituents of Jefferson county on the
| bills of the Tax Commission. Cover
nor White was present and advocated
| cons liberation of the bills By tn, LeGis-
lature. In that speech Senator Corn,
well said that he had been studying
these bills for nine months, pouring
| over" them, and he said:
a MUST SAY TIE IMPORTANT
| PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN THEM
ARE iMPRAcTlcABL-E, ;MPossI-
BILE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL"
Of the proposed license lax OF one
third of cent on Il ton of coal Mr.
CornweH said:
Il say to you that in levying the tax
upon the producer Of coal aru not
upon the owner in fee of the mineral
lands they have caught the wrong rat
| They are placing this lax upon peo-
pie upon whom it should not be
| placed and exempting the very people
| that ought to be taxed
| In this same speech Mr.. Cornwell
quoted from the decisions of u n'1m-
Der of courts to prove that the pro-
posed license taxes CT coal, gas and.
Oil were unconstitutional.
| Yet in the special session of the
legislature of August, 1904, Mr. Corn
well, on his oath assaState Senat or,
voted to take up, consider, and pass"
these very bills OF the Tax Commission
which he had denounced as inpossi-
Bile tmpracticable and unconstitu'
| tiona."
Thus Mr. Cornwell voted against
| Creating the Tax Commission; voted
for considering their bills. and voted.
against considering them ana to kill
them; then he denounced these
bills as impossible. inpracticable
and unconstitutional. and voted TO
pass them.
1t should be remembered by tho
render. that every important feature
and provision of the new tax laws
were contained in the Tax Commits
sion bills and were advocated and rec
commended by Hon. Henry G. Davis,
Democratic nominee for Vice Presi-
dent, and Hon. John II. Holt, Demo-
cratic nominee for governor in 1900,
who were members of the Tax Com
mission, and who still stand by them.
The Democrats IN The special sess
sion OF the Legislature prevented the.
submission OF constitutional amend
men to tho people giving the Legts.