The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1920-06-25
COLONEL CRABTREE
: OPENS CAMPAIGN.
Continued from first page.

property are for the most part
wealthy, are we'll organized, and
speak in no uncertain terms when an
attempt is made to Cypress them.
No sooner had Governor Roberts
personality tax law been introduced
than the owners of personality spoke
in such decisive and commanding
terms that a badly frightened tyrant,
with his tinseled crown all awry,
rushed into the legislative halls and
whispered to his ~henchmen, Kill the
personally tax bill; save me lest |
perish"
Tax Bills are Unsound.
No sane man or will assert
that if the tax law Of 1919 is sound
as it applies to farm lands, that the
personally tax bill of 1919 is I'M
sound. No sensible man or woman
will state that a farm in the hands of
a producer of the neccessaries of life
should be assessed at its full value, or
the full price for which it would sell
IN long time, while the bonds and
stocks in the hands of coupon clip
pers should be assessed at 10 to 20
per cent Of the cash price for which
they would sell any day.
Both Governor Roberts farm tax
law and Governor Roberts personal
ty tax bill are unsound in principle
and vicious in their possibilities. The
former should be repealed and the
latter never enacted inc law.
The power to appoint every one of
the vast army of tax raisers and stat
isticians now employed under the
present administration gives the Gov
ernor the power to tax personally
every freeholder in Tennessee-the
power to reward his friends by lower
ing their taxes, and the power to
punish his enemies by raising their
taxes. A power that democracy de-
spises and tyrrany embraces. To pro-
test the violation of this right the
Boston tea party called the colonies
to arms and gave the American re
public as a beacon light to guide OPP
pressed humanity to freedom every
where. Governor Roberts tax law de-
stroys the last vestige of local self
government by divesting the local
communities of their right to assess
their property, and is vicious, in that
it sends lawyers and politicians from
the cities into the rural communities
to assess farm lands.
Has Wasted Peoples Money.
Governor Roberts tax system is
vicious in that it has been a waste
of the, peoples money. The last gen.
eral assembly was prodigal in appro-
priating the sum of $40,0 900
for the administration for two years
of Governor Roberts tax law. By
June | the emergency board had
made 1000 more and must increase
the appropriation from time to time
the present hoard of hungry tax
gathers are to be paid and main
tanned by the tax payers. In other
the Legislature felt that as the
peoples representatives it could not
more than $4,000 of the peoples
money to maintain this outrageous
tax system for a period of two years.
Governor Roberts saw fit to have his
emergency board practically triple
he appropriation given by the legis-
allure for a two-year period to main
ain a tax machine for one year. I'm
ess men are discharged who have no
luties to perform, this tax machine of
Governor Roberts will cost the state
or the t~wo-year period approximate
y 5000, 900, or practically one-half of
what was formerly the annual deficit
# the State.
This unparalleled waste in spending
he peoples money has necessitated
he raising of the peoples taxes I'M
farms assessed at the high war-in-
lated prices at which a few were sold
IN long time are to-day being sold for
much less than their assessed value.
Governor Roberts tax law is fur
her vicious because it places upon
he State Railroad Commission the
to equalize the assessments,
With power to raise or lower the tax
s on every home and farm in the
tate. The same board has been vest
d with the power to assess railroads,
telegraph and telephones, under the
soberts' plan, and these utilities cor
rorations will pay to the Treasurer
I the State approximately several
undred thousand dollars less than
hey have paid under the old law.