The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-08

Iue appropriation blil "ao uuooi
consideration and a Section provid.
ing that $4,000 should be applied
for printing Auditors blanks, sta
tionery, &C., &C., was being voted
on, l offered the following amend
ment: ITO amend Section 4 by
striking out $4,000 and inserting
$4,000 to be drawn on the warrant
of the Comptroller General, coun,
tersigned by the Governor and
Treasurer" which amendment was
adopted. During the special ses-
sion of 1873 I made another effort
"to regulate the public printing in
this State" by introducing a Bill
for the purpose. [See House Jour-
nal, page 62.] This Bill provided
for the printing to be given to the
lowest responsible bidder, and re-
pealed all laws providing for the
publication of the Acts of the
General Assembly in newspapers.
During the same session | sub.
mitted the plan of levying taxes for
specific purposes, known now as the
specific tax levy. This Act being,
in its benefcent results, most impor-
tant in correcting manifest abuses, |
will again refer to it under its par
ticular and appropriate head. 1t
was my honest belief then that if
the representatives of the people
could BIZ made responsible by the
levy of a direct tax for printing,
they would be awakened to proper
sense of their danger, and would
surely pause and reflect before allow.
ing such an iniquitous burden to be
placed on their constituents. | sub.
nit, and the records will make good
the assertion, that the specific tax
levy, introduced by myself, was the
first efectual blow the printing ring
received. After the adoption of this
system hundreds and thousands of
dollars could no longer be used to
secure the passage Of large appro-
priation bills, as the levy would not
admit of such expenditure and leave
the ring with any money on hand;
and as the money raised for other
purposes could not be applied to
printing, as had been the custom
before, they were deprived Of the
enormous sums of money with which
to purchase votes; hence their inAu-
ence and power rapidly shrunk
away, and the very men who had
heretofore voted for and advocated
these dishonest measures, when faced
by the dangers before them, turned
their backs upon their former friends
and associates and became their
most noisy and Jealous opponents on
all occasions.
The first specific levy Act was
approved December %, 1878; this
was before the Act regulating the
public printing was introduced, and
three months before the Actsoas passed.
This Act levied a tax for the fiscal
year commencing November 1st,
1878, and Section s provided that
tax of one mill should be levied for
printing. This was enormous, but
it was to pay in part certain defci-
encies claimed to be due the Repub'
lican Printing Company and for
appropriations therein made. A
comparison, however. of the three
years previous to the adoption of
this system ofspecifc levy, in regard
to the cost of public printing, will
speak more forcibly than the strong.
est language from me. The average
cost Of public printing for those
three years was more than 100000
per annum. Under the first specific
levy it could not exceed S15O,OO0,
which included appropriations for
Deficiencies then existing, and, with
this amount included, was clear
gain to the State of $150,0O0 per
annum.
The great and manifest results of
this system Of levy did not end here,
as I shall endeavor to show. Before
the Bill to regulate the public print
ing became a law second levy,
specifically for printing expenses,
was made for the fiscal year COM
mencing November LIST, 1874, which
was approved by Governor Moses,
March 14th, 1874. This levy was
only for one.third of one mill, esti.
mated to produce fifty thousand
dollars, or S250,000 less per annum
than it had cost the State previous
to the adoption of this system. BY
this time members were ripe on the
subject of reducing the estimates and
taxes for the public printing, brought
about by this system Of specific levy.
The following table will show the
result in dollars and cents:
For threo years previous to this Act
tho average cost of printing per an .,.. 49,,
Under specific levy, for three years. the nm
average cost per unnum wiS.."........ Sl,OOO
Annual reduction ss22le 900
Although this much had been
accomplished I did not relinquish
my efforts to reduce expenditures to
proper limits. On House Journal
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