Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-06-08
An Open Letter
Martinsburg. w. va, June 5, 1912.
Hon. Fred 0. Blue.
State Tax Commissioner,
Charleston, w. Va,

Charleston, w Va,
Sir
There has come into my hands a
copy of letter dated May "a 1912, ad.
dressed to Mr. e. c .Henshaw which
- purported to be signed by you. This
letter Is reported to be one Of twelve
or fifteen sent out in duplicate from
your Office to certain Republican Poll
ticians of this county. You have TAX
en- the liberty in this communication
to indirectly criticise me in a way that
tends to reflect upon my Official integ-
rity In connection with the collection
from the sheriffs OF this county of the
money your accountants allege is due,
! wish to say that ! received the
claims against the Shevifs and gave
them my immediate attention. | called
IN person upon Sheriff Kettering and
Ex-sheriff Gardner and showed them
the audit. They assured me they were
ready and willing to pay any amount
found due, but asked the privilege of
checking up the audit as they had a
Perfect right to do They asked for
thirty days within which to do this
work and knowing that both Of them
are men of integrity and of undoubted
solvency. | did what any other reputa-
Bile lawyer would have done under the
circumstances: that Is, granted their
request. | advised You as to these
matters by letter under date May %,
copy of which Is attached to this
communication. | am surprised that
YOU would take the position that our
Sheriffs, or anybody else should be
compelled to pay over as much as
twelve or fifteen thousand dollars with
out being given the privilege of check
ing mp the items with which they are
charged. No business man would sub
nil to such treatment for moment
You say, however, In your letter that
the summary was in possession of the
Sheriffs fol two weeks prior to the
filing of the audit and that 1t was held
open for Ten days to give them an op-
portunity to point out any errors or
mistakes.
This, ! have no doubt Is true. II
is also true you are asking the Sher-
IFS to check up a summary without
giving them the benefit of the items
from which IL was compiled. You are
furthermore, asking then to do in two
weeks what it took two of yoa men
nearly seven months to do. This is
absolutely unfair and unreasonable
1t is also true that it is impossible to
check the summary unl,ss you have
the audit rom which to do It, Mr.
Gardner, in the summary is charged
with AZ different items and Mr.. Eet-
tering "a The audit itself contains 169
pages of items and writing. | merely
suggest these matters in order that
you may know that was justified in
extending to the She-itfs the little
time which they asked The audit is
clearly ex parte as appears from your
Cwn letter and the Sherifis are GER
tainly entitled to some consideration
! cannot see any objection to having
Tic ardit checked. Docs anybody IA
Berkeley County or elsewhere want
them to pay what they do not owe?
Let us hore not.
And now, Mr. State Tax Commits
sioner. you say you want to create
some good public sentiment to back
me up in the collection of the money
due. Don't you think as matter of
courtesy to me, you might have waited
a little longer than two days before
you started to create this special
't""ud of good public sentiment" by
the gum shoe method" which you
seem to have adopted? Don't you
think you should have taken the pub
lie into your confidence and let them
have the benefit of your effort to ere
ate good public sentiment" What is
good reading for Republican Polite
ians of Berkeley County should GER
tainly be good reading for all of the
Citizens of Berkeley county | have
nothing to conceal and have decided
to help you create some of that good
public sentiment by giving your let
ter to the press to the end that every
body may judge of your fairness to
me.
| am only concerned in the protec-
ton of my own official integrity and
all want is square deal" If | had
written you that ] would take the mat
ter up when had time" it might be
different. But. even then | should
think you would have given me a long
er time than two days within which to
get results. Besides this your office
should know that we do not have a
term of court until September, and
you as a lawyer should know the is
sues could not be made up and the
case prepared for trial before the fol
lowing term of court. which would be
January next This would certainly
give the Sheriffs all the time they
would need to check up your audit.
cannot, therefore. see why we should
hasten into court or why should be
criticised for permitting the audit TO
be checked especially when the alleg-
ed debtors have always been willing
TO pay what they owed