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XHB WATB??5Ss8BNGBR PubUshed Rvery Tuesday by CHAS. W. BIRCHMORB, Editor. , s 'Established 1884 jS ?, subscription $1.SQ a Year in Advance Tuesday, January 13th, 1925. ? L) ;\ ? Kntered aa Second, C|asa Matter at the Postoffice at Camden, "S. C. ... i * THE LEGISLATURE The lgeislature has convened and will have many matters of importance to consider. As a rule we balleve that cuv general assembly is composed of intelligent and patriotic men, and that their honest desire wiil be to render efficient and helpful service to their constituents. This is a time when they should do so, for the people whom they reprejent have not had any bed of roses to recline upon during the i ? ' Rt yfiar. Short crops were made, although the cotton crop was better than was predicted. The food an J feed crops are much shorter than they have been in some years. Taxes aro much higher than they have ever teen, and one thing is certain, there should be no more taxes added tQ the r !erady heavy rate, but where possible they should be cut down. The over head expenses in many of our state in titutiorvs are, wn believe, uneccess ?arily high. It would be interesting ? to know just what the overhead, ex pen es of ihe State Highway Comm ission are, the State Tar Commission the colleges whero so much progagnda in the way of printed stuff is sent out If it were possible to obtain an itemiz ed statement of these and other state institution " it might pr'ove a, revelation of extravagance when the people are feeling vt^e heavy, burden of taxes. ^9 patriotic citizens would desire to 9ee any worthy and necessary insti tutions of our state crippled for want of sufficient fundfc, but at the same time the people toant to konw that they are/ge^ting' viilue received for every dollar tfiey pay to maintain these institutions. NOT MUCH LEFT. Just waht ia to become of the $200, 000 that the state highway comruiss sion is to realize from the sale auto mobile title certificates has not been made clear. Of course it is common ly understood that the principal rea son for the title law is the ease with which the money can be collected. But still there are. a good many people throughout the state who w&uld at least like to know what is to become of the money that is thu9 to become squeezed out of them. ? Yorkville En. quirer. Inasmuch as the tax commission ?3 empowered to hire as* many extra deputies as necessary to enforce the laW referred to above, there will not be mtf^h left for disposition. ? Bam bert: Herald. The automobile owners are being squeezed on every hand now, and with the doubling of the license fees it does seem that they might have been spared this extra hold up, although there may be a wonderful advantage in requiring automobile owners to se cure titles and have their titles in their pockets with tnem when driving their cars about. There has been an increase in the gasoline tax, and add ing an extra dollar for ia ?title will - bring in a stream of dollars for all time to come, and as the Bamberg Herald intimates there will be added clerk? sufficient to help absorb this revenue. We predict that it will not be many years beforo the state will require each automobile owner to car ry insurance on his car and the state to furnish the insuanco. This is. already being talked of in somd states. As long as the sovereign peo ple will r'oct men to office who per sist in ' xing them out of reason so long \*.. this state of affairs contin ue. But after awhile there may be rfn uprising of the people and a reckon ing had. MAIN HIGHWAYS The building of mnin highways aro a necessity, and everyone desires to have good roads, but there Is a ten dency to negledt tho lateral roads. To our mind these a i* as Important nS the main highways, for they afford an opportunity for the farmers of tho county to get into the main high way:) that lead to their market town whoro they can fnarket their produce. These roads should not be. neglected. Thoy need to be put in good condi tion for they accomodate the citizens of the county who pay the road build ing bills. This thing of bdllding hard surfaced roads for tourists to the neg lect 6f the taxpayers pf the county who happen not to reside on the rrmin highways does not strike us as fair. Hety the folk at home art well as bull 1 Ing up tho main highways. The Stat,j Highway Commission does not tako charge of these roads while they get the taxes the people are forced to pay. At first flush you may be in clined to ' disagree with us but if you will study this ftiatter you Vrf)l agree with us that those who pay the bills are it 'least entitled to as much con sideration is thee* who merely pass through the country. Let Us be just a* well a* gimerous. ? v.vV . > ???,. -r? -1925 TO BB BANNER YEAR. Wo do not remember when report* generally of the business outlook was better than at this time, but we has ten to say that we do not mean that it ? is better at this particular time. How ever, those who have been making surveys of the outlook freely predict that 1926. will be a banner year in business. This optimistic feeling will help wonderfully, but i"-. will not do to depend upon the pre. 1 ."foils a lone, but we must all work to bring a bout the splendid results that arc predicted. Many o 1 our farmer? have gotten away from the nil cotton crop and are embarking in other things Vo make buckle and tongue moot, nnd they are the ones who are going to materially add to the prosperity of the country. The intensive system of farming along with improve.' meth osd and improved machinery will make changes on the farm that will be bound to result in good. We all want to see our farmers successful and happy, for their prosperity and happiness Will fre reflected in otner lines of endeavor. The farmer feeds and clothes the world, and every one should give him all the encouargement possible. There nre industrial enter prises that give promise of success and they, too, are essential to any community's growth and sl ouM be encouraged. We have room in Cam den for new enterprises and should e?, courage their establishment. A to bacco warehouse would be of help in opening a new sourco of revuiuo U our farmers. A cannery would b^ another thing that would help. An up to-date furniture shop where furni ture could be made and repaired would succeed here we believe. There are many enterprises that could be es tablished that would swell the week ly pay l ..Us and the w iy to j .? at them is to have the business men ge. to-gether and decide upon what ihe> want and go after it. We are all in terested in bringing about the goo-; times predicted for 1925, and if wt want a realization of our hopes*, an. want it hard enough we will suc:ee ... BONDHOLDERS GET THE IJENIv FIY "Municipals arc selling far closer to taxable bonds today than they ever did in pre-income tax day-r," says Tho Bond Buyer editorially in comparing municipal and taxable bond yields. I-j is a recognized national authority o.i municiapl bonds. Its statements prove that borrowing municipalities do not ?eap the principal benefit from tax exemption of bonds. The real beneficiaries arc wealthy investor.' liable for surtaxes in the higher bracK ets. It says editorialy: "Every one concedes that tax ex emption has been the pirncipal ap peal of State and city bonds to cer tain individual Investors since surtax rates were imposed. Every munici pal bond man has clients who did not konw what a municipal bod was un til the income tax collertor began to take a big sharo of the year's receipts. "Municipals for many years fluc tuated around 3 1-2 per cent while rails were worth a 4 1-2 per cent basis and industrials yielded 5 1-2. Today, with municipals on a 4-1-8 per cent basis, the same rails are only a half a point aWay at about a 4.65 per cent basis and the industrials yield slightly less than 5 per cent. In other words, the spread has been cut down to less than one-half of what it was back in 1890 and 1900. "And this in spite of the tax exempt ion enjoyed by municipals which fea ture, in theory, should add-three quarters of one per cent to the normal differential assuming the average in vestor is taxed on an income of only $30,000 "Municipals today command, over the best grado rails and industrials, only about one-half the premium they did 20 years ajfo. The reasons for this are ( 1 ) the tremendous increase, actual* and relative, In the issuance of such bonds and (2) the resultnnt lowering of their credit rating among investors. As to the tax exemption feature, that has been an important offset to the Influence of the two fac tors just mentioned, but its effect is waning rapidly. "Wero the income tax to be repeal ed tomorrow, in long run we fail to aee any reason why bonds of our states and cities would not continue to soil on a yield basis is fully as much be low other classes of securities as they do at this time." ? 1 Read this again and see how public treasuries are loving money simply because a worn out practice is not cor fected. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT President Coolidge has announced his intention to call a conference oi commissioners of revenue of the sev orhl states to consider problems pre. sAnted by the federal and state inheri tance, estate or succession taxes. In the United States 46 states now im pose such taxes. There Is striking lack of uniformity In the law*. Over lapping of taxes, resulting In double and triple taxation, nnd many prob lemrf of tax theory ?nd administration are scheduled for discussion. An inheritance tax is primarily a tax upon capital as opposed to income and, therefore, <as taxing authorities are consumers and not producers of we<h, any subtraction from the cap ital wealth of the nation . i.j a sub traction from tho common wealth. In other Words, the same objecti >ns ap ply as to a capital levy. Excessive estate taxes disci-urage accumulation of fortunes and lessen reservoirs of wealth from which ~ spring extensive employment and in vestments necessary to initiate- new enterprises and develop the country. Continuation of high taxe3 would in evitably pare away wealth of a peo ple to point of economic impoverish ment States are already beginning io re lax on drastic inheritance laws as they see that such measures strke at the root of productive industry and empolymennt and lessen the perman ent taxable assets of a state. NO "GOOD FIRES" Fire protection is everybody's per sonal problem; not only the obligation to go and help in an actual conflagra tion, but also to help in preventing firec. The United States pays approxi mately $500,000,000 every year for fiivs; 75 per cent of which are need less. Almost $:>.00 per capita goes up in smoke every year?the price of six months fuel cr a month rent for i the average family of five. There j are no "good firet?7" every one is de vouring monster. Every item of I property burned is that much human labor nad savings destroyed and the nation is that much poorer. If America could reduce her fire losses 5 per cent, much proprety not | now covered by insurance wpuld se cure fire insurance protection. Tho public would benefit by reduced rates and insurance companies would bene l fit by doing a larger net business be j cause of' fewer fire losses to pay. | ANOTHER STRIKING EXAMPLE j Last week we made some comment upon wills, referring particularly t.o I the will of Mr. Gaston who died re gently in Cheraw. In the distribu I tion of his property his will was in j quite a contrast wit^ most wills. A few days ago we e.ime across another man ? a Georgian ? who died recently and left a will in which he made a dis tribution of his estate in a most prac tical and helpful way as will be seen by tho following news story of hh will: Waynesboro, Ga., Jan 5.? The will of the late Judge George O, Warnock who died at Waynesboro on December 19, 1924, shows that his estate was valued, probably, at $125,000. His public benefactions are $1,000 to the trustees of the Baptist Chu?ch of Waynesboro toward the. building fund; $3,000 to the trustees of the Me thodist church toward building Sun> d'ay school room for men; $1,000 to A.umt't i Cr,>hanage home in Macon, $10,000 to Southern Methodist Epis copal church, income of which is to be used for ministerial education of young Georgia men; $35,000 more or { s. toward education of poor but worthy white boys and girls of Huvke v?unt>. the income only of which is to be used each year. According to figures comp led iheffe Were registered ? in 1924 in S. C. 147,530 automobile" j and 15,852 trucks Of this number Kershaw county is credited with 2,447 automobiles and 287 trucks. The indications are this nuipber will be materially increase 1 thin yea:. 1 Fovnc?* Gov. Frjnk O. Lowd' n, of Illinois, is credited with saying that whilo the 1924 corn crop was 20 per cent, le s in volume compared with the 1923 orop it would sell for some thing like $7?>0,000,bo0 more thnn tho U)23 crop. The cotton crop for 1921 was 3,009,000 bales more than the crop of 1923 it is sell ng for $ <">,000, 000 less than the 1923 crop, showing that the les cotton I he farmers make the more they profit by it. There *s food for thought in tih; statement. It would be s. godsend to our coun try if every child lrt or 18 years old could have enough steady work to form habits of industry instead of habits of iulencs'. * I United Stale. i Senate has gone on record as favoring private operation of Muscle Shoals. An amendment providing for government operation was voted down 32 to 49 and then thfr Underwood bill was pas.-ed by the same vote, Democrats and Republi can; divided about oqually on the sub jecL t \ The Department of Agriculture enti mates cash value of 1924 farm crops at $9,479,902,000. Market value of crops in 1923 was $753, 013,000 lesj. Acreago in 1924 wa? a. bout 20,000,000 less than 1923. All crops were fairly f^ood except .corn. Production of corn was 000,000,000 busheU less than last year, but Its value wns $188,000 000 more--total value of corn crop for 1924 was $2,405,480,000. .Gotten ranked next. . . ? Start the New Year Right Resolve Now to Make the Most of 1925 let. To be good-Live Right. 2nd. To save each week some of the money ^ou earn. 3rd- To invest all you can save each month in shares of our association. ?**- ..f+i CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: , During 1924 Our Shareholders paid in on their shares and SAVED - - - $27,210.00 Seriously think it over and may he you will decide you want to join them in 1925. Our two Series No. 6 and 7^ now operating, make the following showing: CAPITAL ? Dues paid and earnings to date $119,723.00 LOANS ? Only to shareholders 139,389.00 Money Borrowed 22.186.00 Loss on loans during 20 years business $ NONE We are Conservative and Careful Here is -Your Opportunity Take as' m:.ny shires in Serii Xn. 8 as you can c wry. Mo:. inly payment only $1,00 per share. First payment, Monday, Jununr.. l'Jtli. Later if you vvn nt to repair your home, .buy a homo or build a home, we will loan ynu $21)0 per share to the extent security y ur offer warrants. Our officer; and director nr . and v.v belirve every share holder of our association is very proud of our 20 yenrs successful opera on, and it is most i,. .t'ify iv jlt l<> all of us that our Association has made it possible for many peoplj in Camden to own their homes'. The Waieree Building and Loan Association Dr. W. J. Dunn, P resident ?'o): n I'. M a -key, Soc. & Trcns. W. J. Dunn, J1 M. Wooton, VV . Hirchmore, Jno. 'I'. Neltlcs, C/FFKEK I). Wolfif, Vice-. 'Tsirlent, L. A. Vv ittk >u ;k j , Solicitor D'KKCTOKH. I'. Wolfe, ( . .1. Shannon, Jr. 1,. A. Wittkowsny, S VV . van 1/ ; lulinffhnm, 1'. l/owis. U-t m know how many shares youwant. Fill in sign, and return to u? hoforo Monday, January 19th tho follow i application for number of shares wan tori. T 1 1 K WATKUKK li(!>M)INU AND I.OA.N ASSOCIATION Cfim<l?n, 8. ('. Gentlemen: IMenne ontrr my fcUbncriptlon for chnrow Seripn No. 8. First payment $1.00 per nhnre to lip mnde in iVlonrla Jntumry I'..', 1925. (Hisrn hero.)