The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1921-08-12
yOEsr DEFENDS
ADMINISTRATION
MAYOR CHERRY
DECLARES BUSINESS MEN ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ENORMOUS.
LY INCREASED TAXES.
FAILED TO TURN IN PROPERTY
Fine Automobiles Are Listed at $500.
Only Three Persons Turn in Ola.
monds AS Personal Property in the
City.
fFlom Tuesdays Daily Herald.)

Getting an interview from member
of the city administration reminds
this reporter of puny effort to eat
soup with fork
This morning the telephone IN the
editorial rooms of The Herald rang
sharply Mayor W o. Cherry calleG
for the managing editor to suggest
that this paper publish an interview
concerning the financial condition Of
the city advising that data for this
interview could be secured from City
Recorder f. E. Ramon.
The managing editor tipped this re-
porter off to the big story" and post
haste he set out in search of the before
mentioned city recorder, who he found
engaged in a conversation with a
member of the board of aldermen and
former tax assessor and ex-Mayor y,
Yoest,
The reporter approached to ask for
the interview. 81 have nothing to give
out, but you might get statement
from the mayor said the Judge; but
Mr.. Yoest designated himself as
spokesman for the party, opening up a
TRADE against members of the Bus
mess Mems" aldermanic ticket men
toned in The Herald on Monday.
Mr.. Yoest declared that some OF
those prominently mentioned" for al
dcrman on the Business Mems ticket
lived outside of the corporation in or
der to escape the payment Of corpor-
alton taxes.
He declared further that the "busi
ness men, were the very ones respon-
sible for the enormously increased tax
rates in the city He said it was be-
cause of the 'lies told by some of the
business men of the city, with refer
ence to personal assessments" that
the tax rate had been increased Con
tinuing, he said, but three men IN the
city had turned in any diamonds as
personal property, that fine automo-
biles for which their owners had paid
between $4,000 and $4,000 were valued
at from $500 to $500 in the city tax
schedules; but one piano in the city
had been originally listed at more than
800, and that he had finally persuad;
ed one other party that her piano was
worth $500.
Not only that declared Mr.. Yoest,
some of our leading business men 80
out of the city in January to escape as
sessment for city taxes"
Mr. Yoest continued in this strain
for some time, and finally branthed off,
en- the administration of the Dedman
regime, and went into an exhaustive
diagnosis of the city's financial illness.
He declared that the former admins
tration did not put one dollar into the
sinking fund or interest account, with
out giving city warrants for same. In
other words he left the impression
that not one dollar of the citys indebt
edness was retired for six years.
Mr.. Yoest continued on and on, fl
nally launching into a vigorous de
Tense of the present administrator,
declaring that every member of the
present board is self made man
that each of them is perhaps worth
$4,000 made through individual eff
forts, and" said Mr.. Yoest, lit does
seem to me, that men who have been
so successful in the conduct Of their
own business would put little of
the same spirit into the admi2istra-
ton of the affairs of the people"
judge Kannon declared finally that
the city books are open to all who
care to see them, and that the record
of the present administration is writ
ten where all may read. 1t was de-
CARED that one-third of all the taxes
collected went to pay Off the debts
contracted by past administrations.
Thus endeth the first chapter.