The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-02
RICH FOLKS GOVERNMENT.
Poor Folks and Negroes Must Dance
TO The Music. and Swear to Their
RcturnS---SO Questions Asked as
10 Millionaire eTaN-DOG;;ers. Banks.
Railroads and Other Corporations.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,

EXECUTIVE l)EPAHlMENi
OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL"
COLUMBIA, =. c.. December II, lNSN
The attention of this Office has been called
to the fact that in some Counties OF Inc Sl;lic
the Auditors have been in the hahit ol uis
tributiug loosely the returns fpr personal
property and allowing individuals 10 NIL our
the same, Scuding the said returns TO the
County Auditors without the Caln whlcn al-
tachcS 10 the same being adhihislercu. ! ni> m
practice must nc stopped. and each ana cN-
cry taxi payer will he required 10 appear bc-
fore the respective County Auditors, eithcl
by themselves, their agents or assigns, guhr'l-
ianS trustees, administrators, &c.. and an
Swcr the various questions as appear upon
the return. And the County Auditors Will
nut these questions cItcgOrically To each ana
every person making II return OF perSoii;.l
prOpcrty. When the said return Is m:iuc the
Au,iilor will administer the oath and swear
the party making the return In each ana cV-
cry instance.
ditor to obtain as full returns as possible, i0r
the higher the aSSment the lower Will be Inc
tax lew, The County Auditors Will tnerc-
fore will he very careful in taking the re-
turns during this assessment, to WI, WI, nom
January lst, 1SS!, to February 2Ath, lSS'
Each Auditor is requested to make this Of
flee a comparative report at least twice our
ing the period for taking returns, IN ofutl
that this Office may be advised as to how inc
returns of lSSS-S9 compare with those oi
iSST-SS. This need not be done at length, nut
Il short report by letter will answer:
D.. y. ' Elt-Nf
Comptroller General.
Let no man believe for an instant that his
taxes will be reduced. 1t is increased every
year. When the phosphate royalty was de-
manded it was then said that the royalty
would reduce our taxes. The royalty has ~
creased six fold and instead of reduction III
taxes, they are higher every year.
No effort as far as we arc informed, has
been made to bring rich tax dodgers to prop
er assessment of their property. The Clem'
son estate, which is worth about SloUOJ0 has
been returned at only $500 for taxation.
This fact is well known to the Governor. 10
the eComptroller-Gcneral,a and to the Auditor,
and vet we have heard nothing OF bringing
that estate to justice. Is it not true that
white men haye been imprisoned in other
counties for no other offence than their pov-
erty-inability to pay one dollar to the school
fund.
Does not the Governor, the Comptroller
General and the County Auditor OF Charles
ton, know that the Ne,CS and Courier, speak
ing for the banks Of that city, declared that
they would not return their property for taN-
alton as the country banks had done? Has
any effort been made to make the rich tan
dodgers of that city give n fair return Of their
property for taxation, as the country banks
have doneg Has any effort been made to
make the rich taX-dodgers of that city give
d fair return OF their property?