Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I rT_r*\,rvy. p-<>-n_,'if~or~i- ^ iJ jfOti' ?tf*^ vj^ -*? ??? < ? ?? ?-? -!. 9 ? { "*" " ':7 ?.*,?" :W" ^ ^ (T^- ^ ^ ,,,, ^ ^ ^| VOL XXII KINGSTREE, SOUTH C AROLINA, JANUARY 30, 1908. * NO. 4 ???m^?? ??^ " * -. ? 1 ! i J AAA 1? . t [ 0009 REASONS WHY Rl f COUNTY SH r MR. FHlllP STOLL PRINTS LOGI I ' AND FIGURES?FOUR QUESTIONS [ AND ANSWERED IN CLE* P To The People ok Johnson- | [ ville:?I was greatly disapI pointed in uot being able to till ! mv engagement of the 23rd inst j and address you on the issues which have been forced upon j you for consideration by the j promoters of the proposed new! county of Kutledge. A case of grip, which is now so prevalent, commanded my watchful attention ar.d prevented me from being with you at your picnic Thursday. I had compiled for Ctrrn sirm r<?rt.iin statistics which I desired to submit for, your consideration, but being I deprived of the privilege of ad-; dressing you in person, I take the liberty of writing this open I letter, which I aSk that you carefully study before reaching your final decision on the new county schepne. In'considering the advisability of establishing a new county the following questions should be asked and answered: 1st. Does your section need a new county? \ 2nd. If it does, where should the county seat be located? 3rd. Is it advisable at this time to form a new connty? gj *111. IIUUIU 1L ywu w itoit W Williamsburg1 and go into Rutr ledge? In deciding whether or not the needs of your section demand the formation of a new county it is well to look into the reliefs and benefits to be gained by uch action, and also to | study the whys and wherefores of county government. Here it is pertinent to ask why were counties ever formed? Why are they needed? What is the object of a county? These may seem simnle Questions on first thought f but to my mind are well worth considering, especially on the eve of the formation of a new county. A county is a body politic aud corporate and is formed for two I primary reasons. First, to grant I prompt and proper protection [ and relief for our lives and proI perty as contemplated under the law. and second, to reduce to a minimum the expense, inconvenience and delay of levyIing and collecting a direct tax. At the* nrf?>f*nt time* the* rnnntv government under which you are now living serves all your needs. L>o you ask, why? Because there is little litigation in the present county of Williamsburg. You never hear of a congested court docket in this county. In the Sessions court we have speedy trfcils, and in the Common Pleas there are no delays which prevent any citizen getting any relief to 1 which he is legally entitled. In ifact, our people are so law abiding and so given to accepting the golden rule as their law, that our courts seldom sit over three days each term. The three terms of court that we have each year do not aggreg-atev bver ten days for the entire Lear. On this ground we can blaitn with perfect assurance Ifiat the people in no section of the county are denied prompt It ml adequate relief at law, and I berefore so far as courts are onccrned need no new county. Th- second reason above statI * JTLEDGE IOULD NOT RE FORMED. CAL ARGUMENT AND GIVES FACTS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE ASKED iR, BUSINESS-LIKE WAY. ed in regard to primary reasons frtr flia ^rmatinn nf PolintiPS is also easily demonstrated as not applicable to any portion of Williamsburg county. The yearly visits of the Auditor and j Treasurer to various parts of j the county for the convenience; of the people in making'their | returns and for the payment of; taxes places every citizen, so : far as the tax questiou is concerned in close proximity to the cou t house. Therefore, by taking inconsideration these facts, viz, that teu days represent thee'n-. tire sittings of our courts in one ( year, and the appointments of | the Auditor and Treasurer, we are forced to the conclusion that io\ far as the real reasons tor county -government are conty government are concerned. I there is no need for a new coun ty. Hence we beg to submit a negative answer to the first: f question I asked, that is, that: at this time there is no demand, i no reason whatever, for^ the formation of a new county. The proposition of the prt^. moters of Rutledge county is to< cut off certain portions of Wil-j liamsburg count}*, and to makwi Lake City the county seat of the new county. Now granting that there is a fallacy in my! argument submitted for your consideration in answer to my j tirst question, and that you think j your section needs a new coun- ( ty. Granting- for the sake ofj argument that, you do need a j new county, is Lake City the proper place for it? What would you gain by the change from Kingstree to Lake City? Does the geographical situation of Lake City recommend that town as a county seat? Again, if you think that you riAAor? rx na?t ( Alinfv Tr }l IT ill ! you get your territory if you go into Rutledge? Now remember this. The new county must leave old Williamsburg at least 500 square miles and must not come closer than 8 miles to Kingstree. There are now 048 square miles in Williamsburg county and at the very best the new county can get only 448 square miles. Give Rutledge 400 square miles of Williams- j burg and all other new counties! from parts of Williamsburg are forever barred?except 48 sq. miles. So, friends of Johnsonville, if you in your dreams ever looked into the future and saw a court house standing in your section, and now hope some day to see it a reality, you had better keep out of Rutledge. Lake City's gain will surely be your loss. The third question that I asked you to consider is the advisability of forming a new county at this time. It is well to here ask vourself. when and where should new counties be formed? Experience has taught the people of South Carolina that new couuties shopld be formed, only when the old county does uot give the relief that the new county would give. To form a new county tfiere must be 400 square miles, 13%000 inhabitants and $1,">00,00.00 taxable property: The above is the constitutional requirements, but experi ence has taught that it is a bur-: den <>n the people to form a new count\ wi'h o'dy 1 ,.>V.lKH00 ta\al>'e property. In other words, sinai 1 counties are a luxury and, generally -?pe.i?iiur. undesirable. Of course 'here are exceptions. Florence county. for instance, is a s:u ill county and its tax levy i?. low. But; there is a reason for this. The town of Florence is blessed with ! mrnmmrnimm?mmmmmm?mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimm+mmi W I " , We-have >00 samples o;i us a trial., Satisfaction ^ The fHand b nyuM in MM Runner Hi whleh oar clothes art fashl onad. Garments art moat certain to nt and please you and vital parta so well pot together that the garmtnls will wear and hold THE GLOBE TAILORING CO. clothti art right. ''wit's lltn Kingstree, - - 2S9S969S969S9 f) = unt | CHEAP! 8 TWOJjAR | MULB i H! J) will arrive Jar Finest that has U market th.is seas f) ' Come in and 8^ before they are < M. F. H 01 KINQSTRE % V railroad*. bein.vf ihe junctional point ol the A.. It R. R. The, raiiroadi property in Florejyy^'s a5?uble and the \i. f sflorenee county are largely paid by tluu railnad company. In >uc)i a. territory a small county in Mr>irar>ie. the other hand in rural communities where there are n ? ralroad*. cotton factories or oilier \uhiabl ' property, except Selling Agency of lICo VJiWV ,J . railoring Co. The Great Cincinnati Custom Tailors , We probably expend more ill, more well-directed ought and more conscittious effort in making our irments than any other iloring firm in this country.' j his year* we have made i eat strides in style ? the tie " kinks" that give inviduality to clothes are ere. Our complete same equipment is on display ith oispiay ail the time. Give s Guaranteed. We also carry a large stock of Dry Goods * and Shoes, , also Fancy and 0 Staple G r o c e r I e s . iile Cum. South Carolina. :AP = f) GHEAP! | ! LOADS S 5 fl ND #) ORSES j luary II. 1908. Z > been on the ? son. S look them over g ill gone. ?) ELLER t :E. S. C. tarm lands and the personal! property ot the landlord or tenant, a small county would cost ; the people dearly. Taxes would i necessarily be high because there is Nothing to tax but the ^ property of the farmer. Toil-j lustrate this point by giving the ( exact conditions in Williamsburg county will bring us to our; 1st question, riz^would it pay to create the new county of Kutledge? Would it benefit the people or oppress them? Let us iook cioseiy mio tins matter. In Williamsburg county the taxable property is in round numbers $5,000,000. Of this amount $1,400,000 is railroad property. In the proposed new county, that is in the townships of Sumter, Ridge, Indian, Johnson, Lee, Lake, Lake City, the taxable property is $1,828,000. Of this a mount .$454,000 is railroads. In the balance of Williams burg, that is the townships of Hope, Laws, Penn, Suttons, An derson, Mouzons, King, Turkey, Mingo and Kingstree, the taxah!p nrnnprtv is i3.T34.000. ' Of f ~t v ? this amount $957,000 is railroads. Tlie total expenditures of Williamsburg in one year (last year) is 8118,725. With taxable property $5,000,000 and expenditures over$118,? 000 it is easily shown that if all funds were collected by a direct tax, that a tax of almost?4 mills would be necessary. But as we are only paying 13 mills we know that a fund equivalent to 11 mills is raised by other means than a direct tax. In other words we get something like jC>U,000. from the dispensary, 1 tines, etc. ' If it cost Williamsburg county 5118,000 a year to get along it is - asonable to suppose that Rutlodge would cost $60,000. Judgfrom other counties it will o t cost Kutledge oyer $75,000, but for argument sake I will put it at only $60,000. Allowing 11 mills for dispensary, fines, etc, it will be necessary to levy a tax of 21 mills in order to raise $60,000 a year on a taxable property of $1,828,000. But let us look at this from another standpoint. Allowing > that Rutledge will get $30,000 of the $55,000 that we now get from the dispensary, fines, etc. and that old Williamsburg will get only $25,000. This would leave $30,000 to be raised by direct tax. On $1,828,000 taxable j property 16 mills would be necessary to raise$30,000. From these figures, which we got from the Auditor, it can readily be seen that the new county will cost any where from 16 to 20 mills for running expenses alone. To this it would be wise to add the expense of building-a court house and jail. It is true Lake City has promised to build a court house and jaii, but a promise is not a court house or jail either. No other county yet created has done so magnanimous a thing and to a man up a tree it does not look like I Lake City will. In fact, in this ! day and time court houses and [ jails are not built for $8,000. ' Sumter's cost $125,000, Lee's j will cost $75,000 (Lee is one of , the new counties that promised to build the court house and * * ' * J- mi. _ ja.il witn out Donas. iue uuuus are now being issued.) Clarendon will build a court house that will cost $60,000, And if Rut- 1 ledge county is cfeated its court | house and jail ought to cosjt at | least $75,000. If you have a j new county you ought to have a ] respectable court house and jail, i Alia *o,uuu in o per teat bonds (twenty years) will cost you about 5 mills a year for 20 years. Therefore, we submit that if you go in the new county you may expect a direct tax of at least of 20 mills, 16 regular tax and 5 mills to pay for your court house and jail. With these figures before you can you for a moment entertain the idea that it would pay you to leave old1 Williamsburg and to try your fortunes in new Rutledge? This article is assuming such length that I am foreed to cut it short. I have written it for two reasons. First, because you asked for my opinion, and second, because I do not want to see old Willtamsburg cut up. None of my statements, I think, can bedisnroved. and I am me pared to stand by them. Respectfully, Philip Stoll. Kingstree, S. C., January 27. Look Before Too Leap. Florence county is too nice a size to be cut, and we are getting on mighty well as one household. We would hate mightily to s| any of our county cut off from us. Maybe home has not been as happy for some of the ? children as it might have been, but whether satisfactory or not, there is no peace like the old nest. We hope that our friends in various parts of the country who are thinking ot making ' new nests will think over it acrain before thev take a lean in the dark .?Florence Times. Some Hlats Far the Sleepless. Many find themselves unable to sleep until the whole household is accounted for and the house locked forthe night, until certain news is received, and the like. The tendency postpones sleep till all affairs are straightened out in the mind, as well as in reality. A little reflection shows bow indefinite must be the postponement of sleep under such conditions. No training is more important for the victim of compulsive tendencies than the practice of trusting something to luck and to the morrow, and reconciling himself to the fact that at no time, in this world, will all things be finally adjusted to his satisfaction. Next comes the insistent desire to sleep in a certain bed, with a certain degree of light or darkness, heat or cold, air or absence of air. This is in line with the desire to eat certain table and at a certain time. The man who loses his appetite if dinner is half an hour late is unable to sleep again if once waked up. This individual must say to himself. "Any one can stand what hedikes; it takes a philosopher to stand what he does not like," and try at being a philosopher instead of a sensitive plant. Inability to sleep while certain noises are continued must be similarly combated. If one. goes from place to place in search of the quiet spot for 3leep, he may finally find quiet itself oppressive, or, worst jret, may be kept awake by bearing his own circulation, from which escape is out of the question. He who tinds himself persistently out of joint with his surroundings will do well to ponier the language of the Chinese philosopher: "The legs ot the stork are long, the legs of the duck are short; you cannot make the legs ;>f the stork short, neither can you make the legs of the duck long. Why worry?"?^George Lincoln Walton, M. D., in Februtry Lippimott'a.