The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, August 21, 1907, Page 4, Image 4
The Lexington Dispatch.
G. M. Harmax, Editor and Publisher
Entered at the Post Office at Lexington,
S. C., as second class matter.
The subscription price of the Dispatch
is $1 a year; 50 cents fcr six months; 25
cents for three months?invariably cash
. in advance.
| CIRCULATION 2,377.
Wednesday, August 21,1907.
Sr. T. S. Dreher.
We publish in this> issue a paper
from Dr. T. H. Dreher of St. Matthf
; ews, on the new county question.
The doctor charges us with "conspicuous
in justice" in the articles we have
written on this question. Any body
can make charges of this character,
if their self-respect will permit them,
but the doctor and all his Calhoun
county advocates combined cannot
prove it. In fact, we are satisfied
that they cannot fool their own sense
of justice (?) to the extent that they
would be willing to believe such a
charge. But the learned doctor will
be proved to be "conspicuously unjust,"
an indulger in the "veriest
?~ "oUnrroT nf slnTA." and a
| XVI b, a> ouu6vi v. ,
"double dealer" in his handling of the
new|county question. He has charged
us with all of the above and more.
When argument and reason have
g| abandoned him, he has resorted to
unltiiid,; trntrue, and personal charges
agaitist the editor of this paper. Such
conduct in a newspaper controversy
must be born of desperation and for- <
eign to the better nature of the one
f who makes use of it.
The learned doctor says, "You
quote an array of figures which is
neither fair nor true." We say they
" . are both fair and true and the Acts of
South Carolina will prove both. He
says he supposes the comptroller general's
report is our authority for the
tax figures we have furnished, but
how he can suppose about the matter
& when we plainly wrote that our authority
was the statutes of South Carolina
we are at a loss to understand.
He certainly ought to be able to read
f print.
He says, "It is incredible how people
can loose by going from a 4 to a 2
mills levy county." How he could
> have possibly distorted anything we
. said into meaning that, even in the
wildest flights of his imagination, we
? cannot conceive. I$e certainly does
not mean to contend that in going to
Calhoun county from Lexington county
any body would be going from a 4
to a 2 mills county. That would not
only be "conspicuously unjust" on
his part, but it would brand him as a
deader in the "veriest rot." Certainly
Lexington is not a four mills county,
and no one would have the hardihood
to assert that Calhoun will be, if
formed,,a two mills county. His own
figures, subsequently given in his own
article, prove the falsity of both assertions.
He says that he finds from the
comptroller general's report (a report
not in existence for 1907) that the tax
levy for Lexington county is 11 mills,
and yet in twenty lines below that
statement he gives Lexington's tax
levy as mills. Is that 4'double
dealing?" That sounds very much*
like it! Certainly the doctor ought
to allow the comptroller general to
ma^e his report for 1907 before he
quotes from it. If he does not, people
will be inclined to think the doctor's
assertions and assumptions to be,
what he charged us with being,
"neither fair nor true." If he will
take the trouble to write the comptroller
general he will find that the
report from whicn he purports to
quote, will not be published earlier
than December next. "In the ways
that are dark and the tricks that are
vain the heathen Chinee is peculiar.''
Again the doctor says, Orangeburg's
tax levy is 3 mills, and by im'
J iU.i.
plication insinuates mai w c uiu uuu
. give the correct figures, when we gave
the tax levy for ordinary county purposes
at 2 mills. What we gave is
, correct and he knows it. If Orangeburg
has a 1 mill levy for road purposes,
then good and well, but doctor
don't try to figure it against the levy
for ordinary county purposes in other
counties. That would be unfair and
misleading. We gave Lee's tax for
sinking fund, because that was incident
to back indebtedness created
upon the formation of the county and
not an independent matter such as a
levy for road and school purposes. If
Calhoun county should require road
improvements and amplified school
facilities, she like Orangeburg, and
other counties, would have to levy a
1 tax for that purpose. But even if we
take the doctor's own ngures as ne
has them, he admits that Calhoun
county would require % of a mill
. more tax than Lexington and Orangeburg;
and the only inducement he
has to offer the people he wants to
-- vote themselves into his new county,
in consideration of this additional
tax, is that they will be a little closer
to the court house; and in addition to j
' f
6 Scoffs Emulsic
? nursing mothers by inc
? nerve force.
It provides babj
and mineral food f<
ALL DRUGGIST
the other admitted increase in taxation,
they will have to tax themselves
to build the court house and jail, admitting,
for the sake of argument,
that St. Matthews will put up $20,000
for that purpose, for that amount will
not build and equip a modern court
house?and that is the kind the doctor
proposes to have, because he believes
(so he says) in development
and progress. The new court house
at Sumter cost more than $50,000 and
the one at Camden more than $30,000.
That will afford the people an idea of
what court honses cost.
The doctor harps on the idea that
people will be close to the court
house. Now, how many people, outside
of the politicians, really desire
to be close to a court house? What
benefit will it be to the average farmer?
Not much! The average man in
the country doesn't care half as much
about being close to the court house,
as he does about being close to his
school, his church, his lumber, flour,
?i.x? ?r? "u
ana grist mins, ms cot tun gin, ma
railroad station, from which he hauls
his fertilizers, his neighbors and his
market. Those are the places he
wants to get close to, and every sensible
man knows it; and there is but
one way to get close to them and that
is to build good roads. There is no
other way under the sun. And if the
good people who propose to cut themselves
off from Orangeburg and Lexington
counties, will figure (taking
the Acts of South Carolina as their
guide) how much higher taxes will be
in a new county, and set to work and
get the old counties to add that much
more tax for road improvement, we
would all be closer to the court houses
and other places. That cannot be
successfully denied. Not only that,
i if a new county is formed, the taxes
will be higher and there will be
no better roads either. We say let's
| have more good roads and no more
j expensive County governments.
When we called the people's attention
to the fact (one the doctor cannot
deny) that it would "require a 10
to 15 mills tax levy on their property
for the additional sum necessary to
pat up their court house and jail."
He says "it was nothing, more nor
less, than a sly, court attempt to deceive
the people into believing that
this lew would be indefinite if forced
upon them:" Perhaps if the doctor's
mind was not so full of "sly" ideas
and "deception," he would not be so
ready to accuse other people of the
like, and could the better understand
what he reads. He cannot put his
hand on a single line in our recent
article that would justify his groundless
assertion. What we wrote is true
and he knows it, if he has figured it
out. He says they will not pay for
their court house and jail all at once,
but they will bond their county for
that purpose. That is not a very
pleasant prospect for the man who
votes himself in the new county, if
he is seeking lower taxation. Let the
doctor say what he pleases?we admire
his enthusiasm in a poor cause
?but we don't want him to misrepresent
us.
TX*\ i-r\ flia t.ov low fnT all
lie 1 C1CIO W VUU uu. AV> j ?
purposes in the old counties of the
State and to the tax levy for all purposes
in Bamberg, Cherokee, Dorchester,
Florence, Greenwood and
Lee counties, giving what purports to
be the average tax levy in both. Now,
if we understood the difference between
new and old counties as they
are commonly called, the old counties
are the ones formed previous to
the formation of the constitution of
1895 and the new counties the ones
formed during and after the formation
of the constitution of 1895. That being
the case, then the doctor has
Florence down as a new county, when
as a matter of fact, it belongs to the
column of old counties. He left out
Saluda from among the new counties
and it should have been there. When
the doctor consults the figures, he
will find that the charges indicated
will throw quite a different light on
tile matter, v^ri euurae nc waa nuu
attempting to deceive the people, he
just made a big mistake.
The doctor seems to rely on the
Comptroller General's report for
some, if not all, of his figures, we
will, therefore, refer him to that report
for the fiscal year 1906, and he
will find from that report that the
average tax levy for the old counties
for that year (for all purposes) was
12.7 mills, that for the new counties
it was 13.3 mills and for the counties
of Lexington and Orangeburg it was
11 mills. Since there is no Comptroller
General's report for 1907, we will
i
m strengthens enfeebled O
reasing their flesh and Jgj
r with the necessary fat Q
>r healthy growth.
Si 50c. AND $1.00. ?
have to take the acts of the legislature
for that year (and as a matter of fact
they are the best authority) to see
what the relative tax levies for this
year are. We find from them that
the average tax levies are as follows:
Old counties 12 mills, new counties
12.4 mills, and Lexington and Orange
burg counties 10.2 mills. From the
above it will seem that the old counties
have a lower rate of taxation
than the new ones and that the counties
of Lexington and Orangeburg
have lower tax levies than either.
Not only that, but it will be seen
from an investigation of the records
that a very much larger per cent ol
the old counties, than of the new
ones, have extra assessments for public
buildings, roads, &c., which shows
- - ? 11
that the old counties are Duiicnng
roads and making other improvement?
that the new counties are not making
and yet their tax levy is less. The
doctor will find that we have plentj
of "props" left if we will take th<
time to investigate facts and not g<
upon assumptions, suppositions anc
bold assertions.
The doctor charges us with being i
"double dealer," and to support tha
wild assertion, he says we said to i
friend that Calhoun would be i
"dandy little county," if formed. Ye
it will be a "dandy little county'
with "dandy, big taxes." Is tha
what the tax payers are looking for
If so they will be able to secure it b;
going down and helping form Calhoui
county. The idea, Mr. County Tax
payer, is to let you tax yourself fo
this new county, for the pay o
officers, and for the building of;
court house and jail and on Monday
they will let you go to town and loo]
at them provided you don't spit to
bacco spit on the floor, and if you ge
in a little trouble and somebod;
swears out a warrant for you, the;
will board you in jail at the publi
expense for awhile. That is wher
your pleasure in the new court hous
and jail will come in. In the mea:
time property will grow higher in St
Mathews at your expense and th
business men will look pleasant am
give you a smile when you go to towi
to spend your money. It's a grea
scheme, it is.
We regret that we will be unable b
follow this controversy further, on ac
count of space, hence we make th<
announcement that with this issue i
will close. It has been quite a de
lightful mental exercise following th<
doctor in his many sided defenses o
his pet scheme. He has cut up a
many mental antics as a jumping jacl
in the hands of a delighted child, onh
to assume another attitude when cor
nered.
We have endeavored to write fo:
the benefit of our people, the truth at
it has appeared to us. Our figurei
have been taken, not from our imagi
nation, but from public records. W<
trust that what has been said wil
prove of benefit to our readers, wh<
have been interested in this discus
sion. If it has, We are satisfied an<
our conscience is easy.
Quite a number of citizens frorr
Leesville have been attending conr
this week as witnesses in the Able7!
case.
SPOT CASH
Hardware
and Paints
!
If you would economize, our
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No debts to lose, and no unprofitable
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Hence you are doing business
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! If you want Mowing Machinery,
sec us.
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Ladies should also visit our
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to housekeepers.
j SCREEN DOORS - - - - hoc. to $1.25
i SCREEN WINDOWS 35c., 45c,, 50c
and 55c.
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Paid up Capital - - $25,000.00. | jj
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