The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-10-03
sSSs$$Xs#sss ##sS%#s PASSED PRl-
S*8MAa SS%8S S8$#J#~ SRELlEVE THE
S8s TAX BURDEN.
sS$sEvIEW OF THE AUTHORIZES
NPAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED BY
DEMOCRATS TO@DEcElvE
FARMERS.

pamphlet under the, title oElaX
Legislation" No name is signed 10 it
and nobody is responsible for 1T It
is a mass of Misrepresentation. It
pretends to review the acts OF the spe-
cia1 session. It vehernently attacks
a few of them. and treats the ma
jority with a silence which can
only be construed 70 mean approx
al. It is said that q great many
Democrats did o van this document
put ont at all. because they knew it
would be riddled TO death by the first
Republican into whose hands it fell,
and would become a boomerang.
After a brief preliminary history OF
how the Tax Commission was created,
which is known ito everybody within
the confines Of this State who can
read, the Democratic "argufier" in
forms the waiting world that Cover
nor Fleming recommended tax reduc-
ton as far back as 1893, but fails to
tell the people that the Democratic
Legislature paid 10 attention to it,
and, as usual, did nothing He fails
to tell the people that Governor Jack
son, another Democrat, appointed q
tax commission in 1888, but it mount
ed to nothing. He fails to tell that
Governor Matthews, another Demo-
crat, called attention as far back as
1879, to bad tax laws, but the Demo
cratic Legislature. as usual, paid no
attention to it.
Surely if tax revision was consider
ed necessary in those days, it ought
to bee good thing now, and the Dem
ocratic position against tax revision
is thus made untenable at the. very
outset.
The pamphlet asserts that no re-
vision of taxation was considered
by Republicans when they came into
power or account of the ERA Of
prohigacy" charged against the Re
p~ublicans. The Democratic party had
conducted the affairs of this State SO
ably. SO wisely, SO economically and
in such a businesslike ashion for
twenty-four years that the State was
bankrupt when the Republicans came
into power. On March 4th. 1897, a bal
ance was shown or s24O.OO0, but there
was a deficit of like amount which
left the treasury practically empty,
and since the Republicans am n
power they have had to appropriate
money again and again to pay Demo
cratic deficiencies. And this is true
Notwithstanding that Governor Mac
sCorl1le. the last Democratic governor,
got S151,O0O from the National Gov
eminent. The 1857 900 was money
thatthe Republicans spent for the Ma
tional Government in the war. Thus
it was that the first Republican gov
ernor, Foreman, handed over to Mac
Corkle. the last Democratic governor.
this large sun of money. Deficit and
are twin DIS. The Repub-
licans paid up the Democratic Deficits.
They did this in the next two a
and they have managed the affairs of
the State SO that there is a balance of
$780, 900 in the State treasury.
Does this look like profigacy? Does
this look like the money of the State
had been s~quandered after the
ner of the Democrats?
Some Figures.
In license taxes the average per,
year for the last seven years Of Demo
cratic administration was s141, 900 and
for the seven Republican years of
S1l2,oOU. was there any pIOlliSaCS III
this?
The Republicans collected an actual
every year of S125,OOO more
than the Democrats in, license taxes.
This saved direct taxes or property.
1t was largely due to the Dawson
corporation law, so bitterly fought by
the Democrats. The total increased
venue from these sources for the
last years amounts to over one
and a quarter Of dollars. Does
look like this department had
been unwise1y administered?
During the last seven Republican
years the average annual cost of print
ing, binding, and stationery was re-
1uced $4,000, making an aggregate
during the seven Republican
years of s222,O0O. AT the same time
Republicans collected over $3.50 OO
more from the sale books than h
although the Democrats
s229.O0O more money than the {
This is a sample of Re-
publican waste and extravagance-"
DO you think of it? {
The pamphlet next takes up a dis
,ussioh about the tax reform cam {