Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1916-06-10

II is wrong, you know its wrong.
This thing has been going on for
a long time and It has found the state
government bent more and more upon
the collection of greater tax.
When Governor White called the
special session of 1904, it was for the
purpose, ne stated of equalizing taxes
and raising more revenue. After we
had punctured' such claims during
that special session they were com.
PEELED to change face and declared
they were to reduce taxes. That was
the claim made for the next tax laws
in the campaign of 1904. They told
you that there would be no direct
state tax, that they were going to
raise the revenue by license tax
Six days before the election of 1904
a. Wheeling | made a speech in which
| used the following: 1T does not
take a prophet to tell what is COINS
10 happen to the taxpayers of West
Virginia if they adopt the Dawson
tax laws. The adoption of these laws
means a steady increase in taxation
from year to year until it becomes
so great that the people win revolt.
1t means that the building up of one
Of the most powerful machi.es that
this state has ever known, so power
full that nothing short of a revolution
can dislodge it from power. 1t means
the appointment of hundreds of poll
teal henchmen to office whose sole
duty will be to work for the machine
that it may be perpetuated in power
Thus will taxation be so enormously
increased that those who vote for the
Dawson tax laws will within the next
ten years feel Ike organizing a VIA
gent committee and going to Charles
ton and hanging the men who have
SO grossly deceived them. | challenge
those within the sound of my voice
who question the accuracy of my
charge against the. Republican ma
chine, to to hall me before the bar Of
public opinion within the next ten
years and prove me a falsifier |
challenge the Republican machine ana
its followers to convict me of bear.
ing false witness against the machine
II the people do not elect a Democrat
ic legislature that the Republican
does not saddle the Virginia debt UP
on this state. They tell you the Daw-
son tax laws will reduce your taxes
and that the Virginia debt will be de-
cided in facor of West Virginia.
That is what l said to you IL years
ago. come to you and ask you wheth-
Ell | was right or not. $500 900 to pay
attorneys rees to defend the debt suit
had been handed around & few poll
ticians and last week the State of
Virginia filed notice that early in
June 1t would ask the Supreme Court
to levy on the property of West Vir,
ginia to satisfy the Judgement of over
$12,000,000 which has been drawing
interest at five per cent since the
first day of last July.
| said II years ago that there would
be a powerful machine built up at
the expense of the taxpayers. Look at
your taxes and see whether | spoke
the truth or not.
1t costs today to manage the af-
fairs of West Virginia six times as
much as it did under MacCorkles lad
ministration. | realize that it costs
more now than it did then, making
allowance for the increase in popula-
ton, but your population has not
been increased five or six times. Yet
the machine has multiplied your tax
es I'VE or SIX times. Is that right?
Where is l. going? 1t is going into
the pockets of Republican office hold
ers. told you what it was going to
be and tell you now what it is. The
only remedy for such an intoler.
able state of affairs is to cut down
expenses.
Mr.. Cornwell pointed out that in
Maryland the Democratic party had
been removed from power because OF
extravaganza in that state but that
they had made a specific pledge last
year to restore efficiency and elimi.
nate expense and acting upon the
recommendations of an efficiency
commission of which Dr. Goodnov,
head of John Hopkins was chairman
had cut down expenses 100000
year.
1t was easy to criiticise, Mr.. Corn.
well declared. There should he some