The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1939-07-27
billiard W. Brown
Addresses Large
Crowd Friday
Condidute For Office
Stute Tex Collector
Makes Charges

billiard w. Brown, candidate for
state tax collector, spoke to the cit
liens of Durant and surrounding com
munities in Dmrant Friday night at
the local political rally which all
county and beat candidates attended.
crowd estimated at from 1000 to
1900 heard the candidates.
Through the courtesy of Mr.. Brown
loudspeaker was installed to carry
the message of all the candidates
to the crowd which, assembled to
enjoy a cakewalk and the rally spon-
sored by the members of the Bust
ness and Professional Women's Club
at the City Park.
MIR. Brown stated the office of
state tax collector was one of para
mount Importance 20 the state be-
cause it's financial welfare depended
upon the honest and capable hand
ling of the tax money paid into it
and the proper handling of millions
of dollars of back or delinquent taxes
that are collected through this Of
flee.
Other candidates in the race against
Mr.. Brown are j. b. Gully, can
didate for reelection, and Carl N
Craig, now state auditor.
Mr. Brown charged that a resolu-
ton Ito investigate the state tax col
lector's office was passed by the
Senate at the 1888 session of the
Legislature, according to the 1888 Sen
ate Journel. page 500, and was block
ed in the House of Representatives
after a bitter fight, due largely to
the fact that the matter came up in
the dying days of the session.
He charged that the office of state
auditor, now held by MIR. Carl N.
Craig, his opponent, was investigated
by the Gasoline Investigating Com
nit.ee of the state legislature in
1886 and afterwards the administrs
ton and collection of gasoline tax
money was taken away from Mr.
Craig after the committee found that
number of cars of gasoline were
falsely billed, thus escaping the gas
oline tax. He cited the record for
this, 1896 Senate Journal, page 442
He charged Mr.. Craig with being
involved in the gasoline tax evasion
racket.
Mr. Brown asked his audience L
1T was not poor policy to elect mar
to collect back taxes who either be-
cause he did not know what was
going on or for any other reason per-
mi,ted taxes in large amounts to
become delinquent when it was his
plain duty to collect them.
The speaker also charged his two
opponents, MIR. Craig and Mr..
Gully, with nepotism in office, a vi
olation of our laws which forbid near
relatives working in the office held
by member of a family. He said
that Mr.. Gully worked out a plan OF
job-swapping whereby Mr.. Gully gave
MIR. Craigs son a job and Mr.. Craig
gave Mr.. Gully's daughter a job. He
stated that if he was elected to the
state tax collectors office that there
would be no job-swapping and that
no relatives of his would be employed
in the tax collectors office.
Friends Predict Victory
In a straw vote by the Tupelo
journal in eigh. counties of north
Mississippi it was found that Mr..
Brown got II percent of the votes
against nine percent each for Mr.
Gully and Mr.. Craig. Five percent
of the readers in the eight counties
did not vote.
Well Known Citizen
Mr.. Brown had many friends in
Durant to hear him speak He is
well known as chairman of the Pub
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