Jackson County sentinel. (Gainesboro, Tenn.) 1914-current, 1922-10-26

various papers OF the State has
charged Mr.. Peay with voting for and
actively aiding in the passage OF
"the most indefensible and unjust
back tax law ever passed in the his
tory of the State" when he was a
member of the Legislature in 1909.
The supplement issued by Governor
Taylor's headquarters, in discussing
the back tax law referred to, says
among other things:
This act provided that the reve-
nue. agents and back tax attorneys
should back assess every farm, ev-
cry home and every piece of prop
erty in the State of Tennessee which
had been assessed at less than its
actual cash value. At the time this
bill was passed the entire property
of the State was assessed at not
more than one-third of its value, and
this act directed the revenue agent
and the back tax attorney to back
assess every farm and every home
in the State of Tennessee. Under
this law we might have had an as
sessment made by the county as
SCISSORS at exactly one-third the value
of the property so that each tax
payer in the State would have been
bearing exactly his proper share of
the tax burden. The assessment
might have been perfectly equalized
so that each mans assessment would
have represented exactly one-third
of the value of his property and so
that no injustice was done any tax
payer, and yet, under this bill which
Mr.. Peay put through the Legislature
of 1908, the revenue agent could
have gone out and picked out farms
and homes here and there to back
assess them for the difference be-
tween the assessment and the actual
cash value.
To illustrate: Two farms lying
side by side, each worth $50, 900,
each assessed at $4,000, so that each
taxpayer was paying his proper share,
yet under the Peay back tax bill the
revenue agent could have picked out
either one of the farms and back
assessed it for $4,000 and imposed
penalty of Is per cent, leaving the
other farm alone.
The property of the State at that
time was assessed at about $780,
200, and was worth about ST..
BOO, 100000. This Peay back tax
act, therefore, subjected about
5000, 100000 worth of property in
the State to back assessment and
provided for penalty of Is per
cent.
The evils that grew up under this
lct were so outrageous and the prac-
ices were so corrupt that it result
ID in very bitter contest between
Governor Patterson and Governor
Cox in 1906.
Under the Peay act all you had to
10 was to prove the assessment |
gainst a piece of real estate and |
o prove its value and back assess it |
or the difference. The pres
mt back tax system with all of its
niquities is an angel of mercy COM
AIRED with this demon of oppression
or which Austin Peay voted in
9OS.
The Banner submits this charge
gainst Mr.. Peay's legislative record
its readers as worthy of the most
arnest consideration. Undeniably
nat is serious charge which Gov
rnor Taylor has laid at the door of
lr. Peay. Certainly no candidate /,
laiming for himself the candor, con-
stency and mental superiority which
lr. Peay claims for himself has any
ght to pass it up lightly. And yet,
reply, Mr.. Peay is quoted as say
lg in his speech at Winchester on
tuesday, of the present week that if
e were guilty of any such charge
knew no more about the matter
This is the sum total of his reply.
e simply pleads the "baby act"
e enters "plea of infancy" He
,es not undertake to defend his
cord, but files a plea of confession
nd avoidance. He says he was the
'ungest member of the Legislature,
I'd that is the only justification he
fers.
The record shows that Mr.. Peay
as not an infant in arms at the
me Of his service in the Legislature
1908. If correctly recorded, ne
as near 30 years of age. He was
d enough, and thought he knew
Rough of the States government,
be candidate for the Speaker
lip. 1t is true that he was defeated
n the nomination, and it is also
ue that he failed to support Gen.
al Tyson as the nominee for the
leadership.
He was old enough to be a men,
r of the Finance, Ways and Means I
the most important COM
lttee in the Legislature. a
Surely, he could not have been a a
ardless youth of such tender years, \
r we find that only FIVE years later, I
wit, in 1908, he was sufficiently @
ature, skillful, shrewd, adroit and \
perienced to be the trusted leader c
the powerful liquor interests of t
snnascaa xryhap Ca,oto~ Ho~~..l- r. i.