The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, August 26, 1922, Page PAGE 5, Image 5
some of the wo]
I carolina tax t
I results Atta:
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-^v-..; ? , J
* Those who desire to kn?wj
something of the work of the !
. South Carolina Tax Commission, j
and who are interested in tax re-j
form in this state, will gain infer- ;
mation by reading- the following: j
The Constitutin of South Carp- j
' lina,. Section 1. Article X. provides: i
"The genera) assembly shall pro- ?
Aide by law for a^ uniform and]
equal, rate of assessment and tax-1
ation, and ^hall prescribe regula- j
lipas to secure a just valuation for-j
taxation of all property, real, per- \
^onal and possessory. * * *'* j
: In conformity to the above pro-i
- vision of the Constitution, the leg- ]
\slature .created the South Carolina j
Tax Commission and imposed upon!
s it the duty of generally superyis-;
^teg.an4 equalizing the assessment;
o? property throughout the state it; I
order that equality of the tax bur- f
den among the several counties of;
the state and among individual cit- j
. izens might be obtained. , ;
*? The Tax Commission has proceed -1
ed with the discharge of its duties j
under the . constitution and statutes, {
and. the following is some of its;
. "work since organization: During i
'.. the year 1922 additional duties w?re
imposed upon" the commission, \
among them, enforcing the provis
ions of the incoine tax. the gasoline
. tax. corporation license taxes and
the inheritance laws, wh ich Avil! be
t. hereinafter referred to,
, . It was generally recognized when
the ta"x commission was created
in 1915, that no real effort had
ever been made, nor were there i
proper facilities for equalizing as- j
sessanests of the" various classes of \
property throughout the state for
taxation. .The whole field.'was un
touched, and it presented the ap
, pearance pf a piece of patch
work, just as necessarily resulted j
i?rom forty-five separate arid dls-j
tinct county boards of equalization.;'
a state board of equalization and \
board of assessors working on inde
pendent lines and in accordance
with their varying views and inter
ests. It was impossible for the
'".tax commission, starting, out in an
j 4fnt?rely new field, with limited ac
* cumulated information to guide its
steps, and with an entirely inade
quate provision, to undertake in
one year's time to place on an
all of the various classes
Ct. prosperty throughout the state.
' iSscesnizing that the work must of
??t?e?slty he done by gradual steps, j
it .was necessary^to take up some j
one class of property and see . that
&3iformity of assessment through
?sstthe state was obtained as to
. that class. Afterwards other
classes of, property were taken up,
' considered. and equalized.
The Beginning of EqnaHrmrton.
The -banks of the state were se
lected as the first class of property
t to undergo this process of equaliza
tion.
It was the purpose of the tax
commission net to disturb whatever,
parity or equality might have then
existed between banks generally
and other classed of property, so .it ?
took the returns of each and every j
, bank in the state and ascertained j
the average prevailing valuation or!
assessment for taxation. Wide dis
crepancies between assessments oc
curred throughout the whole state,
but the commissi on found in, one
county that one bank was being
assessed at IS per cent of its val
,ue, while another bank in the same
g^japunty was assessed at 60 per cent
of its value. While the rates of
assessment varied from 18 per cent
to 7j0 per cent, the average for the
whole state was found to be 48
per cent. Therefoe 48 per cent was
. adopted as a basis for assessment
of all fcanks for the year 1913. The
result was to raise the assessed j
I valuation of some banks and to de-j
crease the 5:-sessed valuation ' ofr|
ethers. However, .under the system j
of returns and accounts roquiredl
of banks by. ;he tax commission, .it]
was discovered that property,'
ihroogh in^orre^t returns and
emissions, to the .value of $1.487.
C?4.00, was added to the total as-j
t zes&tfd value thereof. The net* result!
ot these activities on. the part of
the commission war; to put, in -the
year 1915. every bank in South
Carolina on an exact equality and
to raise their assessments to a to
fal amount of $14,566,285.00.
In 1916 the legislature amended
. the tax commission act by taking
from the commission the power to
initially assess the banks, but pro
vided that the banks should make
flieir returns to the county audi
tor tor assessment by the county
boards in the same manner as had
prevailed before the creation of the
t2x commission, and then to be
w equalized by the commission. When
'"the returns were made in 1916,
under the amended law. and were
' sent in to the tax commission for
equalization, it was found that the
' average rate of assessment, as made
by the county boards, was 42 per
cent?a reduction of 12 1-2 per
cent on the basis of assessment
from that of 1915: the net result
-l?eing a decrease in total bank as
sessments to $12.851,103.00, or a
net loss of $1.715,182-00. It was
in this manner that the standard
oY assessed value of 42 per cent
was established and upon which all
other properties are being assessed
and equalized.
? In addition to the returns made
by the banks to the county audi
tors, the tax commission requires
each bank to file with it a state
silent, as of January 1st. each year,
showing assets and liabilities, such
as is furnished the comptroller of
the currency by national banks.
.; and to the state bank examiner
. .by state banks. Since these state
ments are subject to examination
and approval by federal and state
asjthorities, the true value of the
I COMMISSION
RK OF THE SOUTH
COMMISSION AND
ENED THEREBY
?? . ? ?? .? ? f : 'A i ? v ? ?? ?
property Is easily determined.,
The increase in bank assessments |
since 1915 ha:- been due to a ecu- ;
miilated profits and additional cap- j
. ital invested.
In 1920 the assessment on" banks i
throughout the state was reduced!
! $3,111,.175.00 on account of an act j
of the general assembly requiring
the tax commission to allow a de- <
dnction of ah amount not exceed- j
ing 25 per cent- of the capital and
surplus of any banking corpora-j
tion invested in United States Lib- \
erty bonds or Farm Loan bonds of I
the Federn1 Land Bank of Colum-j
bia.
?31,4:53.0:54.00 in Taxable Property j
Added in The Oase of Four
Activities.
The next .classes of property to t
be equalized by the commission 1
consisted of cotton mills, cotton j
seed oil mills, fertilizer plants, wa-j
ter. light and power companies. {
In 1914 the total assessed yah' j
tit cotton mills, was the sum of j
$29,487,000.00. In 1921 the. total J
assessment was .$54.722,430.00, of]
which increase $3,250.000.00 was 1
new property: leaving a net in- {
crease by the commission of $21,
.^5,430.00. I
The above assessments were j
equalized on a 42 per cent basis to j
correspond with that of the . as- j
sessnient on banks. '?
With better facilities afforded the.
tax, commission for examining, into f
and discovering values, it was;
found that by reason of the plan j
^heretofore in vogue of assessing
^Sptton mills on a spindle or capital
stock basis, great inequalities ex
isted as between various mills and
Jarge property values escaped tax
ation.
.. The commission now requires the
cotton mills to show, not only the
number of spindles and capital
stock, but all property which has i
been constructed or accumulated j
through profits or earnings of ^he j
Ipa?l. or otherwise. . I
In equalizing water, light, pow- I
err and street railway companies, !
.jshich. classes of property are!
usually operated in conjunction, the J
[commission found that in 1914, the j
year before its creation, these prop- j
erties were assessed at $4,443,434-1
00. In the process of assessment j
and equalization as applied by the ;
tax commission,, these properties.
-were increased to $13,441,915.00. j
Tor ah increase of $8,998,481.00. Of]
the above net increase $,2,150,000.00 :
represents new property. leaving a !
met increase, as made by the com- j
' mission of $6,848,481.00, despite the i
f?aet that properties in this class, ?
assessed at $963,000.00 were lost j
to the state on account of being ac- ;
quired by mimicipalitiea, !
In 1914 the total assessed value j
of. cotton seed oil mills and fer- |
tilizer plants was' $"4,d2:4,,277!o6.;Xf- J
ter examination of their values and j
applying the rule as to equaliza- j
tion. they were increased to . .$?,-l
634,000.00?a net increase of $2,-j
399,723.00. This increase was j
'made, although several fertilizer
t-plants and oil mills were dismantl- ;
jed in the state, and there has been j
I no hew construction.
Rlustmttion of Diwepancies.
To Illustrate discrepancies of as- <
sesscments on this class of prop
erty: It was found that one power
company had one of its transmis
sion lines in three counties. In one
county it was assessed at $500.00
per mile: the second county at $1,
r5<)0.00 per mile, and in the third
county at $2,500.00 per mile, the
line being of uniform value
I throughout the three counties.
l? is no reflection upon the county
boards that so great a portion of
; the above mentioned property es
caped taxation, and that there were
I such varying assessments put on
i property of uniform value. It is
f ah exceedingly difficult task to as
certain the value of such property
; and the local boards had little op
! portunity or facilities for such
work.
I The commission has accomplish
! ed. this result after several years
! of investigation and examination
i into all the data that it could, ob
! tain in this and other states.
; In 1914. the total railroad assess
j ment 'was $42,837.042.00, which
i has been increased to $48,700,397.
i 00, or an. increase of $5.863,355.00.
jThls includes some new construc
tion.
j Due to the especial attention that
? was given to the assessment of
?railroad property a few years be
I fore the tax commission was cre
ated, by Honorable A. W. Jones,
at that time comptroller general,
I and formerly chairman of this
. commission, railroad property had
j'been reasonably assessed. During
j one year. 1907. as a result of his
(Special investigation, ahout $12,
1000,000.00 was added to the as
: sessed value of railroad property
- in South Carolina. f
; In 1914 the aggregate assess
I ment on the Pullman, telephone
and telegraph companies was $2,
j 307,730.00. Under the process of
j equalization and assessment by the
tax commission.'it was increased to
$3,754.145.00. Of ;he above amount
of increase, $677,090 00 jyvas added
; to the Southern Bell Telephone &
Telegraph company and the Ameri
I can Telephone and Telegraph com
I pany, as a result of disclosures of
their property values when they
applied to the railroad commission
. for an increase of charges for ser
vices.
Farm l.mxis
In the year 1918. under the stat
ute providing for the quadrennial
j assessment of real property, the
j commission undertook to equalize
j the assessments thereof throughout
j the state. Upon' an examination of
: all available data, such as . the
'United States census for 1910 and
I " "
.'sales and-tra?:sfrrrs - of lamls in a
[number of the counties, the com
! mission found that"some of the best
j or richest counties were assessed
j substantially as low per acre as
j some of the least .valuable. Ap
; plying? the 4L' per cent basis of as
j sessment and equalizing farm land
values among the several counties,
the 'net result was to increase
farm lands from $75,318,428.00 to
$ 11C.924.000.00, or an increase of
$3"),GOT?.573.00, and also to enable
the comptroller general to reduce
the state levy from 9 1-2 to 8 1-4
mills in 1918. City and town prop
erty, which was assessed by spe
cial boards of assessors, was in
creased from $68,150,364.00 to $78.
576.668.00, a total increase of
$10,42?, 304.00.
Result of Survey of The City of Co
lumbia
Due to the varying condition and
character of property in cities and
towns, no general or uniform plan
has been found for equalizing as
sessments of such property. Rec
ognizing the great difficulty along
this' line, and from the experience
of other states^ it wa? found that
the only method by which all city
and town real property could be put
on the tax books at a proper val
uation w-as to have complete survey
made of each city and town in the
state. The work along this line
has been commenced, but this com
mission has not been given sufficient'
appropriation for carrying on this
work as rapidly as it might be, A
survey of the city of Columbia,
however, has "he'en completed and
the result has been to place upon
the tax books in the form of back
taxes and the past year's current
taxes for state, county and city
purposes, approximately the sum of
$500,000.00 in actual taxes, which
Will be turned into the public
treasuries. Aside from this amount
of money, which will be paid into
treasuries, there has been added
to the permanent taxable value of
Columbia city property approxi
mately $1.000.060-00. which will
hereafter bear its burden of taxa
tion. " The taxes payable to the
state on the above amount, in
cluding back taxes, is $150,000.00.
This does not take into consider
ation the future taxes that will be
paid on this property.
A survey of the city of Spartan
burg is now in progress, and from
data at present available, it is esti
mated that the treasuries of the
state, county and city will receive,
in back taxes, the sum of $150,
000.00. It is impossible, before this
survey is completed, to state what
the net increase in assessed values
of real estate will be. bur it fe i>e
lieved that several hundred thou
sand dollars of taxable property
will be placed upon the tax books
in that city.
It is believed if similar surveys
were made in the other cities and
towns of the state, that a large
amount of back taxes would be
collected and millions of doi-ars of
property now escaping tavitioii
would be placed upon the tax
books. .
. Application has been made to
the commission . 'by several cities
and towns to make similar sur
veys, but due to the lack of funds,
,' the work cannot be undertaken.
A survey of the city of Greenville
was contemplated, but the lack of
cooperation on the part of local
authorities, which is necessary,
prevented the undertaking. In this
connection it may be said tlfat the
expenses of the" survey made In
Columbia;.and that iu progress in
! Spartanburg, were borne by the
! state, county and city, and the tax
j commission, not having sufficient
r funds to defray the entire ex
; penses of such surveys, must, be
! fore undertaking the same, have
i an agreement by the various cities
i?nd counties to pay their proper
i proportion thereof.
A Definite Statement
j Th? expenditures.of the tax com
! mission for all purposes from the
I time of its creation up to Janu
iary 1, 1922, amounted to $121,143.
124.
; The charge has been and is being
j made that the connnission i? an
j expensive and useless office. Tak
jing its work in the city of Columbia
; alone?rthat is the survey it has
had made?sufficient back taxes
Lwill be collected to pay the entire
I expenses of the commission from
Ithe date of its'ereation up to J.:n
juary 1, 1922. and leave a balance
I in the state treasury of $28,856.76.
I This is aside from taxes going into
i county and city treasuries. If these
; taxes he considered, the actual rev
: enue. in excess of all expenditures
: of the commission from 1915 to
' and including 1921, is the sum'of
j $378,856.76 from the city of Co
lumbia alone from their real estate
i survey.
AnotlK-r Interesting Item,
j In the case of merchants and
j miscellaneous manufacturers, 6th
j er than those already enumerated
!from data obtained from the
J comptroller general's report of
11918. it was found that the total
j assessed value of the above classes
i of property was approximately
j $12.000.000.00. Under the system
j of special reports required of own
ers of this class of property, and
j by following up these reports by
fir-Id agents of the commission ex
'amining the books and records per
t taining to such property, the as
i sessments thereof vrere increased
j until the total amount in 1921 was
j $41.815.851.00, or an increase of
j approximately $30.000,000.00.
j The work of the commission in
this field revealed the fact that
numbers of merchants were'paying
i no taxes at all. and the assessments
! ranged from three-fourths of one
, per cent, to more than one hun
idrec per cent, of the values of their
; properties. In one county the com
mission found a stock of merchan
dise actually worth $20 000.00,
i which was assessed at $159.GO, or
!three-fourths of one per cent, of
its value. In ihe same county a
stock of goods actually worth
j $595.00, was assessed at $605.00 or
lone hundred and three per cent, of
I its value.
(What Happened in The Ca*e o?
Packing Houses
' In the case of four of the largest
Clothes for S
Thfs durable b.$t:G>S^?-^e. f
woolen plaid for cold wWtfaer'or'X]
middy is of bloomered variety wit
uhdersuit is typical of the hti ivest ifc
' ' 11 ' in i? ? ii ? ' ? viii i
packing houses in the United States,;
! viz. Armour'& Co., Shrift ^C6., j
(Wilson & Co.. and Morris''&*?Co.,J
j which carry on business . in the j
I cities of Florence. Columbia, Char
j ieston, Greenville, and Spartan
; burg, each made it? sw?rn, state
? ment to the commission of its prop
j erty values in the several above
j named cities. Based upon these re
I turns the aggregate assessment of
j the four packing houses in the
j several cities above mentionedwas
j the sum of $S5,337.ftO. Upon .iri
? vesfigation by the commission it
j was found that property actually
j owned by these concerns should
j have been assessed at $499,360.00.
{This amount was fixed by the tax
commission as the correct assess
ment, thereby adding to the tax
able values of the if our packing
j houses in this state the sum ; of'
J $414,123.00. The actual increase
j in taxes paid into the public treas
j uries, by reason of the commission
j reo.uiring these foreign corpor?
j tions to make a full disclosure of
j their property, calculated on the
i prevailing levies in the cities in this
j state in which they do business, for
j the year 1920, amounted to the sum !
I of $31,870.74, or $6,233.74 more j
I than the entire expenditures of the]
I tax commission for the year.
Siio.ooo.ooo.Oi) in Taxable Prop-'
, efrty. Added,
j The work of the commission in
: putting on the tax-books approxi
mately $ir0,0O0.0O0..00 in property
ivalues, which had been escaping
I taxation has been to more eyehly'
! apportion the tax burden, thereby;
? preventing an excess burden, upon 1
j those who had been over taxed ;
i theretofore. i
i -^..f ? ? - . ? ? i
! Notwithstanding the 1 a r g e (
i been^ put upon the tax* books -by |
the work of the tax.coromiission^it j
; was recognized-that a tax-upon tan- jj
j bible property, sufficient to . bear ]
jthe expenses of running the state,
counties and schools, was growing j
i burdensome. The tax commission,
S therefore, advocated the enact--;
! ment of laws for raising revenue j
! from other sources. . Among them j
; was a tax on inheritances which,
i after several years of effort oh the-j
I part of the commission,, became-.-, a j
! law at the last session of the legis- j
lature. Another, was the so-called j
gasoline tax act.' Both .of'these,'
I acts were drafted by the tax com-!
j mission for passage by the general;
{assembly, j
i The.commission also advocatedl
jand aided in the passage of the;
income tax law. and an increase in i
certain corporation license taxes,!
all of which -became laws at thej
last session of the general assem- j
i biy. The net result of these newj
! revenue laws was to reduce thei
j state .levy on real and personalj
property from twelve mills to sev-|
en and one-half mills, and some J
further reductions niay be ex
i pected as revenues hereafter, ac-'
crue under; the inheritance tax act. |
Income Tax
, In 1897 the legislature passed j
j an income tax law. It was admin- {
i istered through the comptroller '
j generalis office and the several;
! county officers charged with the r
? duty of assessing and collecting j
j taxes/ The following table shows]
; the yearly and total taxes collected
I under this law (Act of 1807)', and!
j before the tax commission was j
? created in 1915, a period of seven-j
Iteen years, or from 1897 to 1914,1
j inclusive, each year's tax being !
i based on the prior year's income: i
: 189S.$6,$90:55 i
i 1890.4.829.63 I
1900._ 975.37
1901 . 608.18 j
1902 __.202.08 j
1903 . 1,476.74 )
1 904 '. 1.281.26 j
1905 ._ 2,130.01 i
190G.12.201.42 j
190 7 . 10.6S7.34 |
190S.-. 8,431.52 j
1909 _. 16,236.57 j
1910 14.755.12 !
1911 . 17.596.12
1012 _. 1C.377.04 !
1013. 17.820.25
1914 . 15,503.31 !
1 Total.$147.894.11
j Under the administration of the
I law (Act of 1807). after the cre
iation of the tax commission, the
following amounts were collected
? 1015 . .$31.126.87
1916. 27.690.41
1017._ 34,050.07
Total.$92.867.35 j
It thus appears that the aver- !
age yearly collection for the seven- j
teen years before the creation ofj
the tax commission was $6,700.33;
chool Girls
>r school girls may be had in heavy,
gfct'er material for early fall. The
i detachable skirt. The one-piece
tdei'wenr for girls.
that the average yearly collection
for the three years, after the cre
ation of the tax commission until
the repeal of the law, was $30,
934.11. Xotwithstanding this in
crease, the law was repealed be
cause of the inadequate provisions
made by the legislature to enforce
it. The total collections of income
taxes under the old law, for the
period of twenty years, including
the three years covered by the
fax commission, was the sum of
$240,771.00.
In .192.2 the legislature passed
an income tax law and placed the
entire administration thereof upon
the tax commission. This law was
approved March 1, 1922. On July
11, 1922, as administered by the
tax commission, $552,311.72 had
been actually paid ' into the state
treasury, or $312,140.00 more than
the entire amount. collected under
the former law during the period
of twenty years. In addition to
the amount of income taxes al
ready collected during practically
four months of the present year,
the several deferred payments and
returns of future taxes, as provided
by law, will increase the amount
of taxes to be collected to approxi
mately $700,000.00 for the present
year, or about three times as
much as was collected in twenty
years under the old law. It is but
fair'to state, however, in this con
nection, that the rates of taxation
provided for in the present law are
higher than under the old law.
Gasoline Tax
The so-called '"Gasoline Tax"
law was prepared by the tax com
mission for passage by the legisla
ture.. It is administered by the
tax commission, and during, the
first four months of the present
year covered by that Jaw. there
ha9 been paid into the state treasury
the sum of $285,901.31.
.. It is estimated that the revenue
from this source from March 1st,
the date the act became effective,
to December 31st, will amount to
$750,000.
Inheritance Tax Law
Up to the present time sixty
four, estates are in process of asr
sessment by the commission: In
asmuch as this law was approved
on the 23rd of February. 1922. and
executors and administrators have
one year in which to pay the tax
after their Qualification, no taxes
have been received up to the pres
ent time. After February. 1923.
taxes will begin to become payable.
Xo estimate of the annual amount
of such taxes can be made as it will
depend entirely upon the number
and value of estates descending. It
h believed that after the law is in
force for a few years the annual
income therefrom will amount to
several hundred thousand dollars.
Individual Assessments .Reduced by
Tax Commission
Any person, feeling aggrieved by
assessments made by county au
thorities may, without employing
legal counsel, bring his case before
the commission. Xo technical or
legal knowledge is necessary to do
this, and his complaint is heard
and disposed of without formality.
A simple written statement and
such evidence as bears on the as
sessment is sufficient to obtain a
hearing of the complaint. Many
such cases are heard on papers
sent in by mail after the proper
county authorities are given infor
mation of the cause of complaint
and an opportunity to present ob
jection to the reduction being made.
During the past sixteen months
the commission has ordered re
duction of assessments on 253 sep
arate or individual applications.
The exact number of such reduc
tions in individual cases since the
creation of the tax commission,
other than the above, can be ac
curately ascertained only by an ex
amination of the various county
auditors' offices of the state, but the
number will range between 1,000
and 1.200.
Increased Appropriation for 1922
The appropriation for the pres
ent year for the expenses of the
tax commission was increased over
last year by $38-.-!00. This in
crease was made for enforcing the
income tax. gasoline tax, corpora
tion license tax and the inheritance
tax laws. The income from the
above special revenue laws for the
year 1022. will be not less than
$1,700.000.no. not including any
thing from the inheritance tax law,
the income from which will begin
to come in next year.
The cost, or amount of increas
ed appropriation for collecting
these revenues is two and one
t'ourih cents .on each dollar col
Tran>j<miania: ^.Wbere. t?te Dewert j
is a Friend.
i . ? . . ? j
Where is Tratrsjordama, and what
I is it?
j These questions arise as" Tmns
jjordania appears more frequently
I in date lines since Great Britain
i confirmed Emir Abdullah nominal
ruler of the province.
"Another name for Transjor- j
I dariia is the Emirate of Kerak," i
i says a bulletin from the Washing- j
i ton, D. C, headquarters of the Xa- j
[ tional Geographic Society. "Geo
; graphically it is easy to locate?it
j is an area, almost as large as the
j state of Maryland, lying between.
I the Rriver Jordan and the Syrian
i desert.
A Political Enigma
f "Politically, Transjordania's af
j fairs have been highly complicated
! since the armistice. On the bor- :
derland of French and British In- I
fluence. feeling the native pull of i
Syria. Hedjaz, Palestine, and Meso- j
potamia. and now a center of Ara-j
bi?n nationalists, she has awaken-:
ed with a jolt from her age-long j
tranquillity.
"A small river, like hundreds i
across which modern trains dash ,
with scarcely a rumble to mark
their passage, has separated Trans-j
jordania. and Western Palestine
from the time of Moses till today.,
"Trahsjordania is the home of
paradoxes, where Arab tents, long
symbols of transitory residence,
have persisted while rich Roman
ruins, once the gathering places
of cultured crowds, have disap
peared; where the desert, which to
so many signifies death, has fur
nished a welcome haven to many
to whom the narrow Jordan seems
an impassable gulf.
Why Jordan is a Barrier
"To civilization, the deepest and
swiftest river is only an incident.
But the trackless desert is a bar
rier, not easily passed. Xot so in
Transjordania. XTp on its high
plateau, swept by refreshing
breezes, the desert is a neighbor
so near that none can say just
where its boundary lies. With the
changing seasons, the boundary
moves with the population and
the crops and flocks. But the deep
depression of the Jordan is a per
manent barrier across which the
commerce of the ages has flowed
but which has turned back the
shepherd to his cooler hills and
open plains.
"Sheep and camels can easily
venture out.into the desert, fol
lowing the changing fodder line
according to the season. But few
traverse the great gash which
yawns between the Mount of Olives
and the heights of Pisgah.
"The city has its traffic rules, en
forced by agents of the law. Xot
so the desert village in the land of
Gilead or the Ammonites. There
the traffic shifts', in keeping .with
the movements of the sun. Shep
herd and camel-driver seek the
shifting shadows of the scanty shel
ters.
Thrives on Changes; Remains
j Changeless
J "Trahsjordania is the land of
! the impermanent, it thrives on
j changes which change it. not.
i Cities have risen and fallen, high
ways been laboriously constructed
, only to fall into disrepair more
? impassable than the surrounding
? fields.
j "Xomad tents, long since the
i poetic symbol of transitory resi
| dence, continue to. dot the plain
j while rich ruins crumble away, be
! fore the careless attacks of Arab
j or Circassian, to whom a beautiful
carving is only quarried stone. The
j theater of Amman and the Xau
j.maehia of Jerash, once the gath
I ering places of multitudes of leis-*
. urely folk who boasted in their
j civilization, . are being ruthlessly
j destroyed by those whose main de
i mand of a dwelling is that it shall
i outlast its builder's immediate
! need.
j "Gilead is there, with its oaks.
The Haruan with its rich fields of
grain, unshaded by a single tree
except those few semi-sacred
monarchs which shelter,-the tiny
tombs of long-dead saints. There,
too, is the land of the.Ammonites,
whither David sent Uriah.'*
South Carolina Changing.
South Carolina is at the cross
roads just now.
The changes that are coming
about in South Carolina affairs are
definite changes of the most far
reaching character.
South Carolina is changing from
an "all cotton" state.> to a state
of diversified agriculture.
It is changing from a state in
which the marketing of its pro
ducts has been by the old hap
hazard methods in the modern
methods of co-operation.
It is changing from a state with
an antiquated system of taxation
to a state with a modern system
of taxation.
j It is changing from a common
i wealth indifferent to education to
! one determined to step into high
j company in that direction by the
j development of its schools and the
[enforcement of compulsory school
j attendance laws.
j It is also changing from a state
i in which its people have been iso
' lated and divided hecause of bad
! roads, and no great bridges, to a
J state of improved highways and
bridges that will revolutionize liv
ing conditions in great areas.?
Spartanburg Herald.
Nothing exciting or out of the
j ordinary happened Wednesday at
jthe county campaign meeting at
, Pinewood. AH the candidates spoke
j in their usual good manner! and
j received much applause. A delic
f idus barbecue dinner was served.
I lectcd. or for an expense of two j
i and one-fourth cents the public
treasuries receive one dollar. \
This pamphlet was compiled by;
the South Carolina Tax Commis
sion. I
W. G. QUERY.
Chairman,
J. P. DE RH AM,
J. FR?SER LYOX,
Commissioners, i
The lttriuelaud: Finance's Collater- j
al for German Debts.
France's proposal to take over
private plants and properties in
Rhineland and in the Ruhr district |
unless prompt settlement is made
by Germany of overdue debts to
French firms again calls attention
to that province which has aptly
been called the "richest jewel in
the crown of Prussia."
A bulletin from the Washing
ton, D. C, headquarters of the Na
tional Geographic Society describes
this region which is variously
known as the Rhineland. the Rhine
Province, and Rhenish Prussia.
Comprises Zone of Occupation
'"The Allied ! Zone of Occupation i
virtually embraces this erestwhile
power plant and factory, of the old |
German empire," says the bulletin. ]
"The rich deposit of coal, iron and |
other minerals along Europe's j
busiest waterway, and the conse-l
quent construction of railways in I
Rhineland combine to make thisj
province the foremost ' industrial j
area, for its size, anywhere in the j
world.
"The entire Rhineland, before j
the Peace Conference, * was only a
little, larger than the state of New
Hampshire. Peace settlements
which cut off from the Rhine
Province the plebiscite area of the
Saar. Basin, and ceded Eupen and
Malmedy to Belgium reduced
Rhenish Prussia by nearly a thou
sand square miles. Of the portion
remaining to Germany by far the
most important is that known as
the Ruhr Basin,. a part of which
basin extends beyond the Rhine
land into Westphalia.
One Blow Already Fallen.
"A blow to the Rhineland al>
ready effected, though it. has at
tracted little attention, wa? the
decision in the spring that work on
strategic railways must cease. As
early as 1870 Germany had nine
railways running, to the French
frontier, and py 1914 three more
had been added while others were
double tracked. At the risk of im
posing a hardship upon German in
dustries it was deemed necessarj',
for the military protection of
France, that further railway activ
ity of that sort must be suspended.
. "Even the American, with his
knowledge of the mines of Pennsyl
vania and the factories of Massa
chusetts finds it hard to conceive
the concentrated industrialism of
the Rhineland. It is the most
thickly populated section of crowd
ed Prussia. It has more large
towns than any*comparable region
of Germany. It averages 75 more
people to the square mile than
our own thickly settled Rhode Is
land.
Wonder Story of Krapps
"Coblenz, the headquarters of our
own Army of Occupation; Cologne,
of the British; Mainz and Wiesbad
en., of the French, are four of the
notable cities, while its great mar
ket town, Aix-la-Chapelle, its iron
city of D?sseldorf, and it3 minia
ture Pittsburgh,. Duisburg, are
scarcely less famed. The industrial
shrine of the Ruhr Basin is Essen,
where the wonder story of the
Krupp boom unfolded, and where
the output of big guns and mu
nitions in general has been con
verted into a stream of locomotives,
farm implements and almost every
other conceivable article of iron
and" steel, even to roller skates.
Only 26 miles southeast of Mainz
is venerable Worms^ the Rome of
Protestantism, for there . it was
.that Luther defied the famous Diet
of. Worms, the four hundredth an
niversary of which .was celebrated
by Protestant churches the world
over last year.
"To imagine this map speck
wliich is known as the Ruhr dis
trict, one writer to the National
Geographic Society suggests that
the reader think of the Pennsyl
vania coal fields packed in this
tiny area;, pour in the combined
population of Philadelphia. Balti
more, Cleveland and St. Louis; then
take a flock of the biggest Ameri
can steel mills and railroad shops
you can recall and set. them down
along the Ruhr. To complete the
picture, fill in the gaps with paper,
silk and cotton mills, glass fac
tories, tanneries, dye, chemical and
salt works Such is . the mucn
discussed Ruhr Basin, which France
turns to for a part of the collater
al for Germany's debt to French
private firms.
"The Ruhr joins the Rhine at
R?hrort, an<J all the Rhineland
Province lies in the Rhine Basin
except that very small part of the
northwest whose waters reach the
Meuse."
COTTON MARKET
, ?'- ??? ' s t r
NEW YORK COTTO?
YeetQyt
- Oc?? ?s?? no** n?jw>
Jan . 22.28 22.34 22.07 22.26 22-45
March . 22.25 22.39 22113' 22.27 22.47
May .. _ ..22.2? 22.26 22.07 22.1.3 22.32
July.. .. - -- 22-20
Oct. .22.40 22.55 22.24 22.44 22.64
Dec-. 22.35 22.54 22.23 22.43 22.62
Spots 20. .off. 22.70.
NEW ORLEANS COTTOtl
tmtOr?
Opes Elf* *?* f3cae On**
Jan.. - ... 21.83 21.97 2C.67 21.? 22.01
March - - 21.82 21.89 21.73- 21.61 22.06
May_ 21.72 21.94
Oct. - .22:15 22.15 21.78 22.02 22.2!
Dec. . 22.00 22.05 21.75 21.96 22.16
Spots 12 off. 22.38.
Liverpool Cetton.
January . . 12.41
March . . 12.33
May ._ 12.23
July . 12.12
October ._ 12.69
December . 12.47
Receipts. 7.000: Sales. 7.000: Middling.
l."..:S: Good Middling. 14.0P,.
Washington. Aug. 24.?President
Harding, it was learned today, has
entrusted to Budget Director Lord
rhe task of breaking the deadlock
existing between Secretary Fall
and Chairman Lasker of the ship
ping board on the question of the
renewal of the shipping board's
contract with the interior depart
ment for naval royalty oils. The
deadlock has been on the question
of price.
Two million quarts of milk are
consumed in New York every day.
The-: Seychelle?: Am Eden for
KxHcs.
"Entertaining royal exiles is an
incident in the annals of St. He
lena and Madeira; it is beginning
to" be an industry in the Seychelles
Islands, where Zaghloul. Pasha is
detained while certain'-'factions in
Egypt are agitating' foHlrte re
turn,'*' says a bulletin from the
Washington, D. C, headquarters Df
the National Geographic Society.
"First the dethroned king of
Ashanti was sent there s.nd later
the monarch:* of Uganda and Uh
yoro were domiciled there for
joining forces with munitious troops
in the Sudan.
Noted for Coral and Coconuts
"Besides exiles, the Seychelles
are'noteworthy for coral and co
conuts. Approaching vessels steam
through coral reefs to approach
Port Victoria/ chief town Of the
; group on the main island, M?he.
And the town itself lies glistening
I in the sun like a city of marble,
I for coral rocks are used in build
j ing the near, compact houses.
\ "Coconut products form the
principal commodity of export, hut
the coconut which made the Is
land famous* rs the coc-o-de-mer,
which weighs forty pounds.or so,
requires seven years to ripen, and
grows on trees that take thirty
five years to hear leaves. This 'co
conut of the sea' was known before
the islands were discovered, be
- cause the great double coconuts
were cast-up by the waves upon
the shores of East Africa. They
were believed to be of submarine
origin and the native medicine
men made much of them.
Island Gems of Twifaw Ocean
"The Seychelles are the island
j gems of thelridian Ocean; an ear
j British resident' nicknamed them
j an .Oceanic Garden of Eden. Tlxere
j'are thirty' or more of them, de
pending upon whether one cares to
enumerate as islands numerous
small reefs and rocks. With their
dependencies, - the" Amir?ntes and
many others, their administrative
area comprises nearly 100 small is
i lands.
"The Seychelles proper tie 750
miles directly northeast of the
northern tip of Madagascar and
a ImOst 1,000 miles northeast of
Zanzibar. The names of the indi
vidual islands frequently denote
their outstanding quality which ap
pealed to early explorers, such; as
Silhouette. Curieus& (curious), la.
; Digne (the dam)), and Felicite
j (blessed). The name of the group,
I however, is not a variation of 'sea
; shells, as mgiht be suspected,
but was given in honor of the
finance minister under Louis XV.
"Its dense jungles, curious plant
specimens, great trees festooned
with trailers, its' orchids and ferns
and begonias, green coralreefs and
equable climate all make the
Seychelles group altogether a3- de
lightful as the South Sea Islands
which have been sought after and
often described in recent years. One
reason they have not 'registered*
with globe trotters and adventur
j ous spirits is that they lack, the pic
1 turesque natives of Tahiti or the
j Marquesas.
i Unique in Being Uninhabited
"When the Portuguese found
; them about the time' America was
j discovered they were Uninhabited
i ?almost a unique condition for
land units of their size and habit
ability. Eleven years before the
Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth
Rock an English vessel stopped
( there: but it was nearly a century
and a half after that the French
settled there and claimed them..
"Their population today. consists,
largely of French Creoles, freed
slaves imported from .Africa-.and
Settlers fro?rt Mauritius,'a "few In
dians from Malabar and a few
Chinese. Beginning with secret
j spice groves to combat the existing
j Dutch monopoly, their economic
development turned m recent years
?to vanilla, then to coconuts,
I which stftf is the principal product,
i and within ,the present century ex
j perimnets were begun with . rub
j ber. On some of the smaller 'is
lands the natives' eke out a living
by hunting birds' eggs and scrap
ing guano off the granite to sell
to the plantations of Mahe. The
islands now support about 20.000
J people, among whom fewer than
j l.o?o are white."
Comi?* Evern,.
] (Extract from Editorial in Bos
ton Transcript. Aug. 12).
' Nothing is to be gained by ighor
I ing the fact that the failure of the
j administration in the current crisis
is bound to have a bad effect up
| on the Republican campaign in
j the state which holds the right of
? the line in this election'year?the
i state of the vice president and the
? secretary of war, the state also of
i the leader of the senate and speak
er of the house of representatives
. _ - Those who believe, however,
that the party in power of which
'he (President Harding) is the fitu
! lar leader deserves an immediate
j rebuke by reason of its failure
; either to keep its campaign pledges
I or to meet the challenge of the
! hour, must either possess their
'souls in patience for another two
I years or make the Republican can
didates in the battle ground states
! like Massachusetts and Ohio the
j unwilling and to a large extent the
; undeserved vehicles of the expres
sion of the prevailing popular dis
] gust.
; _ Presumably Vice President
: Coolidge. Secretary Weeks, Sena
| tor Lodge and Speaker Gillett have
! failed to defend the administra
j tion for the very good reason that
j they can find no defense' for its fail
; ure. And when they attempt on
I the stump in the coming campaign
j to deal with the dawdling at Wasfc
1 ington days and weeks And
months, what is there for them to
say? ?
"Well, how's the uplift commg
along?" "Poorly. So few peopie
want to be uplifted."?Louisville
Courier-Journal. .
The letter P was formerly used
Ln numerals to denote 100.