The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, January 09, 1901, Supplement, Image 11
SUPPLEMENT TO
Andersen intelligencer
GO??HPS McSf EEIY'S
SECOND fflU?L MESSAGE,
Reviews Conditions in Sotitl Carolina
and Recommends Legislation
Deemed Desirable.
THE STATE'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS
IS IOST NOTABLE FEATURE OF TEAR
All the State Institutions Are Reported in Excellent Con
dition and the Treasury Department Has Borrowed No
Money-The Cause of the Common Schools
is P'rca?ly Urged Upon the Peo
ple's Representatives.
Gentlemen of the General Assembly :
It is gratifying to me to welcome you as the vepresentatives of tue
people under.such favorable conditions. You come as the first Leg
islature to assemble in South Carolina in the new century. The
Nineteenth century has been one of marked progress and develop
ment in all the arts and sciences, and it contains lessons which we
may. learn with profit to ourselves and which may be of use to us in
legislating for the future. Those who constituted the first Legisla- .
ture one hiririred years ago little dreamed of the advance in all lines
of industry, and of the discoveries and inventions which havfc signal
uejd.lhe.century just passed into history. We cannot realize or even
conceive the advances that will be made during, this century upon
which we are entering. There seems to be almost no limit to the
achievements of the human mind. It is for us to contribute our
part to make the world better and happier by our having lived in it
and to leave to our children a goodly heritage and a name untar
nished. It is your privilege to meet and to counsel with one another
and to consider and enact such laws as will be of benefit not only to
the present but to the future growth and development of this grand
old commonwealth.
The march of material progress and the development of the State,
to which I had the pleasure to refer one year ago in greeting the
members of the Legislature, has kept up with steady and sure step.
The business depression through which, the people had passed and
which was almost unprecedented seems to have been followed by a
revival which is touching all branches of industry. The increased
price which our farmers have received for their staple crop makes
large amend for the falling off in the yield. Our farmers a relearn
ing the importance of diversified farming and in consequence are be
coming more independent.
You need no better evidence of the progress and prosperity of the
State than that presented in the figures contained in the annual
report of the Secretary of State. From this report it will be seen
that approximately fifteen million dollars were invested the past year
in South Carolina companies ; and while a large proportion of it is
in cotton mill building, yet many smaller manufacturing enterprises
and industries have been organized.
New manufactories continueto go up and we are no longer simply
an agricultural people but are fast becoming as well a manufacturing
State. We how lead all Southern States in the manufacture of cot
ton goods and are second only to Massachusetts in the number of
spindles, and at thc present rate of progress will soon lead all the
States in the Union in t? ii s important branch of industry. It is well
to keep this fart in mind as you deliberate. '
Taxable values have increased $4,245,695 during the past year, as
will be seen from the Comptroller General's report, but the increase
is not near as large as it should be or would be if our system of as
sessment and taxation were so revised and amended as to have
placed on the tax books all the property of the State new escaping
taxation and if that which is assessed were equitably assessed.
Peace and good order have characterized our people during the
past year. We.ha ve not been visited by plague or pestilence and no
resort to mob violence has marred the record or stained the fair name
of the State/though in one or two cas?s the strong arm of the mili
tary had tb be called into requisition, but thc majesty of the law was
maintained and no blood was shed. In one case there was strong
provocation for summary justice, but with the assistance of the mil
itary the culprits were, protected, lawlessness was prevented, and
through the ordinary channels of the Courts stern justice will be ad
ministered and the penalty paid.
Yoii as the chosen representatives of the people should guard with
Jealous eye th?ir interests and welfare which have been committed
to your keeping, remembering always thc responsibility which rests
upon you;
FINANCES.
I take pleasure in calling attention to the very creditable showing
which the Treasury Department will bc able to make as to the finan
Cl*l transactions of that department for thc fiscal year closing De
cember 3*, 1900, as will .appear from the statement of. receipts and
disbursements below.' .The Treasurer, by his strict attention to duty,
and tth?s ?ir^fonr: courtesy with which he has treated all parties hav
,n? business relations with his department, deserve? high commen
tb: .. ;? . .' ? .I1...>?^S^L' v.; \.-..TU'. ':i>>v v...... . ..-.':'-..< ...'..*,.....-'';;.".*.' '.V .
ii;-. - . j. . *..'.'.'.;? - . : ? .'
mV- limiMlnHIHHUMWilli1 Hill H '
dation and I feel quite, sute tittie will receive in retiring from the
office, which he has so w^rthily 'fiUed, the hearty well-done of all the
people of the State.
Cash Receipts for year eadine Hi-cerr-ber 315t, ?yoo.
Cash balanc?, Dec. 31, 1899.... $ 508,875 65
Back Taxes..,. 1,071 63
General Taxes 1899.... / 606,51091
General Taxes, 1900..,., 392,476 69
Railroad Assessments for R. R. Commis
sioners .?. .,.. 10^381 64
Income Tax. 1,660 cy
Annual Insurance License Fee... ?...... 13,100 00
Graduated Insurance License Fees. 99
Fees, Office Secretary State...?. 9?45o 22
State Penitentiary. 10,000 00
Privilege Fertilizer Tax.. 75.214 34
Commissioners Sinking Fund. 44.029 00
Sinking Fund for Reduction Brown 4^3
percents:
Loans returned.$91,241 50
Interest on loans and deposits. 17,995 84
Phosphate royalty.23,475 01
Permanent State School Fund :
Interest account. 2,225 99
Principal (escheats). 277 32
132*712 35
- 2,503 31
Special State School Fund (Dispensary). 100,000 00
Morrill Fund from U. S. Government..... 25,000 00
Insurance Sinking Fund (public build
ings) ....... . .. - 73 75
Incorporation r ces. 60 00
Diepensary, S. C.. . 1,913,06976
Refunds-sundry accounts. 2,384 70
$3>76o>452 01
Cash Payments-for Year Ending December 31, 1900.
Salaries...,. $ .148,731 50
Legislative Expenses. 40,895 77
Education, Charitable and Penal Institu
tions .-, . 274,60623
Pensions. 100,815 71
State Special School Fund. 100,684 5T
Interest on Bonds and Stock. r. 273,456 59
Sinking Fund for Reduction.Brown 4j/?
per cents :-'Loans. 70,600 00
Commissioners Sinking Fund........42,048 18
Clemson College : . \
Privilege Fertilizer Tax.$70,114 51
Interest Land Scrip and Per
manent Fund .......... 9,266 36
Morrill Fund. 12,500 00
State Col. Nor., Ind., Agr. and Mech. Col
leg? :
Morrill Fund. 12,866 23
Interest Land Scrip......... 5,75400
91,880 87
18,620 23
Public Printing. .11,258 62
Election Expenses. 19,24888
Quarantining State . 20,234 1 i
Erecting Monument at Chickamauga..... 5>392 15
Permanent State School Fund. 2,320 00
Direct Tax Proceeds-Act of 1884...... 1,116 90
Miscellaneous Accounts.vi 43,470 82
Dispensary. S. C-,
Account proper.$1,779,031 98
Transferred to School Fund 100,000 00
- i379?^3i 98
Cash Balance, December 31, 1900. 625,438 96
$3-760,452 01
The claims of the United States Government against the State of
South Carolina for the payment of which at one time the State was
seriously pressed and notice of suit, given, are now in abeyance for
want of authority to prosecute said claims in the Courts. And it is
br:ted that an equitable adjustment and settlement of the counter
claims between this State and the United States will be effected by
appropriate Congressional legislation which will be final, without the
payment of any moneys by the State.
The State of South Carolina holds United States 4 per cent, bonds
with interest payable quarterly to the amount of seventeen hundred
dollars, which mature on July ist, 1907. The State Treasurer re
ceived a circular letter from the Treasury Department at Washing
ton, D. C., calling attention to Section 11 of an Act of Congress
passed and approved March 14th, 1900, proposing to exchange these
and simila* bonds for two per cent, gold bonds. The Treasurer does
; not think that he has authority of law to surrender and exchange the
bonds now held by the State. If the General Assembly should deem
it advisable to make such exchange it would be necessary for special
legislative authority to he given him.
At the close of each fiscal year, it is always a matter of anxiety and
doubt to the Treasurer as to whether he will have at command funds
to meet the January interest on the public debt and the current ex
penses of the State governrnent. :This state o? affairs arises from the
delay in collecting the State taxes under existing law. If the tax
books were made, to close on the 15th of December instead of the 31st
of December, a? is and has been the case for the last few years, this
doubt and uncertainty would be removed and no one be oppressed
thereby. It is well known that those most able to pay their taxes are
generally the last to do so. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, we
have been able to meet all demands against the Treasury without re
course to borrowing or over-drafts upon banks.
In my Annual Message io the last General Assembly I asked their
attention to the condition of certain bonds to which minc had been
called by the Treasurer, to wit: thirty-seven (37) bonds of $1,000
each, issued by the State in #59 in aid of the Blue Ridge Railroad,
and which have heretofore been carried on the Treasurer's books ns
"Cid. Bunds Fundabie," but which can now no longer be so carried.
These.-bonds among others, it has been established in the Courts,
were plundered and rifled from one of thc old banks of this State
known ?s the State Bank-by Sherman's army in its march through
the State in 1865. Notice was immediately given of thc loss of the
bonds to the Treasurer, and that c?Sccr was cautioned not to recog
nize any one presenting them as thc owner.
Under the Act of 1869 requiring the old banks to resume business
or go into liquidation the Attorney General of thc State had this
bank put into the hands of a receiver, and so thc winding up ot its
affairs has been from that time under the direction of thc Attorney
General. Upon his motion in 1870 an injunction was issued enjoin
ing the Treasurer from paying any of these bonds without thc sanc
tion of the Courts. All but the said thirty-seven bonds, or thirty
eight, for there seems to be some question as to one, have been from
time to time recovered and funded, and the proceeds distributed
under thc direction of ?he Courts.
There have been several applications to the Legislature for leave
to fund the said thirty-seven or thirty-eight bonds, and proceedings
in the Courts were had for mandamus to require thc Treasurer to clo
so without further action of the Legislature. In all of these thc mer
its of the case have been thoroughly investigated, and thc Courts
have declared the bank the owner of the bonds, and its receiver the
only person entitled to fund them. In the mandamus proceedings, in
which all the judges in the State were called to sit en bane, (though
all but two ultimately decided that the Treasurer was not authorized
to fund without special action of the Legislature, two holding that he
was and that the receiver was entitled to have the lost bonds funded
without such action) the judges were unanimous as to thc merits of
the claim. Previous Legislatures have hesitated to allow thc bonds to
be funded, fearing that some one might possibly turn up with the
bonds, and claim to own and fund them as an innocent holder. But
as ? pointed out last year this danger is now removed, as in this case
the twenty years from maturity, during which these bonds might
have been funded by the Treasurer upon their presentation and deliv
ery to him by any such holder, expired on the ist of July, 1899, an(l
any such holder is now barred under the Act of 1896.
Under these circumstances, the claim of the hank to he allowed to
renew and fund these bonds in my judgment is valid and just, and
should be allowed. It is not denied that the State owes thc bonds io
some one-they are carried as part of the old debt of the State on the
books of the Treasurer as owing to some one-thc Courts ha vu de
creed the bank to be thc owner-no one else can now claim them, as
all persons but the bank are barred under the Act of 1896 from doing
so. It seems to me that in the face of these facts it will bc a little
short of repudiation if we continue to refuse to allow thc receiver
of the bank to fund these bonds.
In some States, provision is made for the renewing of lost or de
stroyed bonds, without requiring action of thc Legislature in specific
cases ; if might be wise in this State to make a similar provision, as
the renewing of such lost evidence of indebtedness should be a matter
of judicial rather than legislative inquisition and remedy ; and for the
further reason that everything which adds assurance to the creditor
that he will bf paid even though he loses the paper evidence of his
debt adds to the credit of the State.
I have gone somewhat into the merits of this matter as I cannot but
feel that the credit and honor of thc State are now to some extent in
volved. I earnestly recommend it to the attention of the General As
sembly as one upon which some action should bc taken, for thc bonds
can no longer be carried on the Treasurer's books as "Old Bonds
Fundable."
EDUCATION.
Not the least gratifying evidence of our progress is thc remark
able awakening in all departments of education. At thc beginning
of the century just closed the civilized world knew no such thing as
a State system of education ; and in many quarters, until a compara
tively recent elate, the.position of those who advocated free public
education as a legitimate function of State government was stub
bornly contested, the opposition in our State being largely due to
peculiar racial and social conditions. State education is now thc
settled policy of our country, being recognized as both a function
and a duty;of the government; and it may well be questioned
whether the nineteenth century has( made a more important contri
bution to the cause of democracy and civilization. Since 1870 thc
public expenditure for common schools in the United States has
nearly trebled, being now $2.67 per capita of population, or an ag
gregate of $200,000,000 annually. It is a principle now well recog
nized, that the safety of the government ;*self requires that it give
its citizens the opportunity to fit themsel.es for an intelligent dis
charge of their duties to the State.
Encouraging reports come from the schools and colleges of our
own State, indicating that they have entered upon an era of unex
ampled prosperity. And yet much remains to be done to increase
the efficiency of our public schools. The first essential is teachers of
high moral character and adequate professional equipment. Our
teachers have better opportunities for professional training than
ever before, and they show a higher average of intelligence and pro
fessional fitness; but they are too often poorly paid for their ser
vices, and the best results cannot be expected until the schools, in
stead of advertising for bids from teachers, offer adequate pay and
demand good qualifications.
The complaint is made, and not unjustly, that our school system
is not well articulated; that no provision has been made to fill thc
gap between the common school and thc college, and that the col
lege must therefore maintain a preparatory department. While it
is true that very few of those who enter the common school ever
reach the nigh school, and fewer still thc college, yet those who de
sire to fit themselves for college should have the opportunity to do
so in their own schools. This deficiency has been met in many of
thc towns, and in some of the country districts, by thc erection of
graded schools ; but in most of the country schools inadequate pre
paratory training is offered. Thc result is that many of the country
pupils who desire to compete for scholarships in the State colleges,
or who desire to enter college, are at a manifest disadvantage, and
must either employ some one to coach them, or must attend a pre
paratory school or graded school in town, at a considerable outlay
for board and tuition.
The importance of levying an additional tax for the support of the
country schools cannot be too strongly urged upon our people.
This will enable them to employ competent teachers for longer
terms : it will citable them to give their children elementary and pre
paratory training ac home; and it will tend to check the abnormal
flow of population from the country to the town ; it will be bene
ficial from every point bf view. While it is possible for the graded