Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1904-10-08
Mr.. Dawson
Exploited
A Republican of Preston County
Is Not Fooled by the Argu-
ments of Tax Fakirs.
DAWSON FOOLED PEOPLE

A RepuDllcan voter writes
very, interesting communication
in recent issue of the Preston
Leader, a Republican paper. At
ter reviewing the campaign in
Preston by which the farmers had
defeated the corporations twice.
they thought, and hadFendorsed,
Dawson and tax reform by a big
majority, he talks of the work of
the Legislature. He shows that
the corporations have received the
best of it and that the farmer has
gotten the double cross. He con-
cludes: "Instead of reducing the
taxation of the farmer, they had
actually increased his burden.
Goal, +. oil and gas, which Mr..
Dawson assured us would be tax
ed, was never mentioned. The
Secretary of States fees, which
were to have been abolished, were
totally ignored. Thus has Mr..
Dawson cruelty deceived us. He
has accepted the platform of the
railroads and corporations and
abandoned the platform upon
which we farmers supported him.
What explanation has he to offer
for this betrayal How can he
ask the farmers Of West Virginia
to support him uron tn" platform
which he denounced? We far
mers want to know why the vi
ciouS fee system. and Il source OF
great revenue to the Secretary OF
State. which is Mr.. Dawson. was
not abolished. This is one of the
many reforms which Mr.. Dawson
promised and it is one which goes
directly. into the pockets OF the
Secretary of State.
"Mr. Dawson cannot give us a
/. Legitimate excuse for not abolish
ing the fee system. He is the sole
beneficiary of the vicious fee sys-
tenn. AS blind they reduced the
State tax from thirty-fve cents to
| twenty-four cents and passed a
law creating a tax commissioner
at salary of $500 year, who
will appoint an assessor in every
county in the State, the said as
SCISSOR to appoint their own as
tants at a handsome salary, to re-
assess our land at its full value.
As our land is assessed at about
one-third it's value at the present
time this means us farmers will
pay State tax of seventy-two
cents on the hundred dollars val
uation, instead Of their thirty-fve
cents as heretofore. Now, if there
is a farmer in the State Of West
Virginia who can figure out where
he has been benefited by Mr.. Daw-
sons tax reform, I would like to
hear from him. l have always
been a staunch supporter of Mr..
Dawson, but the time has arrived
when I must look out for my own
interests. I am convinced that
Mr.. Dawson is carefully guarding
the interests of Mr.. Dawson. AS
q tax reformer Mr.. Dawson is a
fraud and as such I propose to
work and vote against him as en-,
Enthusiastically as l worked and
voted for him at the primary and
I am not the only farmer in this
section who will do likewise. Mr..
Dawson fooled us in his campaign
for the nomination for the Cover
norship, but he will not fool us
on election day. The cry of
"Vote for the party" is past. No
one can convince me that Mr..
Dawson has not sold out to the
railroads and corporations. The
act of the extraordinary session
of the Legislature is all the evil
dence that any honest tax re-
former needs. This sentiment is
growing stronger every day with
the farming element. It was a
clever trick on the part of Mr..
Dawson to pretend that the rail-
roads and corporations were OPP
posed to his nomination for Gov
ernor. We farmers may be simple
minded and ignorant, but we are
not so simple minded and ignor-
ant that Mr.. Dawson can fool Us
the second time on his bogus tax
reform.