The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-03-23
ELECTION MARCH 25TH.
(Contributed.)


Iue effort is being made to mislead
he people; that absurd reports are
'eing circulated to discredit the
workhouse plan" of building roads.
They specify as matters of their
that the tax rate is said
o be higher than it really is; that it
S also said that one-half the poll
ak goes to road construction; and
hat the workhouse is borrowing
money. |
1t is admitted that the workhouse |
ioes borrow money, it is known that |
the poll tax has been used for forty |
years for school purposes, and if the
guess at the tax rate is a little high, |
it is all the better, for if the gentle
men have their way and fasten their
'workhOuse plan" on the people, the
statement is sure to become true, if
not true already.
They say the records at Jones'
boro show the true state of facts. If
this is true, it is difficult to see how
any harm can be done so far as the
inuuiring and interested citizen is
concerned. The fact is the gentle
men are parading before the farmer.
whom they mistakingly presume is
ignorant. They are setting up straw
men and knocking them down. In
this they may succeed, but they vii!
not be allowed to divert attention
from the real question at issue be
fore the people.
Is the taxpayer content with The
workhouse plan? viii he have it for
building the county system of high
ways?
This question must be settled on
good judgment of the laborers, farm
ers and business men. The property
holder knows better than any one
e,se the amount of his tax levy. He
is equally interested in how the
money arising from the imposition
of heavy taxes is going to be spent.
1t is not only his right to know this
in advance, but he has a right which
the workhouse advocates do not con-
cede, to say how it shall be done,
and this right despite the effort to
thwart and defeat it, he will exercise
at the ballot box on the 25th day of
March.
What Is the WOrkhOuse Plan2
Originally it was an arrangement
to work county prisoners on the
county roads. 1t was intended to
tighten the expense of keeping them
confined in prison, and lettering
their condition by working them out
side. 1t was not intended by this
plan to construct system of high
ways for the county.
Now when it is attempted by its
original purpose and use it for some
thing it was not intended, you find
it is left wholly without the sanction
of legislation.
In the first place there is no at
tempt in any of the legislation re-
ferring to the subject TO show what
highways are to be constructed as a
part of the system. The taxpayer
when he pays his taxes, has nc
knowledge where the money may be
applied, or the road which may be
constructed with it,
In the second place, there is nc
attempt to fix or prescribe the
amount of money which may be eX'
pended in building system Of
roads by the workhous plan. The
taxpayer does not know whether the
system and its maintenance will cost
him one hundred thousand dollars
or million. On this all-importan'
question he is altogether lost sight
of and wholly at sea.
In the third place there is nc
provision as to the length of time
which will be taken to construct the
public highways of the county by
this workhouse plan.
In the fourth place there is nc
guaranty provided for the safe hand
ling and expenditure of the funds OF
the taxpayer. Nowhere is bond in
any given amount required or pro-
vided for. The provision that the
commissioners of the workhouse
shall give bond, without fixing any
amount is equivalent to allowing them
to fix it themselves, and this Is
equivalent to no bond at all. Would
YOU ask your county to loan money
to party on the security he might
choose to give? AS we'll give 1t &c
him and let him go with it.
In the fifth place, The plan as con
structed and put into practice by It's
admirers does not admit the right Oh
the taxpayer and voter of the coun'
ty to settle for themselves these
matters which are SO essential TO the
existence of a system of highways
These admirers of the workhoust
plan, and self-named defenders Of