The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, January 21, 1927, Image 8
FLMA FOR ECONOMY IB MADE
(Continued from Firat J'age)
been established and are supported
by the stale government, but this
is a record that is outstanding in
comparison with even the larger and
wealthiest of our sister states.
Winthrop college, Clem son, the Citadel
and the University of .South
Carolina are all doing splendid work
fly ?' >n their special lines of educational
endeavor. They ure graduating men
and women each year who are thoroughly
trained and equipped for use-,
fulness in a civilization that is exacting
in its demands upon those who
i would be it* builders and leaders.
,? Each year, and in steadily increasing
numbers, these institutions have been
educating our young men and women,
and last year, the best in our history,
hundreds were given their diplomas.
It is the sacred duty of the state, my
fellow citizens, to maintain this great
record and to give to our colleges that
4 moral and financial support that Is
necessary to assure a continuance of
their splendid work and to make certain
the efficient service they are
rendering our people. While it is a
deplorable fact that hundreds of our
young men and women must be turnip
cd from our college doors each year
from a lack of accommodations, the
state, no matter how philanthropic
nor what its desire.* may be. Aan;
never hope to furnish a college education
for all its people, I', mip't
be governed by necessity and by its
i' financial ability to meet the demands,
jjt v A* our wealth increases and when
this can l>c done, without placing upon
our people tax burdens greater than
P.! they should be called upon to bear,
such as a! present, then our colleges
should I* enlarged, but pot until that
time. In the meantime, the strictest
economy should be practiced in the
- administration of our colleges and the
... greatest care should bo exercised in
granting entrance permits to the privileges
which the colleges have to offer
that no favoritism may exist, and
certainly no South Carolina girl or
boy should l>e deprived of admission
to make room for .some boy or girl
, of another state. 'I here are abuses
i F along this line that should be corrected
and at the first opportunity
n aI,d they should not be permitted to
x \ occur in the future.
Common School System
Our common school system has
reached a degree of perfection that
should be most gratifying to every
South Carolinian. The free school
term in many communities vm the
state extends for nine months and
under the provisions of the G-0-1 law.
i our schools are practically assured
a fvbven months' term.
The construction of necessary and
comfortable buildings and the lengthening
of our school teim. the consolidation
of weak schools and the
adoption of the conveying system
where necessary is a long step forward
in our educational pr?gre**.
South Carolina is spending unstintedly
U|K>n her free school system. She
is determined to stamp out illiteracy
and to educate her people. No state
can claim greater progress or point
to a finer educational record for the
past twenty year*. Our percentage
of illiteracy has steadily decreased
and today, based upon government
statistics, only ti I-J per cent . f our
white } ,puliation is illiterate. With
the continued progress of the past
few years, then within the next five
or six years we should have a white
population 100 per cent literate. There
is great illiteracy still existing among
our negroes. The population of this
race i< almost as great in numbers
as the white nopnlat ioj. This hc?
counts tor the low percentage which
our state is given when compared
fc.-- with other -latcs. Under our presj,
ent educational system much is being
done to educate the negro and illit>
eracy among them has been greatly
reduced.
Hut, m> fellow citizens, while we
, t have very much in. our educational
system and program that is a source
of congratulation, still the operation
of our school machinery is far from
perfect. 1 here can be no excuse for
waste of money even for education.
? Every dollar spent should be made to
return a dollar's worth. Under our
present law the money is distributed
Ik upon th? basis of enrollment. This
is manifestly unjust and the law
'14 - should be amended and the disbursements
made upon average daily at<xi.
- tendance. This may work a hardship
in some instances, but it is a just
method. The state should not pay
for children who do not attend nor
for work that is not .performed. Besides,
the adoption of the average atj|||
. tendance plan will create a strong incentive
and renewed effort to get nil
of our children into the schools and
keep them there throughout the term.
Before closing my remarks upon
this important subject I feel that I
should warn our people against the
y~7~- . ever-increasing tendency, both in our
colleges and public schools, to attach
too much importance to athletics and
other sports. Athletics are all right
in their place but most certainly they
should not be allowed to interfere
m-ith the main purpose for which our
educational system was established?
that of the training, the cultivation
of the minds and hearts of our chilli
i en.
lieliefs of Teachers
No men or woman, gentlemen of
the general assembly, who denies or
oven questions the existence of the
Supreme Being atul man's personal
dependence upon Him, should be em
ployed in any of the colleges or public
schools of our state. Our people
h*\e Ih-cii very careless in regard to
this most important matter, and 1
here ami now call upon yot> ami urge
all trustees to use their authority and
the utmost diligence to prevent the
employment of any such person.
My fellow citizens, extravagance
and its baneful influence has crept
into every department of life. Homes,
municipalities, counties, states and
nations are suffering from its evil
effect. There can be no justification
for wastefulness under uny condition*.
This is true of the individual
and it is true of the state. The conditions
confronting our state and
people today demand the most careful
study and the exercise of the profoundest
statesmanship. There- are
institutions of the state that are dear
to our hearts und upon which our
future progress and greatness depend,
and these must Ik- protected. While
on the other hand our people are face
to face with tin- greatest financial
losses and business depression that
ha-> existed in our state for many
years. Our tax burdens of the past
ha\c been greater than many of our
piop'e could bear without actual dis
and unless we give some relief
there must bo more extensive and
even greater distress. I promised the
people of South Carolina that if
elected governor I would do all in
my power to administer the government
upon a more economical basis
and that 1 would appeal to the leg is
lature for co-operation in the adoption
of >Ut h a policy. ' I am here, gentlemen,
to redeem that pledge; 1 am here
-to assist in cutting out the dead tim-j
Dors, leaving only those that ar< '
functioning and that are necessary j
departments of government. I prom-'
iscd relief from commissions as far!
as possible and a return to ^onstitu-j
tional government and a rule of the j
people. There can be no question of!
the fact that there is overlapping of
authority or duplication of departments.
1 hcr<- are commissions that
should be abolished and there art '
others that should be consolidated.!
If this is done there will be u great '
>nv.ng to the taxpayers of the state!
and will effect a much needed refefrm- !
iition i: the government, and without!
n any way impairing its efficiency.!
AIxdish and Consolidate
1 urge you <? gi\v this important
matter your prompt, earnest ami intelligent
con< it-ration and that you
unite with me to effect these reforms
and give to tr.e people a more economical
administration of the government.
In carrying out my pledge*
to tne people of South Carolina I
sbal! urge you. gentlemen of the general
assembly, to abolish the budget
commission and place its duties upon
the department of the government
that performed the duties before its
establishment. I shall ask you to
abolish the board of public welfaie.
i.e\u.\;ng the duties of the child plac!
in* bureau upon the state board of
health. I shall ask you to abolish the
county game warden's office and devolve
the duties upon the magistrates
and constibles of the state. 1 shall
call upon you to consolidate the warehouse
commission with the department
of agriculture, commerce and
industries. 1 shall urge you to reorganize
and thoroughly investigate
the state highway department, abolish
the automobile title law and place the
sale of licenses, with the various counties.
1 shall most earnestly urge
upon you the necessity of abolishing
the tax commission and Conferring all
necessary duties and powers of this
department upon the constitutional
office of the state treasurer and
comptroller general. These, gentlemen,
and other reforms that are
righteous demands of the people of
South Carolina, I shall submit to you
by special messages and in no uncertain
terms.
I he subject of taxation is always
one of the transcendent importance,
and particularly is that true in South
Carolina today. As, long as there is
a necessity for government there
must remain the necessity for taxes
to support the government. As we
must have government, and we are
all agreed upon that question, then
the only remaining question for solution
is the amount of taxes necessary
9nd how to adjust the burden
so as to cause it to rest evenly unon
those who are to pay. The chief
thought and purpose of our lawmaking
bodies for the past several
years appears to have been directed
to the raising of revenue without
the proper regards for the methods
adopted or real necessity for the
amount levied. \\ hat we need is a
realization of our true condition, and
to live and progress as these conditions
wisely permit. We are not a
poverty-stricken state?our people
are virile, thrifty, intelligent and prot
A
jfrwaivt and no it?t? cau boast of
mora steady activity and development
in all departments of life than
South Carolina. There is, however, a
growing tendency to waatefulness, extravagance
and the living ahead of
our means, and if wo are to avoid the
breakers this must be stopped.
Kquatlzation of Taxes
Let us, as the responsible heads
of this government, direct our immediate
attention to the udoption of
methods that will place all taxable
values upon the books and then equalize
those values so that the burdens
of taxation will rest evenly upon our
people. As 1 interpret the sentiment
of our people today, they do not object
to the payment of taxes that are
required for support of our worthy
institutions and necessary departments,
but they are determined that
there shall be an elimination of those
that are unnecessary and an economical
administration uf those that remain.
They demand a dollar's service
for a dollar expended. They are determined
that the burdens of taxation
shall be more evenly apportioned
and that property and wealth now
escaping taxation shall be required to
bear their just proportion of the taxes
necessary to support the government
under which they exist and from
which they receive protection.
I urge upon you, gentlemen of the
gene'ial assembly, the necessity for j
prompt action in submitting to thej
people the question of amending the ;
constitution so as to grant to your I
bodies the power to classify property j
so that 'he escaping millions of in- ;
tangible values may be properly and
justly assessed and that through this '
means you may be enabled to give
South Carolina a more ju.st and equitable
system of taxation. While we j
have the machinery already provided j
for a just assessment of all 'tangible
property, glaring inequalities exist in
every county and, in fact, every com-1
munity of the state. The govern- i
mental machinery is all that is nee- |
essary but it has become inefficient";
through improper operation. The responsibility
for this failure is directly
traceable to the legislative delegations
from the several counties.
Blame I'pon Legislators
1 The boards for the assessment of
property are appointed by the governor
upon the recommendation of
the various legislative delegations,
and the executive is in no way responsible.
No man should he recommended
for appointment to these responsible
positions who is not in
V V. H%' fitted to 1 hp 1
duties. The standard applied to those!
appointed to these positions should !
be the same as that applied to other j
positions of trust and responsibility?
that of character and ability. I request
and urge you to submit for appointment
to these very responsible
positions men who arc familiar with
local conditions; who know the relative
value of the property to be assessed
and men who will perform I
their duty. Our present system does i
not provide sufficient time to do th;s
work properly, neither does it provide j
adequate pay for the c 'rvice that is
to be rendered. 1 urge you to pro- |
vide for both of these requirements. |
With our county boards of assess
ots composed of men who are capable j
and fearless, with sufficient time pro-!
vided by law for the proper performance
of the work, and with adequate j
pay for the service rendered, thep.
muyh of the just cr ticisni against
our tax system will ciase.
Let make effective the machin-1
ery alreiuj\ provided for. the adjust-!
men', of property values and tax bur |
dens within the several counties an'
then by the same process as between
counties, and a great and much needed
reform will have been affected.
The movement for the revaluation !
of property of the state at 100 per ,
cent is the creature of those who j
would place a greater share of the !
burden of taxation upon the homes
and farms of the state. This is manifestly
unjust and must not be permitted.
The homes of the state are
not revenue producing values, neither
are a great percentage of our farm's.
It is estimated by the government
that 66 per cent of our farms do not
pay one dollar's net return from their
operation ami that 88 per cent are
already mortgaged. Besides, in South
Carolina more than 40 per cent of our
farm lands are lying idle .and from
these there is no return whatever.
The 18,000,000 acrejr of farm lands
in South Carolina, including the 40
per cent not cultivated, are assessed
for taxation at $1 I per acre. This
I average is already entirely too high
and should he reduced. EvtTy effort
should be used to develop our agricultural
interests and bring into cultivation
the. idle acreage rather than
;aAopt a policy that will further cripple
and depress the greatest of our
industries, and upon which all other
departments of our great life are dependent
for the blood that gives existence.
The revaluation of the property of
the state is an immense undertaking.
It would involve an expenditure of
hundreds of thousands of dollars. It
would necessitate the creation of another
department of government with j
n army of offlc# holders and tax
consumers. It would take several
years to complete the work. It would
disturb all business interests and
create unrest everywhere; the result
would be disastrous to our state as a
whole. Unless there should bo twothirds
of the legislature who favor
this revaluation scheme, then it will
be a useless consumption of valuable
time and a waste of the hard-earned
dollars of our taxpayers to undertake
the adoption of such a policy at this
sessions of the legislature.
Soft Drink Tux
1 took the position in the recentcampaign
that what is known as the
soft drink tax was a creature of extravagance
and 1 still hold to that
position. There can be no justification
of this tax except as an emergency,
unless the state is to adopt the
sales tux as a general policy of gov- J
eminent. To this general method of
taxation 1 am certainly unwilling to
commit myself at this time. If it be
found, after the exercise of rigid
economy, that an emergency tax is
necessary to protect the state and
her institutions and to prevent* additional
burdens upon our homes and
farms then this tax should be levied
upon those things that are regarded
as least essential to our progress and j
happiness. Hut in no case should a ;
20 per cent tax be levied for thi?i
means confiscation and the imposition]
of burdens greater than any line of j
business can bear and live.
If there is any period of our state's'
history, except just before and during
Reconstruction, in which there;
has been a more general disregard j
for law and its sacred majesty, then
I am not conversant with it. It is
useless, my fellow citizens, to discuss,
the causes that have created this de- !
nlorable condition of affairs for we,
' j
would only open up a source of end- j
less debate. Nevertheless, 1 venture j
to suggest that one of the funda- j
mental reasons is to be found in the
fact that men in high and responsible J
positions, both in the state and nation,!
are known to be lawbreakers them-!
selves. Not only is this true in our
state, it is true of all of them. How !
are we to expect observance of law
if our law-makers are themselves vio-j
lators; and how can we hope for re
sped and sacred reverence. for law if ;
it is to be enforced and construed 1
and administered by governors,;
judges and solicitors who themselves |
are law-breakers?
The spirit of lawlessness is not i
confined to South Carolina but isj
prevalent throughout the nation, i
"" "? M ...?
G?n. John J. Ptrthinf, in a recent
speech, referred to the unoeual condition
of lawleeeneaa existing in our
country today, and he added: "High
handed criminals escape the law and
go unpunished; officials elected by
the people fail in the enforcement of
the law. How long this will be continued
depends entirely upon the
people themselves. We may well^, be
warned of our fate unless good citizens
rise up "and demand a change."
Solomon, the wisest of all meu, in the
hook of Kcclesiastes, eighth chapter,
21st verse, has this to say: "Because
sentence against an evil work is not
executed speedily, therefore the heart
of the sons of men is fully set in them
to do evil."
. Remedy for Lawlessness
There is a remedy, my fellow citizens,
for the lawlessness that pervades
our slate and country and 1
offer it in the language of Abraham
Lincoln: "Let reverence for* the law
be breathed by every American inothto
to the lisping babe that pVattlea
on her lap; let it be taught in the
schools, in the seminaries, in the colleges;
let it be* written in the "primer,
spelling books and almanacs; let it
be preached from theepulpit and proclaimed
from the legislative hall, and
enforced in the courts of justice; in
shoit, let it become the political religion
of Jthe nation." I pledge to South
Carolina today not only an observance
of the constitution of both our state
and nation but 1 consecrate myself
and administration to law observance
and law enforcement, and I cull upon
the legislature, our courts, our sheriffs,
and all our citizens, both men
and women, white and black, to unite
with me in one great purpose and
effort to place South Carolina upon a
pedestal where she can be proclaimed
by the world as a leader of righteousness
a protector of the individual
rights and liberties of her people, and
where the law and its majesty are
held sacred ujyi inviolate.
In the campaign last summer, 1
had this to say of the Confederate
soldier: "The truest and noblest type
of our splendid citizenship is the Confederate
soldier. The Confederate
soldier and what he represents is dear
to every Southern heart. But few
of them remain and soon, too soon,
they will all have crossed the river
to answer the last roll call with Lee,
Jackson und Hampton and there will
be nothing left to us but sweet and
hallowed memories.
"It is a matter of great pride and
gratification to me that throughout
my entire public career i have done |
what I could for thi?<:,
heroes; that I have i*V(r
deaf ear to their appeal^ !
other hand have urged *fcjh!
intereate demanded that
puree strings loosen and
necessity be supplied. wt
, too much for them,
that we have done so
?ji, it shall be my proud dt,!
r tf o in mend liberal auppoit!
and every one of our (j!
aoldiers, and who the,
God grant that this may j*!
fore it is forever too late." S
Aid for < oiil. dtrj^fl
I ash, 1 urge you, gently!
general assembly ;o take t!
eary action to d?-t< mine Zfl
conditions and that you J
not one of these heroes b*|g!
fer but that every necessary?!
be made for them. The tin*!
While the questions that 1
cussed with you arc of vitJI
tance to our state and ptgw!
are many others mat tiq*^|
permit to be considered tofojB
I expect to treat thiougha^H
!?agos to the legislature,
they will br Kubm '.ted
generally by the newspspsfl
state. I am the first
been given the honor sod di^|
of a four years' tenure of oil
governor by the
stall- of South Carolina
proud that this distinction r!
in'- through a non-paiti&aahi^H
is an expression of every riqj
people.4 The confidence rep!
me by the people of my ttm!
a responsibility that ouldwt!
but for the abiding faith tint!
in tin- guiding hand and qfl
grace of 'Almighty God. !
Upon y platform of pi!
clearly enunciated and thoroqfl
cussed throughout South (}ij!
have been placed at the head!
government. I appeal tyjgn,!
men of the general assembly,!
uphold my hands, that you co!
with me in the i edemptkrc!
pledges 1 have made. The*!
are not mipe. alone; they ha!
| indorsed by and are solemn!
of the people of our state, l!
people; do not be afraid toll!
people. They are sovereign*!
is the right to rule. I pleq!
anew, the vpry best service
I am capable and that I
governor of our whole peqk^J
united people. I '.rust
richest blessings may attc-rd!
that we, may be that hanny^J
people whose God is the
fun! romance! thriliA
You Laugh,Gasp and Cr#~J
|L when seeing the * , J
Ik "Picture That Has Everything/1
The BIG PABADl
KING VIDOR'S PICTUR.IZATION of LAURENCE STAlUNGS' STOW I
DO
NOT
MISS
John Gilbert in the most wonderful
rote of his career
Renee Adoree as Melisande thefarnrilfif
The BIG PARADE to the front
The BIG PARADE'S return
The Three Immortal Buddies
"JIM'-'BULi" iiw*?
EXACTLY AS SHOWN
IN THE PRE-StNT
RECORD-BREAKING RUN
IN NEW YORK CITY
ACCOMPANYING MUSIC
BY IAROE.
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
M*TAO-GOLDWYN-MAYtR. PRODUCTION
MAJESTIC THEATRE 1
One Day Only?Matinee and Night
Monday, January 31st, 1927 i
i I ?-M
MAIL ORDERS NOW-Prices: Matitiee $1.20, Night $1.80, TaiB
included. All Seats Reserved. Matinee 3 P. M., Night 8:1 5 P MB
SPECIAL NOTICE?This is the road .how production carrying
people, including a 14 piece orchestra.
It's The Greatest Picture of All Time.
. - ?? .?