The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-07-18
THE GREENWOOD MEETING.
THE REGULAR COUNTY CAMPAIGN OPENED
An Audience Of Good People Listen
to the Candidates for Legislative
VUAnNra

|
to the Candidates for Legislative
HOnOrs.
The formal opening of the county campaign
| took place at Greenwood yesterday.
| 4 large number of candidates were present,
and those who were seeking Legislative non.
.ors, made speeches to a goodly nntnheT oi
their fellow.citizens who had assembled 1i "a AZ
the stand which had been erected III Inc
shady grove near Riley's Hotel.
The speeches were all of more or less per-
sonal nature, and in answer to the following
questions which had been suggested by The
Farmers Club:
a. VIII you advocate and support sepa-
| rate Agricultural College and vote for inc
Hatch fund and the privilege tax on fertlli,
zers to go to the support Of the Agricultural
College rs supplementary to the Clemson be-
s2 viii you advocate and vote for reduc-
tion OF taxes, retrenehmcnt and reform wher-
ever possible?
"3 DO you favor the action of the Agricul-
tural Bureau in giving 81 900 to the Interstate
| immigration Society?
fund or surplus of the banks in this Slater"
Except in the case Of DR.. Hawthorne, we
| believe the speeches were limited to q declt-
ration OF the personal views Of the candidates
| in reference TO the above questions.
The voters listened with remarkable atten-
lion throughout, and at the close OF the meet
ing gave DR.. Hawthorne loud applause.
| If we may be pardoned for so doing, we
would make remark or two on the speeches
| the day, and the questions which seemed
to furnish their warp and woof:
| In the first place, we do not see why !he
questions propounded by the farmers club
should he answered before n mass meeting of
| of the Democracy Of any portion Of AbbeVille
county. Can you account for this strange
proceeding? We can't.
In The next place, the questions themselves
are bundle Of ineXpicablc riddles. Ine
first question, would seem to imply the de-
mand for the establishment OF an Agricultu.
Nn1tt tnh
necessarily involve the yearly outlay OF a
large sum Of money. In the next breath they
ask If the candidates will vote for retrencll,
ment and q reduction of taxes. 1t would
retrenchment and a reduction of taxes is to
| be brought about by greatly increased ap-
preparation Of public money.
The question as to the 1000 was answered
| in the negative, with. in some instances, va
| rious shades Of reservation.
| The question as to whether the candidate
| favored the taxing of the reserved funds OF
the banks, was answered unequivocally in
| the affirmative.
| II 1t were proper in us to crlticise so able,
and so learned company OF speakers, we
| would suggest that they did neither thenl-
selves nor the occasion more than full Justice
They spoke to a company of as intelligent, as
public spirited, and as worthy voters as ever
assembled in grove or hall, and yet no mar
had prepared himself with such speech as
contained food for thought, or facts which
gave the voter an intelligent idea of any sin
gle question of State policy.
| Even granting that the Farmers Club had q
| right to dictate to the candiduteS and take
charge of the political meetings Of the coun-
| ty, each candidate was anxious TO prove his
| loyalty to the Clemson College, We think
as to the Clemson College would have been to
ask the voters If they were willing to bear the
| increased expense. If the voters want TO pay
additional taxes, it is but slight matter for
| Legislators TO vote away the peoples money.
We believe, however, that no Legislator has
ever given offence by voting against appro-
| priatons.
When we reflect upon what we heard yes
terday, we think candidates never gave voters
| less Information.
| The taxation of the surplus funds of the
banks seemed to be the important question,
explicit. Sonic went further, and said they
| believed every citizen should be made to bear
| his proportionate share OF the expense OF the
| government, but as the Farmers were only
| look ing after the banks, no particulars were
given.
Great credit was given 10 Auditor Jones for
| his intelligent and independent action In as.
sessing banks, but the candidates and the
Farmers. so to speak, talked of small matters
while q much more important issue was ell
| ther overlooked or ignored. Although the
records will show that there are large amounts Us
Of the reserved funds Of private individuals
invested in judgments and mortgages-(per-
haps a million of dollars In this county)-yet
| it Is true that few judgments or mortgages OF
private individuals are returned for taxation.
We believe it Is an undiSputed fact, that the
| reserved funds OF private capitalists, al most
| without exception, escape taxation, and yet
! no effort Is made to bring these tax dodgers to
| q lust and honorable assessment. Capitalists
and their apologistS may say that 1t isn't fair
| to tax both the land and the mortgage. If
the pledging Of land Is 10 relieve 1t from taxa
ton, then why not relieve from taxation the
collaterals which are deposited In bank. I'm
til some one can tell us how the man with
money Is to be relieved Of taxation on his
ready cash, there can be excuse for his not
paying on his mortgage. If the man with
taxes on it, but II he lends 1t out he escapes
taxation. Both landowner and capitalist
should pay taxes on their property. Millions
capital in Evnte nands 10 are 1n%i escaping
cages from taxation is, primarily, we pre-
:ume, to benefit Charleston capitalists, with
incidental advantage to country capitalists.
| Another matter, which Is of Il thousandfold
more importance to the farmers Of this coun-
try than an Agricultural or any other College,
| Is the legal rate of interest. We presume 1t
need not be stated that when the legal rate OF
interest is high, the price of lands 60 down In
proportion as the rate Of interest goes up. II
the legal rate was limited 10 seven per cent.
the people would save annually many times
as much MS all the taxes which they now pay.
But as long as capitalists can invest their
| ready cash in non-taXable, or taX-dodging ten
| per cent. mortgages, they do not want land,
which lies in sight of the tax assessors. A
izen is here neglected to run after little
| bank, whose entire assets does not aggregate
| the amount which would be saved annually,
to this people, If the legal rate OF interest was
reduced to seven per cent.
The Farmers care nothing about the thou
sands Of dollars wasted on tie Military OF the
State, and the candidates gave no views OF
| this leak from the public crib.
| The excessively large salaries of the State
officers received no attention from the Far.
mers, and the candidates with few eXcep-
tions, did not press this question to the notice
The Farmers did not enquire why thou
sand able-bodied convicts IN the State pcni-
| tentary are nota source OF profit to the peo-
pie, neither did they give inforn,atl on as 70
whether these same thousand convicts could
not he profitably employed in working our
public roads. Small matters of this kind are
Of the attention of the rN,ess
| Neither the Farmers nor the voters seemed
anxious to enquire why the present enor-
mously high fees should be charged for the
management or settlement OF intcstate es'
tates.
Nobody seemed anxious to enquire why the
| foreclosure Of O mortgage by consent. should
incur the expense OF $3.50 to the poor debtor.
| Nobody seemed anxious to inform the poo
| pie why the oppressive laws, just referred 10,
| should remain in force
The question of pensions Is one which Will
shake this State from centre TO circumfer-
cuce at no distant day, and yet it was entire
! ~ neglected.
THE bonded indebtedness of the State, and
the propriety of paying off the debt, so as To
relieve the State OF the burden of interest
was not thought Of
The propricty or impricty OF discontlnuine
the appropriation to the South Carolina cita,
del was not even mentioned.
The excessive appropriation last winter to
the South Carolina College was too insignifi'
cant to warrant thought, so long as an ap
preparation could be made for the argrlcul,
| tural numbuG in Oconee, which the colossal
tax-dodger proposed to found largely at State