The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-07-12
People. Forum
the Times sna Railroad Rs-assess'

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Editor west elnlats
fstf ornamental ircpn ncy and
colos sal ishy. lines the Times
Is GER ainIy tiled to the gold med
IN its issue OF the 10th Isl an ed,
ftorial three foprths Of q dunn long,
baratIng the Board Of Public Works
for its excessive valuation Of the d.
! q 3. h. Rs ,company..s property.
The nineompoop editor OF hat
sheet ought to gather up some Of
the Old ales OF his paper a year or SO
ago and refresh himself with some
Of those old editorials the burden Of
which was that the properties OF the
big corporations would not be assess
ed by the local assessors, but by the
Board OF Public Works, the members
Of which would go around over the
state In private cars and be "wined
and dfnedt' by the railroad conpan-
les and the properties of which would
be assessed at outrageously low hg-
ures while the small property hold
ers would be at it's true and actual
value and a fearful Injustice done the
poor dear people whom the corpora
ton sheet loves so well.
OF course, little Inaccuracies like
the above appearing in different is
sues OF the Times at periods q year
or SO apart does not disturb the
equanimity of the nonentity in charge
Of its editorial department, for we
have known 1t to make one assertion
one day and in the next turn right
around and eat its words and state
something just the opposite. 1t is
nothing to see a statement one day
that under the new laws that the
big corporations are escaping taxa
ton and the whole burden is falling
on the people and in the next that the
lniquities of the new tax laws are
driving all the industries and coropa-
ttons out OF the State.
With great g1ee and undisguised
exultatfon the Times tells US that the
poor B. & o. r. R. Co. has been driv-
en- into court to seek redress from an
excessive valuation, notwithstanding
few months ago it was heralding
the fact that sample of the new
laws were to be found in the re.as-
sessment of the Benwood bridge, and
we are RECALLED with the refreshing
Intelligence that the poor pipe line.
express. traction and other like COM
panfes will likewise go into the
courts Of this and other countries for
relief from excessive valuations.
we are glad that the big corpora
lions have such an able defender in
the Times and we do most sincerely
hope that with its assistance no in
Justice win be done them, they have
been paying SO much more tnan their
fair proportion OF taxes heretofore,
st would be rank injustice to turn
around at this time and not accept
valuations they have placed on their
nropertfes and assess them at their
true and actual value. but we do hope
that the, Intelligence of the people
will not be outraged by an editorial
appearing in the Times within the
next day or so to the effect that the
small property holder is being I'M
Justly dealt with by the Board Of Pub
lie Works, placing an Inadequate val
uatfon on railroad and other corpor-
ate property. There is no virtue so
admirable as fidelity to your masters
and the Times ought to be true to
this one principle. Il no other.
The grava1hen of the accusation
against Gov. Dawson is the factt that
he and the other members of the
Board refused to accept the returns
made by the companies themselves
but went ahead and determined for
themselves what they thought vas
the true and actual value as they
were bound to do under their oaths
and the law.
OF course 1t was very wicked in the
Board in not accepting these returns,
but it may be that the Board was
misled by some of the former edito-
rails of the Times to the effect that
under the new laws the corporations
were going to eYade the payment OF
a Just proportion of taxes and as
there was no other way by which 1t
could be done, only by making false
returns, the Board very naturally de,
cfded that their returns could not be
relied upon.
According to the notion Of the
Times the corporations ought to be
encouraged and relieved from taxa
ton altogether; this thing OF taxing
them according to their true and ac-
tual value may be hard on some OF
the corporations in which the Times
or some Of its hangers on are inter-