The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-07-26

same Time De c0nCenteu 10 see TIT
average salary of teacher in oul
public schools, who is preparing
the children Of this state for tn,
battles Of life, paid an annual sal
airy Of about $300i
Another great evil is in permit
ting these back tax attorneys tt
make compromises or private set,
dement's. If reports be true, they
are innumerable, yielding but lit
tle to the state and county, bui
Fat and exorbitant fees to the
back tax attorneys and revenue
agents. 1t is not charged that all
the back tax attorneys have done
this, but it has been so often con.
tended that great many Of them
did, that it is now nothing short
OF public disgrace.
In 1906 the Tennessee Coal, Iron
and Railroad Company was threat
-sned with suit for back taxes
of a little more than one million
dollars. The case was compro-
missed after one short hearing be-
fore the trustee of Grundy county
Tor $57 500, only about 5 per cent
Of the amount of the threatened
suit. OF this sum the revenue
agent and his attorneys received,
including court costs and fees,
t19,256, equal to SO per cent Of
the amount actually received by
both state and county. The comp
troller's report only shows 81, 500
consumed in fees, the balance was
manipulated through the county
court Of Grundy county. If this
suit was just, Grundy county was
defrauded Of over 100000, and
the state Of Tennessee Of nearly
100000. If the suit was unjust,
the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail
road Company was simply forced
to buy its peace for $4,000. If
the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail-
road Company was one Of these
tax dodgers, about which these
back tax attorneys talk SO elo-
quently, then what more inviting
proposition than to compromise
their taxes for 5 per cent, thereby
increasing the burden on the rest
Of us. And if unjust, a state that
will perpetuate q system that will
license such outrages as this for
feits the reverence and respect
which every citizen owes to his
commonwealth. Including the rev.
enue agent, who was also an at
torney, there were six lawyers en-
gagged in this case in his behalf,
and what company, under the cir
cumstances, would not buy its
peace, and what industry could
not be throttled by such proceed
urei The records show that this
great company, the greatest ever
chartered in Tennessee, once had
extensive operations in Grundy,
Marion and Sequatchie counties,
great coking plants in Grundy and
Marion counties, enormous iron
furnaces in Franklin and Marion
counties, all Of them giving en-
ployment to thousands of labor
,srs. It now has no operations of
any character in Tennessee except
. small coal mine at Whitwell,
Tenn. 1t has long since abandoned
oil its coke ovens, all its other coal
operations and all its iron fur
naces. 1t is not charged that the
revenue agents drove them from
the stae, but this great company
has been in almost constant liti-
gation with the tax authorities.
Governor Marks, at Winchester,
more than thirty years ago,
warned the tax authorities that
they would eventually harrass this
company until they would drive it
from the state.
Every time this law has been
severely criticized, the public has
been met by the ever-present reve-
nue. agent and his back tax attor-
ney with the statement: BE care
full; be careful. Tennessee might
not collect sufficient revenue for
her public institutions. The PEN
sion Of the old soldier might be
cut off," and other such flimsy
excuses. No fair-minded man can
study the operation Of these back
tax laws and come to any other
conclusion than that they are not
now and have never been essen