The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1910-04-19
Judge Blizzard Throws a few Hot
Ones at Some of the Big
Guns.
Dispatch-News, Apr. 12th.1
A STATE DISGRACE.

A STATE DISGRACE.
The action of the state admin
istration in failing to accept tn
resignation of Tax Commission
er Townsend is a state disgrace
1t is made more poignant by tn,
action of the grand jury in Kan
awha county indicting council
man Cook and failing to indie
the the Tax Commissioner.
If this is not an instance O.
place and power making a dis
tinction between those who are
to be held accountable for crime
and those who are not, such &
one has certainly never beer
heard of in West Virginia.
How there could be a bribe
taker without there also being 8
bride giver no one can imagine.
That Tax Commissioner Towns
end was the one who engineered
the entire transaction of purch-
asing Cooks house in order that
he might be gotten to leave
Charleston, to the end that the
number of councilmen favorinp
the granting of license would be
in the majority, there can be no
question, and the evidence is
most abundant.
That the tax commissioner,
drawing one of the largest salar-
les paid by the state, and his of
flee expanding more of the peo-
pies money than any other office
Of the state, with public exper-
fence, and full realization of the
effect Of bis act, should entice a
young, inexperienced man like
Cook into a violation of the law,
and the real guilty man because
of his place and power should es
cape punishment while the young
Grand more innocent, who was
nothing more than a victim,
should be punished, can amount
to nothing less than a public dis
grace to the state of West Vir-
ginia.
That the governor, by all his
public professions, standing on
the side of morality and right,
and especially opposed to the
very influence which employed
Tax Commissioner Townsend to
bride Cook, should hold in his
hands the resignation of that Of
ficer, without accepting it, can
nothing more than astound ev-
cry right thinking, public spirit
ed citizen of the state.
His action in not accepting the
tax commissioner resignation
becomes doubly a matter of pub
lie concern when tits known that
he demanded the resignation,
and was ready to accept it, when
he was summoned to Washing
ton and dined with Senator FL
kins, since which the acceptance
has been unheard of by the pub
lie.
1t would now seem to be the
purpose to indict the less offend
ing Of the two, the bride taker
and the bride giver, in order
that public attention might be
directed in another course than
to the truly guilty. But the
facts Of this case are more indie
liably impressed upon the public
mind than any other affair which
has occurred in this state for
many years. They will not be
forgo ten or misunderstood.
There can no occasion arise un-
der the administration of Glass
cock With better opportunity for
showing that he really wears no
mans collar, and that he may be
depended upon to stand for right
and Justice than is found in the
case Of Tax Commissioner Town
send now before him.
liz MS New York effort to cor
rect The mistake he made at Chi
cago while unfortunately at
taclisg newspaper men Mr., Taft
made a pathetic plea. He told
of sorae Of the vexatiops Of the
presidential Office, how they
drove the occupant nearly to dis