The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-06-13
WHERE PRESTON wEAkENs.

The Herald Is In receipt OF COM
munication rom the Tennessee Man
ufacturers Association touching upon
the evils of the present back tax sys-
TEN. One of the officers of the asso-
citation, whose name appears upon
the communication, Is Thomas X.
Preston, of Chattanooga. Mr.. Pres
ton is the moving spirit of the assocl-
alton. He mas done more in Tonnes
see to bring forcefully and directly
TO the attention of the people the
evils of the hack tax machine than
any man in the state. He has helped
to create much of the sentiment that
condemns our present back-taxgraft-
breeding assessment system.
Hard as Mr. Preston works be-
tween times, efficient as he is in the
creation of healthy public senti-
ment, when me time comes for ac-
ton he fails and lines up with the
real friends of the back tax graft. Be
tween times MIR. Preston is ona of
the most valiant soldiers OF a right
eous cause, curing the battle he is
powerful al6 potential influence for
the cause Of evil. The Herald has
high regard tcr Mr. Preston. 1t be-
lieves that his fight upon the back
tax grafters is sincere, but the troub-
lie with Preston is that he is not big
enough to get away from his environ
ment. The liquor interest and the
back tax machine have common
cause in Tennessee. Mr.. Preston Is
a partisan of the liquor gang and un-
til he sewers his relation with that
faction of the democratic party he
cannot do very effective service for
back tax refc. m.
That it is impossible for Mr.. Pres
ton or any other man to serve the liQ-
uor faction Of the democratic party
and at the same time be an effective
soldier in the cause of tax reform is
plain to all who are familiar with
conditions In Tennessee and must
sooner or later be recognized b. as
fair, as well meaning and as able a
man as Mr.. Preston himself. That
this paper is not unfair in it's criti-
cism of Mr.. Preston's course is shown
by his own record. After having
made the fight for back tax reform
Mr.. Preston went to Nashville last
January, prior to the converting of
the legislature. and used his infiu-
ence to helm the Observation-Disclosures
chine organize both branches of the
legislature. That they failed was not
due to any lack of effort upon Mr..
Preston's part His delegation was,
through the entire session, the devot-
ed ally of the machine gang. His
own senator ard partisan voted to
white wash Parks Worley, whom Mr..
Preston's organization says now
should be defeated for marshal be-
cause of his rnenviable back tax re-
cord. His delegation in the Rouse
voted for suppression of the back
tax inquiry and to adopt the Drane
report At 10 time during the legis-
lative session did Mr.. Preston at
tempt to destroy the back-tax-liquor-
machine thet finally dominated both
branches of that body
Mr.. Preston knows or should know
that if we are ever to have reform
of our taxing system and a complete
uncovering Of the iniquities of the
back tax machine it must come, not
from the so-calied regular" orgariza-
ton dominated by Cox and Worley
and Stewart and Drane, but from the
patriotic democrats of Tennessee,
whose devotion to duty in placing
state above party resulted in the re-
triement of Dibrell and the cripling
of the machine.
AS the friend and admirer of Mr.
Preston, l>cOgnizing fully his effec-
tive service in the past, The Herald
sincerely reeiets that he does not
boldly denouEGc the alliance between
the liquor interests and the back tax
machine and join the forces of good
government in Tennessee.