The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, August 12, 1909, SUPPLEMENT TO THE COUNTY RECORD., Image 4
[SUPPLEMENT TO THE COUNTY RECORD.
VOL XXIII. K1NGSTREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1909. NO. 22.
MR. STARR'S ADDRESS
u
fc
THE SEAKLH LIGHT TURNED ON AND V
OF ILLOGICAL ARGUMENTS,
COVERT INI
1 % The mountain has labored and
[ brought forth a mouse. After
weeks ot travail*ami "inexf
haustive" research Mr Stuart
jj Starr, the mouth-piece of the
a..: * ,\i;
If nCW tVUill> UC9. Iia;> ucintuu
himself of an "Address to the
Citizens of the Proposed Ne ?v
l County of Kutledge," which
drags along through twelve columns
of small type, its appail'
ing length and monotonous
style being an infliction upon
his readers' time and patience
that should be punishable as a
misdemeanor, at least Mr Starr
I explains that he wrote it all by
himself and no one familiar with
j; his inimitable style can doubt
< ^.for a moment that the infliction
did evolve from his massive
intellect. He can string more
words together and say less
than any mortal ever did before,
we venture to say. In this
. respect he stands unique?in a
v - % , ?
class by himseii.
We haven't time to wade,
through the whole affair, but
will just puncture the gas-bag
as we go along and when the
^ hot air escapes there will be
nothing left save the collap.>ed
outer covering.
"It may be charged," quoth j
Mr Starr, that I have adroitly
presented this issue to you * * *
that there is no time to reply to !
such an inexhaustive' presentment,
etc." Adroit indeed, he
deems himself. He launches
forth his invective, the product)
of over a month of study, only
s a little more than a week before
the* election, fondly deluding
himself that there is no time for
reply. And mark you, on an ex- j
change basis obtaining among
newspapers, we have been re-1
ceiving every week a copy of j
Mr Starr's paper in return for
The Record; but, strange to say,
this week's issue of the Rut |
ledge County News, of which
the "Address"' forms the supplement,
has been withheld from
us, and so far as we can learn
by diligent inquiry, not a single
copy up to this time (Saturday
night) has reached Kingstree.
Thus, you see, this stickler for
fair play and honorable dealing
not only waits un til the eleventh
hour to make his attack upon
the editor of The Record and
other citizens of Kingstree, but
holds back the copy of the paper
to which we are entitled, so
that but for the fact that a friend
r who obtained a copy of the article
kindly gave it to us, we
would not have known even at
this time that we had been the
object ol this vicious onslaught.
To say tne least 01 it, tins is nut
reputable journalism, and fairminded
gentlemen of all places
and conditions would repudiate
such methods, whether or not
they were used to bolster up
their side of a controversy.
But Mr Starr fairly exults over
his ignoble effort to suppress
the answer to his unwarranted
assumptions, fallacious arguments
and illogical conclusions.
Note this triumphant pean of j
self-gratulation: "And now, my j
friends, I have done. While sit-1
ting 'neath the 'beckoning bows'!
(by the way, what are beckon- j
ing bows?) of shaded St Mich- j
els," he thinks great thoughts
and satisfaction exudes from
every pore, as he sits, pen and
TO VOTERS
CRITICALLY ANALYZED.1
I
iEAh SPOTS EXPOSE!!?A POT POLHH1
ABSURD CONCLUSIONS AND
ilNUATIONS.
writing pad in hand, no doubt,
putting the finishing touches to,
his Hiugtwm i>j'Us, in fancy <float
'inj^ over the slaughter of the
innocents at .Jonnsonvnie ana
other polls, where he fondly believes
lie has most of the voters
i disfranchised, and smacking his
j lips over the Barmecidal feast
he anticipates on the 17th of
! August. But "thrice armed is
lie who hath his quarrel just,"
and "the best laid schemes of
'men and mice, aft gang agley.'"
I ilr Starr bubbles over with gladjsome
gayety and ill-concealed
mirth now, but after the election
he may with mournful mien rejcall
the adage trite but true,
| "he laughs best who laughs;
: ?
IU.OC.
In his ante election exhilarai
tion he reminds us of the lellow
i in tiie "Arabian Nights" who,
; having a small sum of money in1
vested it in merchandise, chiefly
I china and glass, rented a
i booth in the baxaar to sell his
i wares. Seated cross-legged, Ori-'
lental fashion, his fragile stoclr
in trade in a row in front, lie
began to calculate his protit
when the goods were sold. Having
doubled the sum invested.
! and reinvested his capital, he
i would sell the second stock, and
| so on until lie soon became a
j millionaire?in dreams. .Then
i he would get himself a wife?:
1 no ordinary woman would he
condescend to favor; no less,
distinguished lady than the Sultan's
daughter would he stoop
to wed. His suit prospered and
the Sultan's daughter became
his bride-in his dreams. Arabian
etiquette is to make the woman
a slave and the rich and haughty
bride-groom had trouble
forcing the royal beauty bow to '
his will. He prevailed, however,
tha snlHn'c /luiffhtor trrriv.
O.UW HIV WUI..U.U v.M.uSwv^4 fe.v,,
eled at his feet humbly supplicating
forgiveness. To teach .
her a lesson he would not grant
her pardon, but spurned her with
(his feet. But as he spurned his
I royal spouse he kicked out, and
ialas! the crash of broken crockery
recalled the dreamer to his
senses. He had kicked over
and destroyed his whole stock:
of line china ware and foundl
himself penniless!
Now, the application is that i
Mr Starr is indulging in some :
very roseate dreams, speculat- i
ing on the result of this election.
In his dreaming he may, per-;
chance,smash the crockery ware, |
and after the 17th of August,;
tind himself, like Othello, with j
his occupation gone.
The Poorest County.
VrtTxr fVion lot'c (inirn to!
facts and figures. "We are told
in flaming headlines that Rutledge
would be the poorest county
in the State," says Mr Starr.
p'hat The Record did say was
that according to the signed
statements of the auditors of
both Clarendon and WilliamsKnror
rrmnties and the renort of
" r j
the Comptroller General for
! 1908?the last available report
j?Kutledge county, it formed,
| would be the poorest county in
the State by more than half a
million dollars.
We repeat that statement? j
headlines and all and defy any
mortal man to refute it. Does
I " j
Mr Starr disprove it'/ Let us
see. He says lie has a letter
from the Governor's private secretary
(a brand new authority,
by the way?why not j^etsome,
data from the Adjuuant and Inspector
General'/) and as how
the Governor's pri rate secretary
did write him a private letter
sayinjr that when Calhoun coun-'
ty was formed, the property valuation
was only (mark the mihi)
?2.2*2,470. Well, i/rantin.^ that
to be true?Mr Starr says it is
so and it must be so?Hutled^e
county would still fall $4*2.000
behind it in property valuation,
which is only *^,000 less than a
half million dollars. Then, too,
the tax levy of Calhoun for ordinarv
county purposes was thrre
mills. Had the property valuation
been as small as that of nutledge
the levy necessary to raise
the same number ot dollars
would have been o.7 mills. On
$2,282,000 (round numbers) the
revenue raised by three nfllls
could be $0,840. Now divide
$6,840 by $1,824,000 (Ilutledge
area in round numbers) and you
get the number of mills it takes
to raise the same sum on the
Ilutledge valuation.
The Comptroller General's report
for 1908?-see p 231? gives
the levy for Calhoun county for'
??* / Auntt? rMirvwtcnc if P,
Ui umai j v.uuuij i uw xj
mills when the property valuation
is?p 00 same report?
$2,872,000 in round numbers.
Multiply this property by three
mills and you have $7,110 to pay
the ordinary county claims.
Now, to raise the same amount
on $1,824,000, the Kutledge val-'
uation, it would take nearly
o.9 mills ordinary levy. Figure
it tor yourself.
When we stated that the levy
Calhoun county was three mills,
we cited the Comptroller GeneeraFs
report for 1908 as our au- i
thority. But Hon J Davis Car -1
ter informed us a few days ago
that the Calhoun levy for the
coming year was placed at L'f
mills for ordinary county purposes.
We want the truth and ;
we are glad that Mr Carter called
our attention to this. But
even Mr Carter's information
helps his cause but little. The 1
present property valuation of
Calhoun is $2,372,000. which j
multiplied by 2 1-2 mills gives
$5,930. To raise the same am- j
ount from $1,624,000 valuation,
would require a lev}'- of 3.25;
mills, or one half mill more than
the levy for ordinary county'
purposes for the whole of Williamsburg,
which is only 2 3-4
mills. The parent county of;
Calhoun, the county of Orange- i
burg, had a levy of 2 1-2 mills;
in 1908 for ordinary county pur-1
poses, while Calhoun had three j
mills levy for the same purpose,
according to the Comptroller
General's last report. See estimate,
p 219.
Then, too, the little county of
Bamberg, said to contain actual
> ii i.i? i
ly less man me tuus uiuuuuai ^
area of 400 square miles, with a
big cotton mill to levy taxes
on, had a levy of three mills in
1908, according to the Comptroller
General's report, p 231.
Cherokee, the smallest county,
next to Bamberg, with all its
gold mines and manufacturing
plants, had a tax levy of three
mills for ordinary county purposes
inl908. See Comp. Gen's
report, p 232.
So we see that a small county
is not necessarily run on a cbeap
basis as to taxation.
A Flight of Fancy.
At this juncture Mr Starr
takes an aeroplane ascension
into the realms of fancy that
puts the Wright brothers clean
out of business, lie claims to be |
able to be able to show us that,
:
by January 1, "we" i Kutledge) j
will have a property valuation
exceeding $2,300,000! Wtioopee! j
IIow is he going to do it? i
Like tlie old negro sentenced to I
be hanged on a certain Friday
in January, we are inclined to i
ask, "Not dis ?yer cumin' Jiniwary,Jed^e?"
Mr Starr tells you that Cal-!
houn county spends $0,u00 onj
rn;irl< while hi<<- Willinmshnr:~"s
spends 88,000. Auditor Montgomery
says that Williamsburg j
spends -81s.000 on roads andj
bridges. Read Mr Montgomery's j
article in this issue. It is inter-;
esting and instructive from start>
to finish and knocks the spots
out of Starr's two million dollar
pipe-dream. The old Mills map
is also shown to be obsolete and
misleading by .Mr Montgomery,
inasmuch as Florence county has
made two cuts at this county
since old man Mills' demise.
Judging from the insignificant
increase of property valuation
in the Rutledge area from 1907
to 1908,as shown by the auditor,
nothing- short of the discovery
of a gold mine or n*fnral gas
could bring its property value
up to Mr Starr's optimistic prognostication
of ?*>2,300,000 by January
1, next. No, farmers, there
is but one way to get such a
property valuation and that is
raising the present assessment
of real estate 100 per cent. Some
of the new county boosters in
descanting upon the many bless- j<
ings of the new county have al-1
ready advanced the idea that on
the strength of the boom con- j
tingent upon the formation of i
Rutledge' farm lands, as well as 1
city lots,would enhance in value
double the present r* ;es. Think ,
you that the m; /P-*arbitrary I
opinion of enthusiastic promot-!
ers would affect the real value i
of vour land? Would it cause it I
to produce more cotton or to-1
bacco per acre, or raise the price i
per pound? Yojur own good sense !
will answer.
In citing Florence county Mr
Starr goes out of the category
of small counties, inasmuch as
Florence contains some 600
square miles and would be class-1
ed rather as medium sized. Why
didn't he take Marlboro as a basis
of comparison? Marlboro is
much smaller than Florence and
its tax levy for ordinary county!
purposes is six mills. See p 236,
Comptroller General's report,
1908.
About Court Houses aod Jails.
The cost of the Florence court
house and jail, as we remarked
last week, is entirely irrelevant
to the issue. "We have never said
that the city of Florence did not
build the court house and jail at
Florence. What we did say, was
that thetwo cases are totally dissimilar;
the city of Florence issued
bonds to raise the money
for the buildings and Lake City
being bonded to the limit al
ready, cannot raise the money
in that way. Take the two
counties most recently formed
as a basis of comparison, Lee
and Calhoun. Lee county has
just completed a $75,000 court
house and the whole county is
taxed to pay for it. Calhoun
has no court house or jail and
wants to bond the county for
$30,000 before the town will
"cough up" the $20,000 promised
before the election.
Mr Starr says: "It's one thing
to say that the Florence county
(public) buildings could not be
built today for twice what they
cost when built,but how are you
going to answer a flat bid fromj
a responsible contractor to duplicate
tliem for much less than
the)* cost the city of Florence?"
We could answer that question
better if Mr Starr would name
his "responsible contractor' and
let the people concerned jud^e
as to his responsibility as well as
his ability to furnish a bond to
do what every contractor we
have heard express an opinion
says is an impossibility except
at a loss. The question hinges
mUAvhether or not the cost of
ting materials and labor is
cheaper now than twenty years
ago. -Mr Starr says it is cheaper
(or he said so in his paper less
than six months ago and we
have the clipping to prove it):
everybody else complains of the
enormous advance in everything
in the way of building materials
and labor. Maybe Starr has not
built anything lately except air
castles and they come cheap.
Mr Starr admonishes us "not
to make wild statements." He
reminds us of the drunk man
who preaches prohibition:
"Den t do as I do: do as I say.''
He has an infinite capacity for
getting things muddled. Poor
fellow, he can't help it; it seems
to be a habit with him
Mr Starr prints letters from
the auditor and the sheriff of
Calhoun county extolling the
blessings of the new county.
Were we as suspicious of Calhoun's
county officers as Mr
Starr appears to be of our own
county's, we might suspect the
Calhoun office holders of "interested"
motives, and quote an
erstwhile dispeiser under the
old regime: "Whose bread I eat,
his song I sing"; but we have too
much respect for the men chosen
by a majority of their fellowcitizens
to hold offices ot honor
and trust, so we'll let that pass.
That Court House aod jail Guarantee.
On July 22 six of the most
prominent citizens ol Johnsonville
called upon Dr Williams to
redeem his pledge given to the
people of Johnsonville eighteen
months ago: "I will promise you
that if Lake City lays down on
me in this matter and does not
put up sufficient fuods ? not
promises but rash?to build a
good court house and jail, after
the election is ordered I will
come out in the public prints |
and notify the people and ad-1
vise them not to vote for the
new county and I will not vote
for same myself."
In-his reply Dr Williams
stated that the guarantee (not
cash,take notice) for court house
and jail would be put up before
the election. It is fair to assume,
then, that the guarantee published
in Mr Starr's ''Address"
is the one referred to by Dr Williams?the
official guarantee of
the new county court house and
jail builders.
Here it is. Read every word:
"To the Voters of the Proposed
County of Rutledge:
" We,the undersigned,hereby declare
that we have this July 28, 1909, executed
in writing to J If Blackwell, W
L Bass and ft T Ask ins,, representing
the Rutledge County Promotion
League, our guarantee, personally
guaranteeing the payment of every
dollar that has been subscribed for the
purpose of building the court house
and jail of said proposed county, in
"? ' i a . .i i r ? .
case eaui coumij oe jormea ana lmne
City be selected as the county seat; and
we further declare that the amount
stated in said guarantee and for
ichich we are liable is fully sufficient
to build goody substantial and commodious
court house and jail buildings
that will be a credit to the county and
will be even superior to some of the
V
I'nuntie.< not fur away, fl
j u(Si</H(d) 'V
"A U WILLIAMS, \
i:J S M< CLAM.
) ' We hereby certify that (he dedar[
at io a.< and statement* contained in the
at,are are tor red, mat we hare in our
j possession the (juarantee mentioned.
v-:/?/
I "J H BLACK WELL,
"WL BASS,
" W T ASKIX B.
" Luke Cityj S C\ Jtt/j/ 2S, 1909."
Talk about flittering generalities!
Some sort of agreement
! has been given to certain par:
ties setting forth that Dr A H
Williams and Mr J $ McClam
i personally guarantee some money
that has been subscribed for
court house and jail. Xo amount
1 specified: no cash put up. It
I might be $1,000 or $M),000.
Again,the two gentlemen named
1 may be ever so willing and able
\ to make good their guarantee
now, but suppose the matter is
tied up for several years, as in
Calhoun county, either or both
of the men behind the guarantee
might be unable to make good,
however willing they may be.
In the vicissitudes of human afj
fairs,especially business affairs,
; time brings many changes, and
i adversity, like death, is no re!
specter of persons.
But they say they will present
you with public buildings superior
to some of the court houses
near by. Then why not come
out frankly and squarely and
tell vou exactly how much mon
ey tliey intend to put in the
court house and how much in
the jail. Surely you would not
I let them .-sell you a paj in a la<j. ,
Your ideas and theirs as to "superior
buildings" may radically
differ and it will be too late to
reconcile thein after the dection.
Before you allow the public
buildings bait to catch you,
i tind out what each one will cost
and of what materials it is to be
built.
Remember, friends, you have
just as much interest in "Williamsburg's
court house and jail
as the people on this side of the
line. Our sturdy old temple of
justice for half a century has .
withstood cyclone, earthquake
I n nt.art rvrrti'Dfl f a Ka fira.tinAAf
tlliU. CV til ^11 V > tu IV VV UIV*|1?VV/1?
Mr Starr complains of $2,000
spent for metal tiling cabinets
I to protect from tire your records
of titles, mortgages and
other papers, which if destroyed
might ruin you financially. Does
he think you will not need such
protection if the new county be
I formed and Lake City build the 1
court house? Suppose the court
house should be a wooden affair,
which is entirely permissible under
the "guarantee", would you
care to risk your valuable pa- ^
pers being swept out of existence
in a single night? ^
Our stately old court house,
about which are clustered the
traditions and associations of
two generations, is admired by
every stranger. Moreover, the
building and the furniture and
equipment are paid for, and ,
your money helped to do it. j
Our new, modern" jail recently
build at a cost of $8,000 also belongs
to you. The two buildings
are easily worth $50,000 or $60,000.
Would you throw aside as
worthless your interest in these . ;
splendid public buildings for
the pig-in-the-bag "guarantee"
offered you? Don't exchange the J*
substance for the shadow. V
About Bonding Williamsburg for Court
House and Jail.
Of all the silly and baseless
fabrications, that yarn about
bonding Williamsburg county
for a new court bouse and jail
fairly takes the cake. When we
iJ
| j