Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1920-10-21

local SeI-9oNSTnmenI TO Inc Counties III
the assessment of properties. One OF
the many serious features connected
with the assessment law of Gov. Rob-
erts is that clause which gives the
Railroad Commission the power to fix
taxable values upon taxable property
of Tennessee. If l am elected Gov
ernor, and ii should be deemed neces-
sary to have State Board of Equali-
cation, it will be a non-partisan board
of capable men, selected for that Spe-
cial purpose, and will not be the Rail-
road Commission of Tennessee. There
are enough honorable men in the coun-
ties to assess the property at it's cash
value in conformity with the Consti-
ution without the assistance or direc-
ton of a Railroad Commission which
has been elected for an altogether diff
ferent purpose.
| Under our Constitution all assess
ment of properties must be made upon
cash basis, but the Legislature has
the right to prescribe how the cash
value shall be determined or arrived
at. The law concerning the assess
ment of railroad companies require
assessors to take into consideration
the following elements of value: (D
Physical value (2) value as capital
lied and bonded; 90 value as deter
mined upon an earning basis. In as
sessng farm lands ! favor giving the
farmer the same right to have the
earning value of his property consid-
cred as one of the chief elements of
value in finally determining what his
farm should be assessed at for taxa
BILE purposes.
| also favor the complete elimina-
ton of the revenue agent and back-tax
collector from our assessment laws.
They are both a shame on our body
polite and are a reflection upon our
intelligence as we'll as on our integ-
rity. They are both like the toll-gate,
institutions of ancient times" They
have no place in the proper conduct
of governmental affairs. II we are to
have back-tax collectors, let a sepa-
rate law be drawn up for that purpose,
so that the people may know what
they are doing and can hold their pub
lie servants to proper account. IL
the taxes were properly distributed
throughout the State there would be
no necessity for backtax collectors, as
everybody would be willing to con-
tribute his part in supporting the state
government without complaint.
Should it be necessary to file any
bills to enforce lien against real es-
tate, or to collect defalcation from
county officers, pass special law re-
curing the District Attorney General
to represent the State without extra
cost to the people. This is the sys-
tenn followed by the national govern
ment and should be adopted by Ten
nessee.
1t was never intended for Governor
Roberts tax laws to serve any other
purpose than to make the farmers and
other real estate owners of Tennes-
see pay the entire deficit now existing
in the State government, amounting
to more than $1,000,000 per annum,
but to pay whatever additional deficit
that might occur through the in
creased administrative expenses OF
Governor Roberts and through the
Encouragement of the State prison
as compared with Governor Rye, and
to decrease the total taxes to be paid
by the railroads and other public serv-
ice corporations assessed directly by
the Railroad Commission, and the slid
ing scale was conceived solely for the
purpose of confusing and deceiving
the taxpayers of Tennessee who are
not familiar with these highly compli-
Gated matters relating to taxation.
Colonel Taylor's pronouncement on
law and order:
Labor and Capital.
Labor and capital, the joint pro-
ducers of all our wealth, are as de-
pendent upon each other as the heart
and body of man; one cannot function,
act and produce without the other,
and hence on account of their INSOFAR
able relationship, each should and
must be in absolute harmony with the
other; each possesses its rights and
each has it's duties to perform. This
being land of law, hence each should
and must obey the law. Each are en-
titled to adequate compensation and
should and must receive it. The most
and harmonious relation
should and must exist between them.
There should be no just cause or ex-
cuse for one to become arrayed against
the other, and the man who attempts
to array one against the other is an
citizen and a menace to
his government and its citizanshiD
Loyalty to state, love and respect
Tor human life, preservation of proper
y, fidelity to the Constitution, and obe-
1ience to the peoples laws should be,
and by the Eternal, will be, sustained
and upheld by every good man and
woman In Tennessee.