The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-07-10
THE CHANGE NEEDED IN THE STATE
Gen. Werner Advocates Some Sensible fe-
forms-Every Citizen is Due the State
Some Service Without CharSc-Not
Now the Case.
From the WaIhalla Courier.

From the Walhalla Courier.
had hoped that this political cam
paign was to be one Of education: in
which the people would be thoroughly
posted upon all matters relating to
their government, and that measures
of real and substantial reform would
be advocated and urged upon the peo-
pie in such way as to result in 4 relief
from the burdens Of taxation, and make
the government more vigorous and et-
fective in the enforcement of law. l
fear, however, that the turn given TO
the campaign will make it one for the
mere scramble for office, and in this
scramble that the reforms in govern
ment, which our people so much need,
may be lost sight of. | do not, how
ever, intend to let the methods adopted
on the stump abate my advocacy Of the
reforms which / think should be made
in the administration Of government.
I have ever been one Of those who
think that we need a radical change in
our form Of government. 1t is too cX-
pensive and too burlensome for n thin
ly settled population like ours. 1t is
the New England idea Of government
and teaches the doctrine that every
service, however small, rendered the
government, must he paid for. Under
it we have over ten thousand office
holders drawing salaries from fifty dol
lars mp to four thousand. With these
office-holders there is q constant and
growing demand for an increase Of
salary, and the tendency is an increase
of salaries. In addition to the large
amounts expended for salaries the
court expenses in the counties, upon
the principle Of paying for every service
rendered, are constantly increasing in
the way of constable, witness, and trial
Justice fees. In the County of Halnp-
ton, was informed by the County
Commissioners, that the fees of trial
justices and constables amounted, last
year, to over four thousand dollars.
These expenses are constantly growing
under this New England idea Of gov
ernment and the number of officers
drawing pay are increasing. There IS
also with it constant demand that
every service done for the government
must be paid for; and hence you find
that there is strong sentiment abroad
in the State to work the roads by tax
alton. Those who are familiar with
the legislation of the last four or five
years know that the Communication road
tax is becoming very popular. BY it
the citizen, able to pay, can get of for
from two to five dollars per annum,
while the poor man must work his ten
or twelve days.
Now under this form of government
I take the position that if you pay
everybody else who does anything for
the State, why not pay the man who
labors on the road as well as the COM
missioner who superintends him? To
pay one and not pay the other is u mani
fest injustice. Is not, however, the
the form Of government which teaches
the doctrine that you must pay fol-
every service, a vicious one: Is not
the old idea of government which pre-
vailed before the Constitution Of 1868
better, to-wit: That every citizen Of
the community is due his State some
portion of his time, free Of charge, from
a sense of duty and patriotism, prefer
able? Under it our counties were gov
erned by a system of boards, by conf
missioners Of poor, commissioners Of
roads, commissioners of public build
ings, etc., who served withour pay.
By division Of the labor and responsi-
bilities, which now fall on the County
Commissioners, the counties We're gov
erned by these boards without any
large tax upon purse or time, and
hence the expenses OF county govern
ments were comparatively small. Now
the taxes to support the county govern
ments and schools are nearly twice as
much as that paid to support the State
government, and in some counties
three times as much The difficulty,
too, in controlling these expenditures is,
that you have no one body Of men in
the State whom you can hold response
bic for expenditures.
This year the General Assembly,
composed of one hundred and sixty
men, levy and appropriate seven hun
dred and sixty-tbree thousand dollars
direct taxes, while the County Com
missioners and Trustees of each school
district levy and appropriate million
four hundred thousand dollars, not col
lcctively, but acting separately; that Is
your State taxes are governed by one
hundred and sixty and your county
and school funds by three men. Add
to this the power which the counties
have to contract debts in aid Of rail
roads and other public enterprises,
then YOU can have some idea how
hard our expenses are to be kept down
and within moderate bounds. T'
remedy this evil we should have on,
single body to levy, collect and appro
pirate taxes. Then you can hold them
to Il strict accountability.
The theory and practice of our pres
cnt form of government Is, that tho
Legislature, composed of one hundred
and sixty Representatives, Of the peo
pie, should be responsible for the eX
penditures of State taxes, while the
County Commissioners, acting scpa