The weekly ledger. (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1894-1896, November 12, 1896, Image 6
6
NEW COUNTY ARGUMENT.
READ AND BE CONVINCED ON
THE SUBJECT.
Large Counties Make it Necessary for
the People to Take the Law into
Their Own Hand, Lynch
ing the Result.
Even so late as 1800 the Charles
ton delegation in the 'house defeated
the bill which had passed the senate
to establish the new county of Aiken,
assigning as a reason that Charles
ton would never vote to create
another new county in the up coun
try until the provision of the consti
tution of 186;'), which restricted rep
resentation of any county to a inaxi-
mum, should have been abolished.
I have thus’given only a skeleton
outline of the prime cause why a
deficiency of seats of justice for ad
ministering law beset South Caro
lina for one hundred and ninety-five
years.
During more than the first half of
that period the back country people
were driven either to Regulator’s law
or have no law at all. Captain John
Lynch, of Pendleton, was so noted
and just a leader in the business
that his name has been given to
“regulating” all over the world. By
having to extemporize and enforce
law on sudden occasions in times
past, many of the best citizens of the
interior not only lost their lives by
assassins, but much valuable prop
erty by incendiaries and thieves. It
was thus that the famous Thomas
Woodward, of Fairfield, (the ancestor
(if I hu present Senator Tom Wood
ward, of the same county,) perished
by the hands of assassins whom he
liwd been compelled to “regulate,”
but had not hanged, as he doubtless
ought to have done.
Charleston’s arrogant spirit of
monopoly at home while eloquently
advocating liberty and free trade
abroad, would probably still be domi
neering the state as regards counties
and many other things, but for the
fact that Don. 11. F. Perry, while
acting us provisional governor by ap
pointment of President Johnson in
]P(>f>. called a convention to frame a
pew constitution with only 124 mem
bers—the number of representativi s
in the house instead ot having 170
members—the number in both hous«
and senate. The up country had
considerably more members in that
convention than the six parish com -
tn a, yet so potent was Charleston’s
overshadowing influence, and so ac
customed to her domination had the
leading men in the up country I e-
come'that the tyrannical parish sys
tem of senatorial representation was
abolished, as I remember, by only
two majority. If Lhui constitutional
convention of 1<S6.) bud consisted of
J70 members as prescribed by tie
old constitution of the state, Char
leston presumably would still be
“queen of the state” as well as “the
queen city by the sea' and the five
new representative and judicial coun
ties of Oconee, Aiken. Hampton,
Jierkley and Florence, which have
|>een created since the war, would
not now be in existence. But let. i:s
lie thankful that the odious sectional
parisli system has been abolished
forever, and that the long pretended
natural antagonism between the up
and low country is a thingofthc past
likewise so that hereafter the little
state can properly be divided into
legislative and judicial counties as
other sta f es are. However it must
be remembered that although Char
leston was to hhime for the fact that
only one additional representative
amt judicial county was created in
Bouth Curolirft during more than
half a century, yet there is another
formidable enemy always on the
ulert to prevent the formation of
counties. Still he can readily he
overcome by prudent, determined
and concerted action as has been de
monstrated in the establishment of
five new counties since the war.
That formidable enemy is the
vested interests at hand near old es
tablished court house. True, ex
ceptions may be found, yet it may he
assumed as a fact that every land
owner at one of t hese old court houses
opposes any reduction of the tribu
tary territory. 'He thinks if the
county be diminished his real estate
would . depreciate, might even be
come nearly valueless, as it generally
docs if the existing court house be
removed, which never ought- to bo
done. Every hotel keeper thinks he
would lose some big hills, and Ite
would, especially from those who re
side at a distance. Every shoemaker,
tinner, blacksmith, merchant, etc.,
at the old court house fears that he
would lose some customers. Every
holder of a county office of profit ap
prehends that his fat fees would he
diminished, and every candidate in
training for one of the comfortable
offices will oppose any curtailment
of domain. The freeholders out of
the corporate limits of the county
town, but near by, will also protest
against ceding any territory to a new
county lest their several landed
estates might shrink in value.
But the most fussy, indomitable
and professedly disinterested enemy
•gainst lopping off u slice of his
county is the editor of the county
paper. He cannot see that, if hu
were of any account and his paper
worth taking the existence of several
•wall adjacent counties would in*
THE LEDGER: GAFFNEY, S. C., NOVEMBER 12, 1896.
crease his circulation and advertise-
ments rather than diminish them.
Some of the best and most prosper
ous journals in other states are issued
from obscure county seats In small
counties. Still the strongest oppon
ents of reducing a county are its ■
lazy local lawyers. The inert mem
bers of the bar wish for their clients
to come to them instead of having to ;
go to their clients, as if one man can
not easier go to half a dozen, but ,
convenient, court,houses to meet,
say ten neighboring clients tit each,
than the sixty clients can go to him
at one distant 30urt house, retti-
fo tr ing lawyers also want people to
dwell as far*away from a court house
hs possible, for fear if they dwelt
close at hand they would become
more intelligent, especially in legal
knowledge, and often be enabled to
dispense with having to pay
hogs, chickens, corn, fodder, water
melons. wood hih! all such stuff ns
that will be worth more. That’s
| wherein the value of your land will
increase, and should you ever want
to sell it you can get something like
a decent price for it,” I said,
i “Well, Flaw, supposin’ I’m a
The Argument Takes Place Down m the rcn ( or ; I’ll have to pay higher rents
FROM THE COALING GROUND
FLAW TALKS NEW COUNTY TO
HIS NEIGHBOR.
Coaling Ground and He Leaves
His Victim Converted
to the Cause.
How about that? ” he
(CoiTOHpondenco of The Ledger.)
I)UAYTON\TI.I.K, S. C., XoV. 2,’96.
Editok Lkikiek—Dear Sir : ’Tother
day 1 chanced to meet a follow from
’way down below the coalin’ ground,
and after I greeted him with the
■Mr. i everyday password, he said:
LOSS OF VOICE
After Acute Bronchitis
CUBED BY USING
Cherry
Pectorai
! I
AYER’S
IVtifogger a good fee for trivial ad
vice.
It is but human for the inhabi
tants of a county town to strenu
ously resist any encrouchment upon
what they regard as their tributary.
1 hey never once stop to reflect that
“Flawpickcr, this new county ques
tion is somethin' that bothers me.
They keep me onr the fence all the
time. Now, Flaw, my vote is as
good to me as anybody else’s is to
them, and I want to spend it to my
a court house is built for the public own personal interest—that’s what
good—not for the private benefit of ’
those who locate at it, nor for the j I ^ ^ for - Now > 1
use of those who fill the county of- i views on the matter,
flees of profit. Whatever drawback,
obstacle, inconvenience, injury, or
expense the distant population of a
large county may suffer, gives the
average court houseman no concern,
and he can endure it all with Chris
tian resignation, because, perchance,
tie may he able to turn a penny. It
is so much easier and pleasanter to
live by the sweat of somebody else s
brow than by one’s own, that it is the
true business of life with some men
never to try to live except at anotn-
er’s expense. Many a county seat l
resident who professes the purest re- !
ligion. boasts the widest public spirit, | me puy it I wuldn t pay
“I’m goin' to vote for the now
county,” I said.
“Well, that may be to your inter
est and not mine. The papers, all
but Thk I.kdcku, say it will heap a
burden of taxes on me and my neigh
bors, and I ain’t willin’ to have my
taxi s raised,” he said.
“Neither am I. A dollar in my
pocket is worth 100 cents more to
me than one in the county treasury,
if there wasn’t a way to make
'em narry
prates of Ben Adhem love for his fel- j red cent for taxes
from
the taxes in all the
I saw a report
low men. will throw all such sent!-| fl . nm Comptroller-General Norton,
i is
mentalism to (he dogs as soon as you
ask him to let a strip of his county’s
surplus area be cutoff to help others
without injuring him. But even if it
should injure him, the good of the
individual must be sacrificed for the
good of the many. “The greatest good
to the greatest number, “is true De
mocracy. Has it injured either Or
angeburg, Barnwell, Lexington or
Edgefield because a portion of their
respective territories was cut off to
form Aiken county? Not at all. On
the contrary it lias helped all those
counties by giving them smaller elec
tion districts; by shortening the term
of their court by lessening cost of
litigation, and while It has profited
them largely in other respects, who
will dare say it has not been of ser
vice to the people of Aiken county?
And how can it possibly do Orange-
purg or Lexington any harm to take
some more of their broad acres to
to form the proposed county, of Cal
houn? Yet you wilt hear men argue
almost fiantically that ruin will re
sult to old Orangeburg and old Lex
ington if it be done. Edgefield has
nearly fogotten that the most popu
lous and perhaps the most prosper
ous part of Aiken county ever be
longed to her.
At this point let me make a prophe
cy. After Calhoun county shall have
been well established, as I am sure
will be Hie case, and after this his
toric village of St. Matthews shall
have become a flourishing court house
town, then when some eligible rail
road depot on the South Bound or i ■
other road shall ask to appropriate a | r
an ttie taxes in alt me new counties
Jower than it is in the ma-
jorito of the older counties
My dear brother, you ain’t
got a part’cle of room to fear that
your taxes in the new county will he
higher than you now pay in I'nion
for it’s the highest taxed county in
the whole state—174 mills on the
dollar. You ought to be glad to
jump ut the chance to relieve your
self of such a heavy tax,” I said to
him.
“Well, this court house and jail is
to he built and it all takes money to
do it.” he said.
“Very well, the people of Gaffney
have signed a bond of $15,000 as a
guarantee that they will build a court
house and jail as an inducement to
have the court house and jail situ
ated in their town. So if you people
will agree to have the court house
and jail built in Gaffney the slruut-
ures won’t cost you a cent,” I then
remarked.
“How are we to know the people
of Gaffney will build them? ” he
asked.
“They are compelled to build them i
or they forfeit the $15,<KX) and the j
county commissioners can take the ;
j $15,600 and lot out the contract i
! themselves,” I said.
for land
asked.
“I’ll grant that, too; hut. the land
rents will only increase as the popu
lation increases and the demand for
land increases. Then the demand
for count!y produce comes on at the
same time,” I replied.
"Then it’s about as broad as it is
long, is it not—low rents and slow de
mand ; high rents and big demand?”
he asked.
“I think not. The land can only
produce a certain amount, and when |
the demand gels so great you can oh- |
tain almost any price for your pro- 1
duce. If it pays you a little on low
rent and few sales it would sure pay
you more on the larger scale. If there |
was no demand at all the produce |
would die, rot, etc., on your hands,
and you would be loser,” I said.
“Well, another thing: I don’t
want your . like the idea of us country people
| a-buildin' up a town. How do you
look at that?” he asked.
“In this instance it looks to me
like the town people want us to let
them huil l themselves up, but let’s
look at it t’other way. I believe it’s
to my own interest to feed my horse
well to get good work out of him. 1
believe it’s to my interest t) build up
my market town so I can buy things
cheaper and sell my produce for bet
ter prices. If my vote will put the
court house in Gaffney then I will
slap her right thar. That wiU cause
more trading to be done there, cause
more stores to go up; cause more
competition; all the merchants will
he trying to buy my produce; all the
merchants will be trying to sell me
goods cheapest in order to get my
trade. Truly it has been said : Com
petition is the life of trade.’ How
would you like to live in a country
and no town in a hundred miles? How
would you like to live in a town and
no country people in a hundred miles
to haul you wood, bring you in chick
ens, eggs, butter and raise you cows
to cat and such like? How utterly j
impossible it is for a town and coun- |
try to live to themselves! The most i
brotherly relationship should exist i
between town and country yet I have j
heard town boys say of a country- ;
man. ‘there goes a sager,’ and on the I
other hand 1 have heard the country
boys say, ‘there’s a town lackey ’ or
‘town dude.’ Brother, this sort of a
feeling never does any body any good
—whether a countryman or a towns
man. If I expect my horse to feed
me I must feed him. If I get mad
i)t my horse and turn in 1o heatin’ of
him an’ he runs awi)y or I kill him
dead, there won’t be much good come
out of eitherof us. What I’m driv
ing at, we must work together in love
and harmony for good,” I said.
“Yes, Flaw, I’m off on your side
of the fence now, hut after I git to
reading the papers, all butTiiK Li;i>-
(u:i:, I’m scared I’il get off on their
side,” he said.
A PREACHER’S EXPERIENCE.
“Three months pgo, I took a vio
lent cold which resulted in an attack
of acute bronchitis. I put myself
under medical treatment, and at the
end of two months was no better.
I found it very difficult to preach,
and concluded to try Ayer’s Cherry
! RipansTabules;
us pans Tabulcs ^*coin-
t p juded from a qflmption
i \\ ; Liy used by thlTbest medi-
; c.d authorities and are pre-
\ sented in a form that is be-
1 ecming the fashion cvery-
I where.
&
'■M
f
“i.
t
Ripans Tabules act gently .
but promptly upon the liver,
stomach and intestines; cure
dyspepsia, habitual constipa
tion, offensive breath and head
ache. One tabulc taken at the
fit t symptom of indigestion,
biliousness, dizziness, distress
after eating, or depression of
spirits, will surely and quickly
remove the whole difficulty.
VV';
Pectoral. The first bottle gave me
great relief; the seeond, which I am
now taking, lias relieved mo almost
entirely of all unpleasant symptoms,
and I fool sure that one or two bot
tles more will effect a permanent
cure. To all ministers suffering from
throat troubles, T recommend Ayer’s
Cherry Pectoral.’’—E.M. Brawley,
D. D., Dlst. Secretary, Am. Bapt.
Publication Society, Petersburg, Va
Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral
GOLD MEDAL AT THE WORLD’S FAIR.
AYER S LEADS ALL OTHER SARSAPARILLAS!
Price, 50 cents a box.
Ripans Tabules may be ob-
tained of nearest druggist; or
by mail on receipt of price.
Sample vial, io cents.
RIPANS CHEMICAL CO.,
IO Spruce Street,
NEW YORK.
< ♦»+»•»«•»♦«■»»»♦•♦
DR. J. F. GARRETT,
Dentist,
j Gaffney, - - - S. C.
j ( 'Tun- ovor J. R. Tollcson’s new store
In office from 1st to 2ith of each
i muni !i;
i.
i* tho time to tmy warm c
the man to buy it from. "I
Overcoats and Ma
id
SI I OHS — 1 have the best stock ef
men's at id Children's—at price-
othing and J. N. LII’LOOMB is
will dl you a suit from trd.oO to
kiiuoshes from .'j'S.bO to # 15.00.
in town—Men’s, W’o-
uii all buyers.
S11 oe
GROCERIES.-
Bcater.”
sit that i
Don’t fail
money, i
•When it
cone'
Groceries I am the “World-
Id
sneii
tttov<
1 have 1001) ban-.'!.-, m Flour on hand and in tran-
ri e and will sell accordingly,
rou buy if you want to save
it good old 71b Oollee on hand
■ t > sweeten it with.
te lino of Staple Hardware,
rv, Nails, Plows, Wash I ota.
before tlie
: me before
10 bags of tii
of 201b Su :
and a few barre
HARD WARE.— 1 have a coninl
I
as 1’oekui and Table Out
Gun
“You should not listen to none of
, the newspapers, but write to Comp-
' iluvv d) we know their bond is ; troller General Norton, of Columbia
Pistol:
as the lowest. Will
1 >ixi< Turn Plows at
Lump Goal at Lt.50 pe
Respectfully,
and Cartridges whieh 1 will sell a-
give
Barbed Wirt
! am sell!
ng tne
iivei\
Je
1
low
Boy
llico
small section of Calhoun to straighten
lines so as to form another new
county, many if not most of you here
today will violently oppose it,
although you ought not fo: the very
reasons that Orangeburg and Lex
ington should acquiesce in creating
Calhoun county now. In this con
nection,to my mind,one of the saddest
commentaries on the selfishness and
meanness of poor fallen humanity
occurred in this state a few years ago
when an amendment to the present
state constitution was submitted to
a vote of the people, proposing to
strike out that provision of the
constitution forbidding any now
county to oe formed of less area than
six hundred and twenty five square
mi!.<, orany old county to be reduced
below that limit. The amendment
was defeated mostly by the co-opera
tion of the large counties, but the
worst ihingabout the whole proceed
ing, if my memory is correct,was that
nearly all of the counties of Anderson,
I’ickens, Oconee,and Aiken, the then
youngest legislative and judicial
counties in the state,forgetting now
long they had suffered for a court
bou»e, and what hard work had been
necessary to get it, voted overwhelm
ingly against the proposition. The
local and assumed to be invested
interests at the old county seat of a
large county are ever ready to offer
objections to reducing its area one
foot to form a now county. Fallaci
ous but plausible arguments against
it are industriously urged on every
side. I have heard them so often
and so long that I have them by
heart and will now proceed to refute
them in detail.
Did You Ever
Try Electric Bitters as a remedy for
your troubles? If not, <get a bottle
now and get relief. This mcdieinc
has been found to be peculiarly
adapted to t he relief and cure of all
Female Complaints, exerting a won
derful direct influence in giving
strength and tone to the organs. If
you have Loss of Appetite, Constipa
tion, Headache, Fainting Spells, or
nro Nervous, Sleepless, Excitable,
Melancholy or troubled with Dizzy
Spells, Electric Bitters is the medi
cine you need- Health and Strength
are guaranteed by its pse. Largo
hot ties only fifty cents ut Dul’rc Drug
Co. ’s Store.
good?” he asked.
••Write to Mr. N. W. Hardin, one
of York county^s host lawyers and
find out, 1 think is the best way,” 1
replied.
How do we know tjiat a court
house and jail can be built for $15,-
(K>9? ” he then asked.
“I saw the drawings and specifica
tions of a court house that is much
finer than Union’s or York’s, yea—
much finer than Charlotte’s court
house—up at Two Ledger office, that
is guaranteed by contractors, also by
the architect who drew it, to bo built
for $10,Oik), and n jail can be built
lor $5,000 easy. Man, $15,000 is a
big pile of money, you must recollect.
I would almost do what Itufo San
ders said old man Luther Blanton
would do— ‘walk across h—II on a
rotten rail”—for $15,000. Go up to
C., and got his report, then I’m
sure after reading and studying it
caret ally you would vote for the new
county even if you had to bo taxed
to build a court house and jail and
surveying, all of which you get free
in this instance,” I Said.
I would love to have answered
more questions for him but it was
getting so late we had to part with
the every day parting words.
I will try to answer any and all
questions concerning the benefits of
a now county, from now till Dec. 8,
providing they reach me on or before
Wednesday morning of each week,
and I’ll guarantee you that I’ll an
swer it In a sensible, satisfactory
way, too. If the new county is an
injury to the majority, we don’t
want it; if it’s a benefit wo want a
solid, wholesoul vote for it on the
rm: Ledger office and ask to see the | c ijj| )t |, 0 f December. I, you want to
SU
i\ S.—I
.'UtR'S
1
wanting; n met*
dr
m niv hon.-e who will Ik
glad
:••- made
to servo
will find Mrs. Barker
them.
Hurrah for the New County !
CARROLL & CO., Lessees.
Manufacturers of
* AND * AGRICULTURAL
-And Dealers In
plans of the court house and est imate
uf cost of building, also Comptroller
Norton's report of all the different
counties and their taxes; and even
if you had to build the court house
and jail your taxes would be be re
duced because Florence county,
which is now paying taxes to build
courthouse and jail, has less taxes
than Union by 7 mills, and even less
taxes than Spartanburg by 2 mills,
with all of Spartanburg’s twenty-
eight cotton mills included, and the}
arc surveying, too.”
“Gaffney isn’t in the center of the
proposed new county, either; that's
atiother objection,” he said,
i “Well, if it isn’t in the center, it j
; is still closer than Union, or us close, I
' anyway, and you got your taxes re-
j duced, hearin mind—hound to; isn’t
another county in the state so high
lux.d us Union. If you don’t believe j
1 that, get a postal card and sit down
1 and write to Comptroller-General
1 Norton, Columbia, S. C., for his
county tax report, and read and study
it well. It is a good thing to have
in the liqu.se, anyway. And if you
locate the county court house and!
jail outside of Gaffney’s corporate '
limits you will have to be taxed to |
have it built. I would rather go a
few miles further and have it in a
goo 1 market town than to go to court
in the country and after court is over :
then hitch up and drive on to town
to do my trading,” J said.
“ft will increase the value of land
and we willjhavcjto pay highest taxes ;
on real estate,” liu said.
“Very well: 1 will grunt that, hut
it will increase the population of Gaff
ney and cause n greater demand for
your county produce. Your cows
wiil bring moro money, your sheep.
debate on this through The Ledger
send in your querry to Flaw Dicker,
an’ ef you don’t know him send it. to
I’anjer Lu, an’ he will give it to me.
Yours, for right or not at all,
Flaw Dicker.
* LIME,
And Dealers In
Coal, Shingles, Lathes and Plater Hair.
Oyrmmite, Blasting Powder, Fuse and Dynamite Caps.
DuPRE DRUG COMPANY,
I MS A KICKS i:<
ftREAT SALES prove the great
merit of Hood’s Sarsaparilla.
Hood’s Sarsaparilla sells because it
accomplishes GREAT CURES.
Webster’s
; International
IM diionary
The Ore Creift titiimhird Authority,
Co write* lien. !>. .f. finyrij, 4
JiixtUK It. 8.'Slit>fcm« Court.
Pure Drugs,
Oils, Fine
m
Medicines, Paints,
Stationery, &c.
Prescriptions Carefully Compounded
Telephone No. 21.
'■
\ HI4
,;-T?
j • •. jv- * *
end a Postal lor Specimen etc.
Successor of tha
“ VanhriUgetl. ’ ’
fttnudncTl
of |li<-r.H.i.oy’t 1’iliit- i
lrn Oflic, the l h su-
I ivnte l imit, nil Hu- 1
Ni-U' Miptnm- Courji*, 1
wi”I of i»-arly nil Hie (
biliooiUMik*.
Wnrnilv
C<>fi!incmlccl
by Hint" S' t<rrliil'-ii(|-
eiitH <•( s< i>o<>i«, null i
oil" r I llmillol* IuiokI
Without imiuUir.
Ar SS'iKVOV, Msinkers
'1'riiiiHiu’t u O one rill lluulfi a l£ IIuhIiicmh.
-(>-
I JepstrL moiit.
IDivltio <>:*'•,i<-I u|) u v I iij l.jiiitii qt :tt nur hunk, Ix-t-lnnim.
UlfWl
Wilt'll
.. . . fill
will rtct-lvc i|< loo Us <>f >I.UI Itntl upwards nml all >w Intt-rivsl tlicruon ai I |i< r (■i-iu
|>t r IIIIMUIII. |i:>} ulll
posit Hom s for ri iit
• mitirtoriy
Your pulrouuu
h'ft in hunk 11 inontlis or loiiKi-r.
siiliriit-d.
lly M. IHM, WO
» per rent.
••vilVly
CARROLL & STACY,
FOR EVERYBODY
accAuftc
K ! ■ *t v fjj.j the word wanted.
t to * jcrrtuln the pruniinclotltn.
U i. t / to trn.'o tile growth of a word.
!f - <'y tu learn what n word meana.
The i. ih '/Jt & Obmirvvr evy.t:
('iii'lri!h 1 In. I picftn-nn* wren R-nnerljf I-t
- Till •Molt i| y. 1ml i U u.-r ni'iimihiuniiv w nil
- t ill r (•m.iihii ■ : Wi iMii't lltiK InU-nmtkMi in
„ r its lu ri.-ifAM If ns (lif m.'sl vulii.il>!* , uiul
1 > > ...>.<:- r ll vs IV sUimtiiril us fur usiiny >>i*«
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The Gaffney City Land and Improvement Company.
Offer for Sale Building Loth In t':i:i nourishing Town,
O A ir IV l-O ~\ r O I T Y.
Also Farms near by and in reach of tne schools of LirnoHtone Springs
and of tliiti place in lots of from 30 to iuO acres on libera! tone rutim. °
Also Agricultural Uunds to rent f r farm purposes.
Dor fzll particular; nf ;Jj t:
MOSES WOOD, Agent;
N. B.—All trespassing on landf-01' this Company cutting and remoVltiff
timber, fishing or hunting are forbidden under penalty of law. *