West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1908-10-29
Dense IGNORANCE
Journal Exposes Lack Of knowledge
OF Tax Laws.
The "rRUE AND ACTUAL VALUE"
Corporations Contribute TO Campaign
Fund and Are Let Down Easy.
Farmers Pay the Limit

The Preston County Journal. which
is the subservient organ of the coun-
ty ring aud state machine, is quoting
certain editorials which appeared in
The ARGUS in 1904. hoping thereby
to prove that The ARGUS misrepre.
sented the infamous Dawson tax
laws. THE ARGUS is charitable
enough to excuse the public servant
editor OF the Journal onthe grounds
If dense ignorance of the provisions
of the new tax laws. He has not
the brain to grasp and digest the tax
laws. If he ever read them he was
too mach of a muttonhead ID prop
erly iaterpret them.
THE ARGUS played no small part
in exposing the deception and du
plicity of the tax laws, and 1t was
through suct: exposures that the
"tax reformers" were compelled to
repeal and amend the laws. When
they were first placed upon the stat
ute books they were crude, decep-
tive, aud drastic. In the collection
of the cspitation tax the law explic-
lilly provided that waen the assessor
called on the voter for as capitation
tax il he did not pay it then ard
there the assessor will proceed
forthwith To levy to satisfy the
claim" Such was the language of
the law. 1t gave the assessor no dis
cretionary power whatever. The
law commanded him to proceed
forthwith to levy" This drastic law
was afterwatd repealed.
In the matter Of assessing the
pnbnc utilities (the eorporations)
the law provided that they were not
10 be assessed for one year after the
law went into effect, but assessing
the farm and the home of the poor
man. Ia fact, tn law provided that
certain corporations were not to be
assessed until 1909. This was after
ward amended by the force of pub
lie sentiment. which THE ARGUS
helped to make and the Journal
opposed.
BY the corporations being ex-
empted from the new tax laws the
first year the railroads in West Vir.
gina paid SIa7, 900 less taxes than
they had paid the previous year. 1t
is not expected that such an ignor-
anus as the pretended editor Of the
Journal would have any knowledge
of such damaging facts.
Every editorial which THE ARGUS
has published relative to the iniqui
tous tax laws was absolutely true.
And II was largely through the efforts
of such papers as THE ARGUS that
the .'tax reformers" were compelled
to repeal the iniquities aud Unequal
tiles OF the laws.
The ARGUS is the only paper in
the state that has called the peoples
attention TO the manner IN which
the Standard OIL Company has been
assessed under the "Irue and actual
xalue." :" That its exposures we're most
Effective 1t is only necessary to- men
tion that the Standard assessment
has been doubled each year. ", is
now assessed at $4,000 900, and its
holdings ia the state cannot be pur
chased for $500, 900. 900. This will
give the farmers and small property
holders faint idea of how the cor.
p)ra,ions are being assessed under
'tsx reforml" But the farmers and
the small property holders are not
able TO contribute large sums of
money TO the Republican machine
campaign fund, and consequently
the machine does not consider them
entitled to immunity Saths fromf the
'rfue and actual value" assessments
like the corporations.
II space would permit The ARGUS
could prove by quoting from the
tax laws the truth Of every charge
il has ever made against them