The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-08-05

who hires him, but ne mas got 10 nave
notice of it. Your hand leaves you and
comes to Anderson and ! hire him. I
don't know he is your hand and my
hand leaves me and you hire him. You
do not know he is my hand. If | go to
the paper and advertise John Smith rs
having left me, you do not think that the
man who hires to you is the same.
Wherefore, you see that the advantage
which this class OF labor has over tho
planters of the country is such that il is
difficult for you to reach it. II you fail
to perform your part of the contract, he
brings a suit and claims his damages
from you because you have got something
he can make it out Of. You can't do
anything against him you can bring q
suit and get judgment for damages,
but you will have the pleasure of paying
the cost.
While was in the Legislature, in.
troduced bill to punish violation of
an agricultural contract. Some OF its
provisions are: Let it be agreed and
understood by each party that the Poriod
of contract extends from the first OF
January to the 31st of December. Let
it be understood that the landlord who
employs the laborer shall perform his
part Of the contract, but let it be under.
stood also that the laborer who makes
that contract shall perform his part OF
the contract too, and that it means
twelve months in the year, and not three
months in the year, as is too often the
case with our labor. But the majority of
the hands stay on? Yes, theyAdo, but
they don't do it, because they know you
can't help yourselves, because you know
if they get displeased they can pack up
and leave you at your rows end. think
the law ought to step in. and secure GER
tain and contented labor, and it would be
to the advantage of the laborer. 1t is
not wrong to hint is not wrong to any
one. It would be to the advantage OF
the laborer. If you have efficient labor,
the profits of the first year would be far
in excess of what they were before.
Your labor would be careful, and the
next year you could afford to divide the
profit with the men who made it, and
therefore the interest of both parties
would be advanced by such O law. :.
may be talking to meet trouble half
way, but there is an organization coming
down South which has given great deal
of trouble at the West and North-this
Knights of Labor which bands the labor.
ers together, and under the direction OF
committee men who order strikes, and
have the Jurisdiction to say who shall
and who shall not work. This
State should take this thing in hand
before it gets to us, and pass such laws
as will prevent any man from interfering
in any way with the labor Of our country,
and such laws as will enforce these pro-
visions made for our best interests, there.
fore, propose to advocate such changes
as will affect, I believe, this security to
the labor of the country that have been
speaking of.
There is another law that should re.
ceive attention. AS the law stands now,
a tax title is worthless-a piece OF land
sold at public auction. In all the suits
brought to recover taxes in this State
never has one Of those tax titles been
sustained. This has given rise to state
of affairs which is proving very injurious
to the people of this State. There are
to-day S2,556,0OO Of forfeited lands on
the tax lists of tho State of South Caro-.
lima. These lands have been forfeited
for taxes, and they don't pay taxes any
more. The men who own these lands
and live on them get all the advantages,
and pay no taxes because it is understood
that the State owns that land. In the
City of Charleston alone there is s672,'
600 of that forfeited land to the State
In the County Of. Berkeley, adjoining
and lying around Charleston, there is
S-of forfeited lands to the State.
I think that the tax laws should be
changed so as to secure the payment ol
these taxes, because when one man fails
to pay his taxes, the deficiency has to be
made up by others, and the consequence
is that as the forfeited list increases, OF
course your tax list will go up. As one
man is exempted from paying taxes, the
balance will have to make up the speci'
fed sum. Our Legislature should give
immediate attention to this matter, not
only to change the law 80 as to require
The payment of taxes on these estates.
but also the collection of those amounts
now due to the State. Suppose we were
to collect that amount and apply it to the
payment of the State debt, don't you see
how We would get rid of large portion
of that debt, and decrease the taxes lei'
which is necessary to meet the interest
on the payments. Therefore, / think
that am in favor of law which will
require the County Treasurer to issue his
summons to the delinquent taxpayer te
appear &c the term of the Circuit Court
and show cause why judgment should
not be passed upon him, and to make ii
the Solicitors duty to attend to these
things, and the Sheriff's to enforce them
When this is done I guarantee thai
Charleston will pay all taxes in the future
and have no such forfeitures after that
A great many Counties have not dollar
of forfeited lands. Anderson County
with a population of about 40, 900 people
has $1,000 of forfeited lands, while The
City of Charleston, with population O.
10000 has $4,000 of forfeited lands
You see how certain sections of the State
have been taking the advantage in thi:
matter of taxpaying. Think they should
be made to pay their taxes.
Another thing: My friend who imme
diately preceded me has said that he wa;
in favor of bill to regulate lawyers fees
That would be very we'll if it was Q
thing that could be accomplished. He
did not tell us how he would propose tc
do it. You can't say to one lawyer you
shall work for such an amount, and to
another you shall work for the same
amount, because man might say, 81
will quit this business and go at some.
thing else." The lawyer regulates his
fees by the demand for his services, and
it is choice, you have right to make q
contract before he undertakes the case.
If you don't like the terms you can 60 tu
somebody else. Therefore, don't think
it would be practicable don't think
you could fix it; but I do think that
there should be a change made in the
present fee bill. I do not believe it is
right for the tax cost and probation on a
small estate to amount to so much as
the tax cost and probation on large
estate, and when it comes to this matter
of tax cost, you can regulate that,
because it is matter of theState fixes. l
think the present law is wrong, in that
it gives the same expenses for the proba'
tion of littlo estate of s., 900, as for the
probation of larger estate of O,O00,