TWO WARDS GO ON RECORD FOR
ALDERMAN FORM
Twentieth and Twenty-First
Ward Taxpayers Hold
Meeting.
Officers were elected and resolutions denouncing the present administration and favoring a return
to the aldermanic form of government were adopted at a recent
meeting of taxpayers of the twentieth and twenty-first wards, held
in the Junior Order United American Mechanics' hall.
The officers, to head the taxpayers' movement, were named as follows: J. V. Pierce, chairman;
George N. Wagoner, secretary.
Executive committee, B. L. Monday, chairman; H. M. Mynatt, Mrs.
Roddy, Mrs. Doyle, U. L. Barker,
French Brogden, and Tommie
Compton.
The resolution was adopted as
follows:
"First, whereas, the city administration has climaxed a long line
of blunders in which the people of
Knoxville are made the victims of
the rankest type of fraud, that
they have ever known, with an unjust and ridiculous tax assessment.
"Second, whereas, the result of
this assessment, if it is allowed to
stand will result in wholesale robbery of the small home owners of
this community and adjacent communities.
"Third, whereas, we have looked
upon our city administration with
tolerance and forbearance, giving
our officials every opportunity to
make good their task that they
would give us economic and fair
government.
"Therefore, be it resolved, that
we do hereby condemn the present
city tax assessment as being an attempt to rob the people, that we
condemn the city council or those
members who voted for this mon-
trosity (sic.) (the Somers system) or
who have in any other way aided
and abetted in forcing it upon the
back of the people.
"Second, we unequivocally condemn Mayor Ben A. Morton and
the members of the council who
have blindly followed him; the city
tax assessor, L. O. W. Bonham, and
the back tax collector, John Rogers; who have aided in this scheme
to defraud, and we respectfully
suggest that they tender their resignation, as the only service they
can render that would be of value
to the citizens of Knoxville at this
time.
"Third, we condemn, as the
worst foe that the people have, the
Knoxville News-Sentinel and the
Knoxville Journal. We pledge ourselves and we call upon the taxpayers and: citizens throughout the
city to join in the pledge to vote
and work against everything for
which the newspapers stand as being the only safe course to pursue
in any matter relating to our city
government, this course alone
would lead to relief. We appeal to
the city-at-large for a safe and
sane leadership to lead the home
owners and the taxpayers of Knoxville out of the mire of debt, injustice, broken promises and personal favorites into which we have
fallen.
"Fourth, we favor a general
clean-up of all the city officials
with the exceptions of Councilmen
Monday, Sterling and Blanc.
"Fifth, we stand for the old aldermanic system of government,
the plan of our forefathers, that
has never failed."
