Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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NEWBERRY, S. C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 190.* I - GOVERNOR' of the Docume &Sweeney V ~ ~ D~avtme~ ~e ~eai~'I ~ ~e~1 Ambi w ~61~47e State ma A8aembIy~ e~1tJ. ~ hu~usu~li 4~i ~t~1t~ ~It4tI >I&1 -'. -f I ~ee3 ~ t~a~of~ ~ ~SI~ SIZI~ t~) '4$. ~ 7< '~ 4'. aw$ 4epc eJ - 1. *~. !%caI~ERr .4.. 4... '4 4*~ Sc*Ip end Pt ......................... lAnd Snip .. .~ - &h~l Fund. (DlspOflS~ ~ House (pala S Vu~'cu~ui1$BiOfl)..... State and ~ - ,~o~-@f OovernOr and Tr ...................... ~jD?1ng -*** ** 4. Militia ..:. i~gState Sinking Fund. for the Redi. iAoi &'pwn~4'4 per cents.: Loans State House Contract <IflVeStU1~Ut (S. C. Brown 'per cents.)......... . ~~q~iug ~&onument ~ ChickamU~ ~4ap~S3fY,S C.: ~ccouut proper ~...... ?~~~anSferred to ~'L~~ioo1 Funi -.4.' IP*P~eSt on ?ubllc Debt. ~~eI~WREOUS AccQunts .. .. / -'4-. at Transmitted By Gov. The Legislature. wof The Work Done By The ts of The State Government t eitn endations. kas It'the' duty of the Chief Executive to t each aAnual session a review of the differ d to make-such reco-mendations and sug and proper'. able qne 'a many respects. Many stirring h* tillers of the soil in many sections of stirns foa thek 1lbors, and with many of be onie.*Otcrfice and self-denial, and yet eU~t0 ae noicomlaining. The develop enterptisem goes steadily stee trpi'ses are being .built up at the I be l gey amng the owners and tin ou State in times of peril ft-ftM'ot a State - td the patriotism of a 0M Otever can be done by wise legis .Ib o nuch contributed to the patriot jf7 'Qt1?ifttionl0s, m hbtwis( b down beneAh the. tlblow which struck down I t but 760youiandevery law abid rer4met6f which- he had. been the 10' V*4 a blw - organized 'iA "m t which give- rise d* , tUMe, ur Nation. And yet, 46 nent been more clearly g A.e- a o46 e nan, haovver ex tt i p ued .properity ,and jM& herm gerebut jerved A"d lhie necessity for *~n ~In. .-Ik'a:tes; of Barn-; e ab . h andpave g)et i lea n mind the h' ae%; you will ha du31 the past' year, liothf ~ame8 pevented 1teosable, - ieitrages uaO pu*% ip 100 Vubt emer - te n t 1oisUch justice Aii4nkThe oW.ay tostap the punish bd ~yth 8t esui'er hw the 40n ~ t,e ~ otthe fiscar year, ecember 325.75 ** 4.,6,744.32( . . *.~ae*.*13;543.76 -..-* .-- . * 3 S*073.43 rn Dd Treaa . - .. . - 145,O000 2,708.18 - - 33.98 - 20 4281.69. -. 3,500.9 sits 15;841.8 * - 1;37151 $4,1118,686.92 Indng December3110 315,72.98 - 41,869.68 .$ 38,139..64 ,.12,500.00. -. 9,36636 109,906.06 $ 3,O00.00 *13,790.66 5,164.00 27,544.62 p. a. . 101,733.97 2,444.50 Lry) 100,000.00 nk- -15,000.00 31,019.42 .85,425.42 6,771.85 11,278.01 41,273.89 .102,270.00 123,164.37 4% k 90,760.28 816,194.65 :a.. 4,626.28 ..2,005,297.45 I.. 100,000.00 2,105,297.45 * 270,643.79 40,679.93 ?337,743.25 - 4,018686.e It became necessary in order to meet the current exnenses of the State gov ernment, for the Treasurer, by authar ity of an Act of the General Assembly, to borrow $70,000. This loan was ne gotiated at four per cent. per annum for thirty and sixty days' time and has all been paid back. In order, however, to meet the interest on the State debt, due January first it was necessary to borrow $110,000 a,dditional. This action was made necessary by the fact that a very small proportion of the taxes had been paid at the close of the year. In my message of the last two years I have upon each occasion called your attention to the subject of certain bonds which, by the Treasurer's re port, appear as part of the old debt of the State, but which are now, under the Act of 1896, no longer fundable by the Treasurer without the - action of your honorable bodies. " From your journals I learn that my message upon the subject was referred to a Joint Committee which reported theron, but which report was not adopted by the Senate and no action taken thereon by the House of Representatives. The Treasurer calls attention to the bonds and says: "I find on the books of this department certain bonds as part of the debt of the State entered as 'Old Bonds Not Fundable (Act of 1896) Blue Railroad Bonds $37,000.' These bonds were issued in 1859, and matured in 1879. By Act of 1896 the Treasurer is forbidden to pay, consolidate or fund, any coupon bqnd of the State.after the expiration of twenty years from the date of maturity of such bonds. I am in doubt . as to how longer to report these bon4. If they are . no longer fandable why carry them longer :s a. part of the debt of the State? 'But whIle on the one'hand the Treasurer can neither pay nor fund them, on the other he has nD authority to write them off the books." This letter was referred to the. Attorney General for his. opinion, and in reply he submits a full and complete opinion, conclud Ing as -follows: "I am of opinion that the bondls in question constitute an existing adjudicated- part of the debt of the State, and as such can only be .disposd of by.some Act of the Legis lature." Thus oonrmed :in my opinion and views upon the subject by the legal of f,Icers of the State, I-canupt do other wise than repeat 'my recommendation of last year, viz., that -the claim of the bnk -tt: be permitted to renew --and fund these bonds is valid and just.an( should, be allowed. It is not 'denied that tie State owes the bonds to some one. They are carried as part of the debt of the State on the books of the reasurer, as'owing to ome one. The bouts have all decreed the bank to be the owner.4o one else.>ean I now clal= themV as all persons' but the bank 6re barred under the Act of 1896 'from doing so. I repeat, in the face of these facts, It will be. little shor-t of repudiation If we continue to ~refuse to allow the receiver of othe bank to fund them. EXTENSION OF TIME FOR PAY - ENT OF TAXE1S. I1. is best that the time for the pay ment of taxes: without penalty should be mXed, and it should 'be understood that there will be: no extension. In view, however, of the stringenlcy of oney ith ourt farm4rs, and in conse quence with almost every other branch of 'business, and in view of the fur ter faut that the time 'for. the pay, net of -taxes has so often been ex tended that our people have' come to expect it, after consultation- with the Comptroller Gteneral, and by- virtue of1 aathority given us by laws the time fr the payment of taxes without p,en aly has been'extended to the first day of March.1902. TAXATION. The question of taxation is one of the most important and difficult proh lems that will confront you and one of the most profound in political ecoff omy. It has been a difficult problem ever since government has been organ.. ized anid taxes:laid, and never yet has a system been adopted which is ren-1 tirely equitable and just and which has not been open to fraud and eva sin and inequality. It is easy to lay down a theory and a principle that will be just and equitable, but when it comes to- putting in motion the -ma ctinery that will carry out in its prac tical operations that theory and that will apply the principal to property, the question bicomes a vexed one and difficult of solutjon. The Constitution providsthat all property shall be as sessed at its true value and therefore bear its share of the burden of taxa tion. This principle was laid down by Adam Smith, the celebrated Scottish philosopher and political economist, in the early part of the Eighteenth century, and by all writers on political economy before and since his day. Equal and- just taxation, levied on all property proportionately and in ac cordance with its value, is the product of the highest justice, and when donei to meet simply the demands of govern ment, economically administered, is never burdensome. On the other hand, unequal and unjust taxation is al-' -ways burdensome and has been thee 1 cause of many of the wars and much' of the strife all through the history t of the ages.-. It is necessary t'o raise a certain amount of money to meet the expensesi of the State government and this must t be done by taxation. 'It makes little difference to the taxpayer whether the levy is high or low. The qdestion thatI concerns him is the assessment or val- I uation placed upon the property to be Itaxed, and whether or not it is valued at the same ratio as other property.( When the politician boasts of having reduced the tax levy he is only trying Ito fool the people. 'The levy must be I larg enough to realize a sufficient sum to meet the appropriations, and It will be large or small in. proportion to the valuation placed upon the property and the amount of appropriations made by the Legislature. The only way to reduce taxation is to ieduce the ap propriation. Of course, the school tax fixed in the Constitution would real ize more income if assessments 'w2re raised, but that would be uo disadvan tage, for scarcely any one would object to an increase in this fund. Under the present system the re turns are made to the County Auditor. There is a Township Board of Assessors, which meets at the Court House after the Auditor has taken the returns, and undertakes to go over all of them in 'one or two days. Then there is a County Board of Equalization, which also meets at the C,)urt House and goes over the re turn for the entire County in one or two days. All of this is done in some what of a perfunctory manner and ac complishes little or nothing in secur ing an equitable assessment of prop erty. There are Counties in the State in which some of the land is assesed t one-third or one-half its actual val ue, while other land is assessed at its real value. In fact, there may be two adjoining plantations, the one worth twice as much as the other, and yet under our system each is assessed for taxation at the same price -per acre. In many cases it is the rule to assess live tock at so much per head, regardless f the fact that one horse may be worth two or three times what another s, even in the same County. And yet this is what Township Boards of As sessors and the County Board of Equalization understands as equalizing property for taxation. This eertainly is not the purpose for which these Boards are created. And yet it is im possible for a Township Board to meet and spend only'one day going over the eturns that have been made, and get them equalized. It Is also as impracti mable for a County Board of Equaliza tion to meet and in one or two days aqualize the assessments upon all the property in the iCounty. Much more could be accomplished: if the. law, were unended so as to require . that the, ounty Auditor .shall, after notice in he public prints, take returns in each rownshIp, and,shall not talfe these re turns except while preselat in the rdwnship. In case Anr taxpayer, re ruses or fails to make return *hile Lhe Atditor is present in the, Town 3hp, the Auditor and the Township Board shall be require4 to assess such property, .and notify the owner of the valuation placed, upon his property. rhat 'there shall be appointed a 'Tbwn hip Board of Assessors,'consisting of three discreet : freeholders; residents Af the Township, who shall meet with :he Auditor to receive .the returns and assess the property. That this Board shali be appointed by the County Aud tor and receive 'compensation for its service. That all returns shall- be miade tr public in the presence of the'Auditor ind the Township Board, and that the >wner of the property shall be required o answer the questions as now pro ided by law, and make affidavit as to ce correctness of his answer. If the Nwnship Board thighks the return isI :o high or too low it shall be Its du. :y, in the presence of-'the owner of the propert:r and the Auditor, to raise or ower the' return In order to reach the rue ma.rket value of the proper y. The Chairman of these Township Boards' hall constitute. the Oounty Board of Equalzation, and this Board shall neet at- the Court .Iouse and go over :e returns for th.e County with the ounty Auditor and hear complaints md appeals, their decision to be sub lect to appeal to the State Board. The audtor shall not be permitted to go nto a primary, but shafl be appointed ythe Governor, as provided by law, o as to be as free and Independent as t Is bossible. In this way I believe nuch will be gained towards having all roperty assessed equitably. 'Te hon t taxpayer would much prefer to re-. :urn his propei-ty at its true-'value, if >y doing so he would bear no more han his just portion of the burden, nd the man who desires to evade hould be made to bear his part of the urden by having his property return d at its true value. There is nio question that so much lemands your earnest, your careful, rour thoughtful, and your diligent :onsideration, and that so much con erns every citizen of the common realth as this question of taxation. It 1as received, the attenition of every lgislator who has had the interests of us people at heart since taxes have yeen levied and government organized, nd yet there is no subject In which :here s more room for reform than hat of equalizing taxation and placing upon the books for taxation that prop rty which is now evading the officers >f the law. There has been aggratifying increase n the taxable property during the year lust closed. In fact, the Increase is ~reater than for any one year for sev ,ral years past. This, of course, has nade an increase in the amount of axes collected, but your appropria ions were larger at the last session han the year before, and but for the ncrease in taxable values there would 1ave been a deficit and the appropria sions could not have been met out of he income for the year. Instead, how wer, of having one hundred' and ighty-nine million dollars of taxabla roperty we should have near four iundred million. The following comparative figures or 1900 and 1901 are taken from the 3mptroller General's report: 1900 1901 teal ....... $102,148,427 $103,258,440 >r.nna1 . . .. 52,006,830 59,030,424 Raiircads .. . r,35;273 27,04,243 Total .....$179,514,50 $189,333,107 These figures show a total increase in the taxable values for the past year of $9A18,577. For further information in regard to this department your attention is di rected to the'excellent and suggestive report of the Comptroller General. SINKING FUND. In my last Message to the General Assembly attention was called to the fact that At that time $241,030.84 of the $389,202.23 of assets of the Cumula tive Sinking Fund for Reduction of S. C. Brown 41%2 per cent. were on deposit in banks, and although drawing 4 per cent. interest wera unsecured, except by the credit of the banks wherein de posited. 'This condition no longer Ex Ists and there is now of this fund so deposited in banks only $59,358.34, which will soon be drawn out to com plete the State House loan. This has been accomplished during the past year by the lo-an of $123,164.37 under the Act of 1900 "$I0 provide for the completion of the State House," and by the purchase during the past year by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of S. C. 'Brown 4% per cent. bonds arid stock of the aggregate face value of $78,012.00. These bonds and stocks bave been under the law con verted iato S. C. Brown 4%h per cent. stock issued in the name of the Com missioners of, the Sinking Fund, and although purchased at a premium, be ing 4% per cent. bonds, will until ma turity pay almost, if not quite, 4 per cent. on the price paid. Under the trust this is an ideally safe investment, being made in the very bonds the fund Is created to retire. 'Te deposits in banks, unsecured ex eet by the credit of the banks where in deposited, pay only four per cent. interest, and this rate of interest is liable at any time to decrease, should interest and the demand for money at the money centres decline. On December 31st, 1901, the assets of the Cumulative Sinking Fund for Re duction of S. C. Brown 4% per cent, amounted to $420,515.52 invested : so as to yield from four to five per cent. interest. The assets of the ordinary Sinking Fund are now $49,397.22. The assets of the. Insurance Sinking Fund, for State Insurance of public buildings amounts to $3,111.22. GOOD ROADS. Duing the past year there has been a general awakening throughout the country on the question of Good. Roads .and In every section great interest has been manifested and'. movements begun . looking to' the improvement of the public high ways. There is no question that more directly and more generally concerrs the great body of our people. The South has possibly been a little slow in this matter, and the effects- re slting from her negligence are plains ly to be seen. For the past few years there has been a great Influr-of people into' our towns and eikies and these have rapidly built up- at the expense of the surrounding country. This is an evil which if possij1e should'he remedied, for it is. to thgI people' of the country, and .not to the' towns and. efties, thiat the State must -principally -look for the preservation of .her institutions. One of the prime 'cayrses of t'his great flow of population into the towns and. cites Is to. be found in thescondition of- our public highways. In :most of the counties in the State during cer tain seasons of the year some of the roads are altogether impassable, and all communication and traffic with the, cities' and railroad points' is cut off. Such a' condition of affairs .must work great hardships, especially upon the rural districts, .and the people of the rural districts compose the great majority of our population. Leaving out of considerationl alto gether the evils resulting from the condition of our roads, however, and looking at the question from a purely business -standpoint, good roads pay, and are one ot, the best investments -which .can be made by a County' Jor State. Under our present methods of road building, it is necessary to rebuild the roads after .every washing rain, while if we built good, permanent roads, the cost of keeping them In re pair would be a very small item ip omparison to what our present roadsI are costing. In fact, the savig inI ot having to work the permanentI roads so often, would in a very shorti time pay for their building. This hasI been found to be the case whereveri good,, permanent roads have been built. From the Seventh Annual Report 1 >fthe. Commissioners of PublicC Roads for the State of New Jersey, 4 ne of the leading States in the Good1 Roads Movement, the . following is taken merely to show in what respect. 1 good' roads are held by the people who bave used them and kiow of their ad- 1 vantages: "The people seem to be so 1 wonderfully impressed with the idea ( that by good roads the value of land will be increased, transportation1 heapened, travel and business at tracted, school houses and churches filled, and civilization advanced, that I they are praying as earnestly for 4 them'as for great riches. Consequent- 1 ly the pressure for new roads is so I great it seems almost impossible to bold the people back. They are so t1 anxious ,that they are not willing to I 2nfine, themselves within the limit I f State and County appropriations. t 'hey are constantly insisting upon uilding ahead of the State appropria ion, in order that* they may enjoy3 them now." It has been estimated that in fortyC Counties in Indiana where good roads ave been built, "the average increase r in the selling price of land, due to ex [sting improved highways, is $6.48 per acre. The estimated average in. r rease per acre that would result ( rom improving all the public roads 10 is $9.00. The estimated average cost of converting the common public roads into improved highways is t1,146 per mile. The estimated aver age annual loss, per 100 acres, from poor roa4s is .$76.28." On the basis of this calculation the average annual loss from poor roads is seventy,- . x cents per acre. It will be seen t the loss from poor roads would soon pay for the building of the good roads and after replacing the am3unt paid for their construction, the good roads will cont?nue to pay. Of course, it cannot be expected that South Carolina should do as much as some of the States have done, but any action which may be taken, looking to the .betterment of our roads, will be of great benefit and in the long run will actually save money. Most of the work done by our ChAingangs upon the present roads is simply thrown away. The building of public highways is as much of a science as railroad building, ad in order to build robds. will require money, and in order lo secure money there will have to be provision for raising it by taxatWn. The Good Roads Conventiom whIch was recently held In Greenvl.e, passed - resolutions requesting - the Legislature that each county be given the privilege to determine by election the right of such county to levy a tax, not to exceed two and one half mills on. the taxable property of such county, if so much be, necessary, in or(er to build.good roads, and that such counties as desire to do so begNin authority to issue bonds to constract and maintain their public highwgys and be aufhorized to issue bogds upon so deciding by county elecn. A resolution was also passed a tm con.vention requesting the legislatre to enact such laws as will encoie -e the use of broad tires, and alsour the County Chaingangs shall be put to- . work esclusively on building. good,.'_ permanent roads. These suggestioDs. are practical business propositi and will work great benefit to State if carried out, and I recommendi that, they be followed. It is most gratifying to note t.he in terest which has lately been, taken by.. the people of South Carolina on this subject. Most of the counties of the State are awaketing to a realization of the importance of the. subject and much id being acmomplished. In this connec,in the work which has been done and Is now being done by-the Southern Railway in'this dred tion deserves commendation, and no doubt much of the good which has Ve sulted from this awagening is due partly to its. efforts. - Any action looking td the better ment of our roads. which, in YOUr wisdom- youL may- see -to. take be so much done t6*ard the tUoU of the general prsprity people. Whatever plan -you should be eflicient, ee equitable. Aid that you' sme plan is patent to eveya ful Citizen.. In my last message I fee ttent4on to the impoanc P areful consideration. tol thie f Child Labor In or nu establishments. With the rapid gWt f manufacturing industries n"Q state this has now become.a iec t f tat..directly concerns the ' "~ South, Carolina and a ,rbent~ is demanding solution. The should work no Injustice upk on ill owners; nor should the 'healtT ; nd the future happines 'andt"Vp0 perity- of the children, who *illI ia: ew years .be citizens aig4 voters& be, eglected. Nothing shOl*I bp done' hat will injure the anfacturTinl fny erests,. nor retard e- progress and evelopment of South, 'arolin&$. material growth. iK There is no doubt,that.to keep the 4. ;mell child -conflined at labor in the ills Is -injurious to the child. physi ~ally andl mentally.. Without time- or ecreation, play, exercise,. sunshine ~s chool,. things so necessary -for the. growth and healthy development sof Lhe child body and child-mind; noth- - tng but labor and toll from .before inrse until after dark, Is compelled y the laws of natuje to .dwar the hild mind and the e child body, be ause it is in direct conflict with the Laws of nature, and will have Its in uence and effect upon the citizen hp of the future. 'Even looking at the situation fromn a cold business point of 'view, It Is 3etter thiat we should not have child Labor.. In a good many Instances the nill oiwners themselves have reallzedi his fact, and have prohibited child Ia or in their mills. Looking to tihe $a ure, they know ini ordJer to have skill 4 labor in the gro;. up man and wo nan, it is necessary that the child of .he present shall Dot only not be warfed physically and mentally, ~lose confinement end labor dr* :he tender years of youth, but that.It shall have all the advanitages offered y the schools of the community. In eme cases the parents who work in he mills are required to sign a son rct to force their children belgn ~ertan ages to 'attend the pu'blic ;chools provided. There are mill towns this State which are models im.er ~ryting that goes to make an .L4eal ommuity. The mills contribate argely for the education of the chil Iren and in some of these communli .ies you will find as good school build ngs as in any of the larger towns and ~ities. Besides, the mill owners' pry heir part of the school tax, which roes into the general fund, and the nost pleasant relations exist between he mill owners and the operativYeB. he fact that the mill owners,'~who re in the best possible position to - udge by experience, recognize by uch action the importance of edu ating and caring for these children, a strong argument in favor of the scessity of a law prohibiting child abor. In many inst'ances, however, .these - iles are not required, and the mill wners, finding child labor che,pest, nd looking only to the present, sub