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Nobody's Business Written for The Chronicle by Gee McGee, Copyright, 1936. . n Night Clubbing A Nothing would do Cousin Bill unless 1 drive out in the country to KIs house end go ipoeeum hunting noine night. 1 arm sure I had more sense than to undertake such a fool thing, but my wife said?"You must be getting old, don't want to enjoy little sport." That waa the straw. . I ohoae last Saturday night for that hunt. It seemed to be mighty fine poseum weather. The keen, biting wind wag from the east, and the North Star, was as bright as the Farrm Board, and the Milky Way had practically turned to clabber, and that foretold good possum news. They dearly love to ramble about on nights like that. . I got to Cousin ?iife house about (3 o'clock, and sat around, thinking, of course, that supper would soon be ready. A/bout 7:30, Cousin Bill belched a few times and said: "Them ham and eggs and sausages I had for suprper aii/t setting well with me." I asked him What time he ate supper: he said?"We allere eat supper before sunset." That made me sick all over. After I was just about ready to go to sleep (10:30 p. m.), Cousin Bill made the statement that it was about time for possums to begin to prowl around for simmons ansoforth, and suggested' that we light out. He called bis 3 old dogs, and out we lit. I. asked him if he wassent going part of the way in the car, and he said?"No, old fogy, come on." We walkod down through his 199acre pasture, crossed 6 wire fences, entered a corn .field and then en-" tered a cotton field and then turned to the left. I asked Cousin Bill w wait a minute till I tied my 2 shoes and pulled some briars and thorns out of my legs and hips. *'.But he strutted right on at about 45 miles per hour. 1 hollered1 at him and asked him if there weren't some possuips in his own state? (We were 28 miles from his home by midnight.) About 3:30 'Sabbath morning, after we had roamed through 7 different townships, jumped 876 gullies, waded through 56 big swamps, been bit in. the face by 9,999 saplings that Cousin (Bill had turned loose, and torn two-thirds of my clothes off, old Towser barked; and Cousin 'Bill shot towards that bark like a bullet and left me in the dark. I finally found him and the other 3 dogs.?It was a polecat. We did dent see him, but that's what she was. We hunted on till I ought to have been getting ready for church. We failed to shine any possum eyes, or even strike his scent. I had lost 221- pounds, and had worn-out my ''best clothes and shoes. 'My tongue *V4 v was hanging out and I diddent care whether I lived or tlied. I got home at last and wen^to bed, and woke up in time to go to Work Monday morning. Half of the fools of our country are in the ? asyluim and the other half is off somewheres bunting ppssums "for sport." I insulted every customer we had that beautiful Monday. As He Thinketh, So Are The Times While up town a few minutes yesterday afternoon, we found it convenient to interview a few fel'lowa ,w>Ko were all loafing. Our question' to each person approached was the same: "How's everything?" Mr. Brown, The Shoe Man: "Well, it can't be this way all the time., Most everybody has worn out his shoes and folks are too proud to go barefooted. I lock for a little bit less riding and somewhat more thinking for now on. But something's got to be done about taxes." Mr. Green, the Farmer: "Us farmers have just about got useter having our stuff took away from us. There ain't much difference at our house. We have pinched and skimped all our 'Hves, and expect to keep it up. 1 intend to .work as hard as ever, cut nvy fertilizer bill 50 per cent, and shoot'every kind of agent thnt conw9 in sight of my house. Lookit this suit one of them sold me in December." Uncle Jack, the Hedge-Trimmer: "Yasar, boss-4'ee all right. We has a mighty good preacher now. Glad to see this putty atmshiney weather. My ole oman has almost got well of her roomy-tigm and ndw wasfce* for 4 famblies. I cuts hedges and rake# off leaves. Mr. Gee, pleaae give de old nigger a chaw-terbacker, or a dime or some thin." Mre. Gray, the House-Keeper: "Everything fa pretty good with ?a. r -rst The boys have gone buck to college. Hob thinks business will pick up soon. We are letting our car ait under the shed?we cant run it and .pay for educating our children at the name time, so we decided to walk, as they are more important. % Folks will have to come down, that's all. Groceries are cheaper, (but Hob ia worried to death about high taxes, and say's ouf county could get along on half as ! much as they aire now spending." Mr. Redd, the Filling station Man: ! "Yep, there's a right smart of riding going on yet. The young folks can't quit. Just swapped TO gallons of gas for that basket of eggs and that I bag of sugar. . Gas is bearing a heavy load: 6 cents tax, or about 40 ,per cent on the dollar, but folks never growl about the gas taxes?it's the house and farm tax. We have only 54 bad cheeks on hand now. Drop around and let us fill your installment plan some time." Mr. Blue, the Bench-Warmer: "Well, this old country is gone to the dogs, and Hoover done it. They are stealing the farmers cotton and corn. I look for. a revolution if things don't get better. Five of my younguns is norw out of a job, and we simply can't stand it. The state will soon /xwn all th<? land, and "wo folks will be - slaves. Gott^r match?" VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE Report of Blaney and Dentaville High Schools For the Hut Season The vocational agriculture departments of the iBlaney and Dentaville high schools enrolled 14 all-day boys, 12 part-time boys and 16 evening ekes men at Blaney and 8 all-day and 20 evening class Imen at Dentsvilie, a total of 70 for the past year, as announced by P. B. Waters, teacher of agriculture in these two schools. All-day boys lane the boye who attend high school and take agriculture. i'art tiii?t- tibya are boys between 14 und 21 years of age on the farm who for some reason have had to drop out of school. : .Special classes are arranged for them by the teacher of agriculture. Evening class 'men are the adult farmers of the community with whom the teacher of agriculture has night meetings to make a study of such problems as controlling the boll weevil, home-mixing of fertilizer, etc. The all-day and ipart-time boys carry .projects and their course of study is based on what they have as projects. The all-day boys in the two schools had the following projects: Cotton 17 acres; com 15 ac Ill .1 ill ' " >^-= sweet potatoes'3 acres; rye } acres, peanuts 6-8 acres; brood sows 2; bens 6; calves 2; baby chicks 700. I The part-time boys had the follow- j ing projects: <V>tton 32H acres, com 21 acres. The evening class men | had the following acreages planted^ Cotton 036 acres; corn 1203 acres. The labor income for 1020-30 from the all-day boys' proje^s .was $1,276.30. The labor ^ncourhe from the I part-time boys' projects was $841.36. I The value of the improved practices from the evening classes was as fol- ' lows; '{ Valpe of cover craps planted (vetch), $272.60; amount saved by home-mixing fertilizer, $010.00; value of cotton made by poisoning, $2,111.63; value of- increased amounts of side dressing, $1,060.00. Total, $4,044.03. This gives a total from all classes of $7,061.74. Carl Smith Ferguson, who was killed near Blythewood while' hitch-diking from Aiken to his home in Chester to see his parents, was the son of Mr. amf Mrs. Geojjge VV. Ferguson and 33 years old. The signs around ! where his decapitated body was found indicated that he had tried do board a Southern railroad train and fell under the wheels. Mr. Ferguson was a nephew of Mrs. J. M. Ferguson, of Yorkville. L i ggg V!The tlowef house of congress is working on the seventh of the large j general appropriation bills that of < the w*D -^department, which must be passed before March 4th if an extra session is to be avoided. The senate , is not so fast and is puttering along now in the interior department supply bill with its $25,000,(MM) amendment for the Red tCross. Two senators talked five hours about Indian affairs on Tuesday. Notice was giv- J en Tuesday that night sessions wou'J be held Wednesday night. 1 - - n " , ? JRosb Sterling, BB, whose' personal fortune is stated ua fc>oi ng $40,000,300, h^came governor cf Texas" on ruesday1 at a salary of $4,000 a year. He started out as a farm hand and made ihis millions in oil. . ' i A crowd of hungry men and women raided a grocery store in Oklahoma lOity, Okla., Tuesday and carried away a good part of the stock after making demands at the city hall for food and work. Twenty-six <peraohs w?',a arrested, & - ' ? Residence For Sale j Desirable residence in good part of the city. > Eight rooms wirh two baths. Lot fronts lv00 feet and runs back to a depth of 5 7 5 feet. j Will be sold at a bargain price. If interested j see H. D. Niles at, tK. CAMDEN CHRONICLE OFFICE 1 Camden, S. C. $70,915,815. $49,838,302. ?28.481.215. AS5E$JA\ENT5 \ I Peal and Personal Properf l I Eitfhf of Soufh Carolina's Leading Classes 1 ? - \ of Tax PaHers?- - - 1930 J 120163.198. - *5.303,016. H2?*An I EXTILE PLANTS RAILROAD PROPERTIES Merchants. Sundrq Kfr's. 1 WitrMfMArPMs Ibknt.Ifletali ferliWUs (MIH V I / I , , fi I South Carolina's Cotton Mills I As Tax Payers . ' o i * ' , * ' . . * * ' ... I A statement of the relative proportion of the State's income which is derived directly from the taxes paid by ^ ? the textile plants; presented not to discredit other classes of taxpayers, but rather in appreciation of the impor- ' I tant part they are all playing in financing the costs of government, Whilp thp tovrile* nwi hir fnv thn inr?r,i ,.ruttu ? 1 tnvpnyeiN, thoro arc othci classifications Whjch are od great importance to the welfare of the state. Figures herein quoted are from the S. C. Tax Comvmisfwon, from the 1020 report of the Comptroller General, and from in- I quiry directed to the (mills themselves. . . . ' ? d \ ' * -u * . > * The comparative picture above shows .the relative importanceof the textile industry as a tax payer. As-a class it is the largest I individual taxpayer orf our state. Whether in real estate, personal property, income, corporation license, or whatever the type of tax, the cotton mills iwill be found on the frent -row, doing more than their share totward financing government, schools, rdads, or ' I . other progressive measures essential to the state's welfare. (i \ Tax Statistics South Carolina Cotton Mills j ? ? ? t? Assesments greater than all other industries combined. I ? . ~ ' * | Assessments greater than all Railroads and Public Utilities combined. . r # r-.i. Pay an average of over half the taxes in textile counties. __ *, _... ?-1 Paid in to state, county, school district and city treasuries in 1,930? t * * ' I Approximately Five Million Dollars A I These figures include only payment? made directly by the mills as corporations. Without the taxes paid directly by the mills, South Carolina's present appropriation bill would be impossible, as would be the huge expenditures of the state, counties, school districts' and municipalities towards education, roads, streets and general governmental costs. I I From a competitive standpoint, it is apparent that South Carolnia has just about lost its favorable advantageous position < in the textile world. This great truth, as stairtling as it may sound, is further tested ami proven by the fact that South Carolina has received only a very small proportion of the large number of new industries that have com? south during recent years. They h&ve largely gone to other southern states?THERE ES A VERY LOGUCLVL REASON. Ef South Carolinians generally are bene- I fitted by the investment of capital in cotton mills in the state, they should exert every effort to prevent further increase? in the tax burden, and if possible effect decreases in high taxes which result from excessive governmental expenditures. & *rr I A recent incomplete investigation, conducted among all the cotton mills ot Sotith Carolina, brobght I reports from 118 of 160 South Carolina Mill*, with a total of 4,535,821 spindles, paying in 1929 a total of $3,715,948.72 in taxes. p Compared with all records available, this is a higher tax per -sipindle than any other textile state in America in 1929. ? ' I _ s " *. "> " * & *-*- *$? t - r* . C ^ 1 T- i], * _ i | v The 118 Cottdn Mills in South Carolina Reporting^ Showed An ^ ' A^wnent ? - ' ? ' v. ' ! " . : Spindle $11.41 I-."'''" e r of south ^ ^apolimaj "A? InduMry Pl|^? IV??i Tht P*api?~ Average Tax Paid Per I Spindle 82 7-10 Cents I Tax Par Spindle Eliminating Extras I