The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-06-27
LOG Al ~ E w s..
To the People Of Anderson County,

COUNTY, CORRESPONDENCE.
To the People Of Anderson County,
My resignation of the Office Of County
Treasurer was on the 9th instant rendered
to the Governor. Remembering with graft
tude the repeated evidences Of your con-
sfidence, and in many instances Of kindly
personal interest, I think it proper thus to
account for my withdrawal from yourser-
vice.
Ny service Of thepeople of the county has
not been without aerious difficulties from
the beginning, arising partly from conflict.
ing legislation with regard to the duties OF.
the office, and partly from want OF cores
pondence between this Office and others
which the Legislature has linked with IL for
the conduct Of the business of the county.
These difficulties, however, so far from dis
couraging, have rather proved an incentive
to greater diligence in the effort to reform
and perfect as far as possible the work OF
the office. With what measure of success
these efforts have been followed l need not
here undertake to show. I will only say
that little has been accomplished through
the Legislature, the sessions of which have.
=, =, ,oasnrss sa 80 90 that all efforts at reform in
tSis line hive been crowded to the rear. On
the. other hand the legislation has been
rather in. the direction of complication.
-S,,ec;aI Hills in the interest of particular
localities aud special county measures have
added, not only W ork, but with it confusion.
Here Is q case which illustrates somewhat
STRONGLY what have just laid down: AT its
sis.t sesS;or,e the State Legislature enacted
~ a nderso1, and some other counties
{ioav: :Whirb nrnyi0es that the County Com
1,;eo;nners and School Commissioners shall,
ioeeadvancn of the collection of taxes for
their respective departments of county ex-
;nand ;tnre I borroT such sums as may be
sRsei1ed for conducting their respective de-
'partments on, a cash basis. It does not pro-
vide how these funds SO borrowed shall
ha Held Inv what officer disbursed, nor how
!snchf officer shall be paid for his work. In
Anderson county it was taken for granted
that the custody of these funds fell TO the
Lot ,of tha fyonnty. Treasurer. and under the
10y o ans no3 wers borrowed for county
nI,rnoses. mn mos q. They were placed to my credit
Ebank. with out my consenting to assume
scfiaree Of Ehem.S The loan for county pur-
noses was the first negotiated, the County
insisting that it was my duty
Eto disburses it, and that they had no.
right to contract with me or any one else
;for2the Wcr K. II disliked to refuse to dis.
;charoe any a lI1tySwhich might properly fall
SfCsnny, 1 T lot and vet considered It an unrea
Ssonable demand for it would add possibly
.eSln mn nf responsibility and several months
Snf artra work to that already assumed by.
smvsalf ard INV sureties, while it did not
Offer q dime Of extra pay. In view, how
ever, of its Importance to tile: county--of
the public convenience or Inconvenience
Involved proposed to the Commissio ioners
IA friendly case between us covering the
Questions involved, to be submitted TO Inc
sc;rcnif iudge: either st chambers or at Feb
rnaryg term. for our mutual guidance In
;thanremises. This they declined. Numsr-
/ nnsr claimants were present, having been
t ,;ot;f;a tl,st these lnaIls world ,be secured,
enS s;n 81 S1nIld haye placed me- in an unpleaa.
ant attitudes before them to refuse to pay
tho;r 'cfacks when thew had been informed
that r hail the funds on hand. The alter
native nat wss thus unfairly thrust upon me of
I should assume so many
|:thonsand dollars more of risk and an in
|:defirite amount of extra work and annoy
ance Without compensation or block the
bnsinessof the county. I preferred to sin
apainst myself and assumed the work and
|:reSnnnsibility. These funds, with 50, 900
Borrowed for schools, have been in the
main: disbursed by me gon claims arising
since November 1st last, for 1888 -89. These
:Ioans were negotiated before the Office had
closed for the collection of taxes for 1888,
and their disbursement began at time
when sthe bnlk of claims for 1898 had not
been Inaid:. and thus two years funds have
baen d;shnrsed at once, side by side For
one NOT familiar with the difficulties Incl
d.,nt to conducting one years work in the
Office: il, is Well nigh impossible to conceive
the confusion precfpitated by the attempt to
conduct two years work at once, and espe-
ciallY when SO much depends upon tne ac-
cr!rate completion OF the OLD before Deglnff
ming the new. !. :.s, ,5ts:5
IhaYe spoken OF Q want OF corresponuences
between this and the other omces connecteo %
with bus otnGe tls linked sas1 wild tle
County Auditor on the one nand; snu VIII
the County Commisslo ners, Schooi Commls-
sioners and boards of school trustees on the
sother. On the one hand, the County Treas
!nyerlis the collector of the States charges
arainst; the taxpayers, as made up by the
Comfy Auditor. s. Everything depends upon
Gec,lracv on the part of the assessor and tax
payer, for what is done at return time gives
q character and shape to each mans account,
with,the State which clings to 1t from the
time the taxpayer sits down and answers s
the first question on list to the time he
is served, fourteen months after, with 8,
warrant in the hands of the Sherif's depu-
tvs The mistakes made then never turn
mn snntil the taxpayer calls for his tax
raca;nt.g and oftentimes not then, but it
taFes aTreasures,s warrant (Which goes out
against a,s every name on the tax book not
marked ,paid)sto develop the fact that the
narsor making the return; did not give &C..
EcnratelV ] the 1Iame Of the taxpayer whose
return 11 he was making, OF returned him liza
hIe. .fnr nnli:when he was not, or as resident
in ,S one me- township when in fact he resided in
another. Few taxpayers stop to consider,
and arS some are unwilling to believe, that the
Treasurer is not responsible for these mac
cnracies. d have had trouble from this
source. hut scarcely more than is naturally
incident to q business " hich deals directly;
with every man. rich and poor, white and
black, educated and ilIterate, in the county,
and these inaccuracies invariably occur
from some error on the part of the person
making the return. NY reference to them
is only incidental, as illustrating this con-
nection of the Office, and it is perfectly fair
to saw. that 7 have found the work Of the
County Auditor done always with an accu-
racv and q fidelity that in view of the
chances for mistake is truly surprising.