The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-01-08
POINTS ABOUT PHOSPHATES.
The New Law and the Commission.
70 the Editor of the News and Couris

10 Me GttH0T " WS Aft"o U"'' wa 'o'
have Just read the phosphate COM
mission bill in your issue OF the 20tE
instant. and beg to call the attention OF
my brother farmers to some pointsin that
remarkable document. [ call it remark
able because it is certainly the first In
stance in this State when the Governor
has ever proposed by the passage of an
Administration bili 10 vest "the exclu-
sive coutro" of more than $3.50, 900 Of the
revenue ofthe State in board OF which
the Governor himself is the chairman,
and of which himself, the Attorney Gen
eral and the Comptroller General shall
constitute quorum "for the transaction
of any business" pertaining to said board,
one of whom may and doubtless will
become the secretary of the same.
It is true that the bill provides for the
appointment by the three statutory mem
bers of two other members thereof, clti'
zens of the State, etc, but it is easy to see
| that these two citizen members will have
small share in the deliberations is care
fully provided against in the bill itself.
A fellow once applied to a merchant
friend of mine for the position OF clerk
in his store My friend protested that
he had plenty of clerks and could not
afford to pay any more. "Oh, it will
net cost you anything" said the appli-
can't II will not charge you anything;
I will just depend OF what | can PICK up
around the store" Strange as it may
appear, he did not gel the place.
Such disinterested patriotism as is
eyinced by our rew.y installed Admins
tration by the Willingness of three of
them to assuD,e the onerous and respon.
sibe duties imposed upon them by this
bill, without other compensation than
the payment Of their travelling and other
necessary expenses, cannot be too highly
extolled. The approving voice OF o
grateful and admiring constituency will
doubtless prove their adequate reward.
When, however, we consider the oppor.-
tunities furnished by this bill "to pick
up things around the store" and remem-
Der that the State may not always be
able to secure the services of gentlemen
on whose wisdom, conservatism and
integrity the whole people can so conf.
dently rely; when, Mr.. Editor, we recall
the horrid condition of"political leprosy"
from which the State Government has
Just been rescued, the peculation, fraud
and corruption so eoquently described
by cur preseat Executive as incidental
to "Ring g rule" and then reflect that (for
as the present Administration is above
the suspicion even OF such rule) we may
vet live 10 aee return to that evil con.
dition; wher re remember the uncer.
tainty of all human affairs, and especi-
ally of the result Of popular elections, l
am sure we may be pardoned for the fear
that sometime in the future, perhaps in
the near future, re may lose the services
of the presen. statutory members OF the
proposed board, and find that in their
guilelessness and conscious honesty the
Trainers of the phosphate commission bill
have placed q dangerous power in the
hands of very small and very close cor
poration, that such power has been
abused, that somebody has enriched him
self at the expense of both the State
treasury and the phosphate miners, and
that travelling and other necessary ex-
penses" are a. nothing in comparison to
what somebody has been able to "pick up
around the store"
That part CT Section 2 which provides
that the Comptroller General shall con-
tinue to receive the reports ofrock mined
and dug and the royalty paid into the
State treasury is of small value as a
check, considering the fact that the
Comptroller General is member of the
close corporation himself.
Section provides that the said board
shall also be empowered, if upon full
investigation and examination they
deem it advisable, to require all persons
OF corporations digging or mining phos.
phate rock or phosphate deposit in the
navigable streams of this State and in
the marshes thereof, to pay to the Stale
royalty not to exceed two dollars per ton
for all and any phosphate rock so dug
and mined, etc.
1. Now, SO long as we are blessed in the
possession of an Administration, selected
by the people themselves by an unprece.
dented majority and pledged to reform
the abuses which hsd almost unconsci.
ously crept into every department of the
State Government, such power as this
cannot be abused. But let US suppose
that the people, failing to appreciate the
eminent character and disinterested ser
vices of these patriotic gentlemen, should,
say in 1892, elect new set of officials as
corrupt, inefficient ard irresponsible as
those whom we hav. been told ruled the
State from 1876 to 1890, what then is to
prevent this new sci from making deals
with the pho,phate miners? What is to
prevent them (Gnd who is to know) from
pocketing, s>y SO ceuts per ton for all
rock mined instead of increasing the
royalty to The, ssy, 81 per ton as is
authorized? AS all river rock is ex.
ported and sold in markets unaffected by
our local laws, every cent of additional
ROYALTY will come directly cut OF the
pockets of the river miners, and it is
hardly conceivable that they would
prefer to pay the State 81 royalty to
paving so can!s Oh private agreement
with a corrupt board. I greatly fear
that our present Administration has
overlooked and not needed the weakness.
es of their less favored brethren and
forgotten that
"Och, mankind is unco weak
And little to be trusted
When self the wavering balance shake
'Tis rarely, rarely right adjusted" :
The main poiut, however, to which
beg 10 call attention is that if, IS wc are
bound to coaciude, the one only and
single object of this bill is to increase the
revenue Of the State from the phosphate
royalty by doubling the tax on same,
i! then the title ofsalne should be changed
to "a bill to increase the tax upon the
agricultural interests of the State for the
relief of all other classes of taxpayers
3 therein"
I The present royalty is let us say
$3.50 900 per arnum. All this is paid by
g the river MIXERS. Yet the farmers pay
percisely tna: amount into the hands OF
the land roc men each year in this way.
0 Land rock is so much easier worked and
Q gives so mucn better results upon manip-
q uiation that the manufacturers pay for
8 the land rock 81 more per ton than they
e would have to pay for river rock. The
g prices of river rock being fixed abroad
e the price of laud rock (which pays nc
h royalty is fixed by adding say 81 pc,
# ton to the value of river rock. Now if 81
:, more of royalty is added to the river
!, rock, if it costs that much more to put
e the river rock on the market, the home