The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-07-22
PROGRESS OF THE STATE.
The Resources and Prospects of South Car
clina-A Review of Her Fortunes and Mis-
fortunes Since the War, and of the Causes
have that Helped Her Restoration.
F. W. Dause. sn Franh Leslie, Newspaper.

fortunes Since the W ar, ana OF the causes
have that Helped Her Restoration.
+. W. Dawsea sa Frank Leslie's Newspaper.
To appreciate what has been accom-
piisbed since 1865, and to understand
how we'll grounded are the present an
tic;pations of continued progress and in-'
creasing prosperity, il is necessary to de.
scribe briefly the losses the State has sus-
tanned and the gigantic difficulties which
have been already overcome.
The value of the real and personal
property in South Carolina in 1850,
according to the United States census,
was $6O7, ,S18,2SS. In 1869, only nine
years later, the entire value of the real
and personal property, as assessed for
taxation by the State Government, was
$l6e,434,5 ,553. AT this time gold was at
thirty premium, so that the gold value
of theientire taxable property of South
Carolina WAS less than $50, 1000, 900.
The loss in nine years in actual money
value reached. therefore, the enormous
sum of s477, ,8ls,2 ,283. In this is included,
of course, the loss by the emancipation
of tie slaves; but there was deprecia-
ton of over $120, ,00O, 900 in the value of
real estate alone. The banks were in
solvent the railroads were worn out;
little remained save the land and such
outbuildings as had escaped the torch of
invading armies.
1t is doubtful that the extent of their
disaster was realized by the people of
the State. The negroes were still here,
aud excluding the value of their incre-
mens as property from the account, it
was evidently cheaper to hire negroes
than to own them. In hiring free
negroes the whole expense is for wages
and food. There are no women or chill.
dren or aged persons to support. There
are no doctors bills to pay. If the la
borer dies there is no loss of capital on
the part of his employer. These things,
NIP doubt, encouraged the people to re-
sumo their agricultural operations, with
no other change than was involved in
haviag freedmen instead of slaves to
work their crops. The high price of
cotton was great temptation. They
who had sold their cotton satisfactorily
five or six years before in slave times
ut six or seven. cents pound, saw no
difficulty in quickly realizing fortune
when the staple was selling at thirty
and forty cents. The mistake was in
not taking into account the difference in
the efficiency of the labor, the disturb
ances caused by political agitation, the
inflated price of provisions, the high rate
of interest and the onerous commissions
and expenses charged by those who made
oIvo racou "a nj onfarc
Year by year, with occasional auctus.
tions, cotton steadily fell in price, and
the result of the agricultural operations
{ Of the six or seven years from 1866 to
1873 was widespread failure and embar-
rasslneat both for the farmers and plan
ters, and for those who had provided cap
ital for them.
It should be noted that the difficulties
of the agricultural as well as the mercan.
tile classes were aggravated by the intol-
erence and Extravaganza of the State gov
ernmeut. For the ten years prior to 1860
the annual expense of conducting the
State Government was 100000. In the
year 1872 the Legislative expenses and
the salaries of State officers alone
amounted TO over $780, 1000, and in 1873
the cost of the public prin ting was $751;
600. Otherwise stated, the expen-
ditures for salaries, public asylums and
sundries, were S26l, 900 in 1865, the last
year of the old State Government, and in
1872 amounted to 81, ,356, 900. Five years
of Republican rule cost South Carolina
er$22, ,000, 900, including taxes amount
ing to Sc, 1926, 900. It is not strange, there
fore, that the number of delinquents was
enormous, In the years 1872 and 1874
no less than 84S,657 acres of land, equal
to 1926 square miles, were sold by, or
forfeited 60, the State on account of un-
paid taxes. This, too, was in only
twenty-five of the thirty-two counties in
the State. One acre in every nineteen
acres of land in the State was in these
two years con6scated under the guise of
taxation!
The State could go no lower. The peo-
pie in 1874 touched bottom. They had
learned by experience that they must
keep within their means; that they must
pay attention to making their own provi.
sions.; that they must diversity their crops
and rcdouble their efforts to raise live
stock. TIE rule had been to raise cotton
to the practical exclusion of everything
else. Inexorable necessity had now
taught the people that their maxim must
be TO "make bread and meat first aud cot
ton last" They were encouraged, like
wise, by decided improvement In the
tender. lies of the StHte Government, and
were inspired withnew hope by the prom
ise of reform under the administration of
Governor Chamberlain. Additional help
was given thenfbythe circumstance that
the decline-in the: price of provisions far
exceeded the decline in the price of cot.
ton. In January, 1868, middling cotton
was quoted in Charleston at Is cents /;
corn $1.2O bushel; -four, IN. aud w.
super) $l1 per barrel; Western rib sides
13f aud II cents pound. In January,
1874, cotton was still quoted at Is cents,
while corn had fallen to 96 cents, -four
to $3.50 barrel and bacon to 9 cents a
pound.
From 1874 to 1876 the State at least
held its own, and the result of the State
election in rhe fall of the last named year
gave fresh start to industry. 1t gave
the people as we'll the assurance of just
and equal government as of security for
person and property. There was likewise
an instant decrease in taxation. Com
pairing the expenses of the State govern
mcnt rs met by taxation for the years
1851 and 1878 with the four previous
years under Republican rule, it is calcu-
lated that the saving to the people amoun-
ted to nearly one million and a half dol
lars a year, as the first result of the
,.lor.;on ne q Damocrafit. State Govern.
ment. Iudeed, in 1878 the whole ex-
pense of the State government in every
branch-e1clusive of the interest on the
public debt and the appropriation for
public schoo's-was $343, ,723, which is
less than the average annual expense un-
der the same head from 1850 to the break
ing out OF the war. 1t was shown also by
reports of the judges and the State solici.
tors that in the years 1877 and 1878
there we're ONLY two cases of crime COM