West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1916-04-13

ing slavery but was always opposed to
final separation from the Uuited
States government. Mr. Taylor has
scarcely travelled but is well versed
in political and business affairs. He
is strong in his denunciation OF the
Dawson Tax Reform which is now In
force in West Virginia He thinks the
taxes are entirely too high as COM
pared with those OF his boyhood DAYS
in the mother state. He attributes
what he terms foolish legislation
brought about by the people sending
the wrong class of men TO the legisla-
ture to make laws According to Mr..
Taylor 1t was impossible to send a
lawyer TO the Legislature in his early
DAYS and the majority of the delegates
TO that body were farmers.
He declares that the present tax
law in West Virginia is an imposition
on the farmer and boon to the cor
porations and was enacted by bunch
Of lawyers who were sent there by
large corporations He says they are
representing corporations and not the
people. In explaining the imposition
on the farmer he referred to his farm
products which taxation he thinks un-
just. MIR. Taylor says he told the as
SCISSOR who called at his place i'm Jan
uary, 1915. the only thing about the
farm he missed was the cat and want
ed to know of him why cats were not
included in the levy list also on be-
ing asked why he was a Democrat i'm
politics he replied it was his desire
to follow in the footsteps of his father.
When asked about his present
health Mr.. Taylor replied that he had
never felt better i'm his life He has
never since birth been seriously in
and was only once under care OF a
physician. This illness was due to
heavy cold contracted abou. two years
ago when caught i'm a driving. cold
rain while returning home from visit
to his son Brook Taylor His illness
lasted about six weeks which time he
was under the care of DR. William +.
Twigg of Cumberland There has
been little sickness i'm the Taylor fam
lily and at the present time DR.. Per-
cival LantZ of Alaska, w Va, is the
family physician. There has never
been any contagious disease in the
family of Mr. Taylor or among his an
cestors.
Neither MIR. Taylor nor his father
ever belonged TO any religious denomi-
nation although he has been a heavy
contributor TO church work He is a
firm believer but thinks one can live
a Christian life without belonging to
any church. He says the church is
only a help 10 those who do not pos
sess sufficient will power to live a
Christian life without the rules of the
church 10 guide them. Neither does
he belong TO any fraternal orders and
in reply to question along that line
said the "Old Virginia Democrat"
party was the only organization 10
which he ever had any desire to af-
fliate
Mr.. Taylor, who has spent his en-
tire life on the farm, is familiar with
all the work of that character He
said among his first experiences in
farm work was to cut grain with a
sickle, and he later learned to use a
cradle. In his boyhood days during
the harvest season he said it was no
uncommon thing to see as many as a
dozen deer cross the South Branch
near his home in travelling from one
mountain to another. At that time It
was customary to begin work at day
light and the deer we're mostly seen
in the early morning hours He said
because other meat was 80 cheap and
plentiful a deer was seldom killed by
the farmers who would not even al
low dogs to chase them
Mr. Taylor still remembers many
prices that prevailed between 1884 and
the close of the war in 1866. Be
tween 1884 and 1S45 coffee sold at .O5
per pound, whiskey was worth 20 per
gallon and cattle were driven to Bal
'imore and sold at O4 q pound Dur
ing the construction Of the Baltimore
e Ohio railroad in 1853 corn was taken
TO Hancock on a keel boat and sold to
contractors for rs per barrel Wheat
sold at from 30 to .3s per bushel until
after the war when IT increased TO 50
per bushel During the early ffties
land could be bought for prices rang
ing from StOO to $40 per acre
The Taylor family since immigra-
tiou TO this country Is noted for long
witty and Mr. Taylor's father died at
'he age of SO years AZ thst time
monuments or tombstones were not
common and his grave was marked
with two hag stones. Among the rel
ics which remain on the old Taylor
homestead is a large wood lock on the
front door Of the house about the size
)f a cigar box The lock IS made Of
hickory. every part being of wood ex-
cept the key which Is made of brass
Tho door frames are held together
with large nails which we're made ln
a blacksmith shop,