The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-12-23

report OF the State Superintendent o
Education for said scholastic year, tht
Comptroller General shall. for the
aforesaid three next ensuing Esca
years. On the first day OF eac of sale
years, levy such an annual tax on the
taxable property OF the State as II
may determine to be necessary tc
make up such deficiency, to be col
lected as other State taxes, and appcr
ton the same among the several coun
ties of the State in proportion to the
respective deficiencies therein.
Section II. All the net income to be
derived by the State for the sale or Ii
cense for the sale of spurious, malt,
vinous and intoxicating liquors and
beverages, not including so much
thereof as is now or may hereafter be
allowed by law to go to the counties
and municipal corporations OF the
State, shall be applied annually in aid
OF the supplementary taxes provided
for in the sixth section Of this article;
and if after said application there
should be surplus, it shall be devot'
ed to public school purposes, and ap-
portioned as the General Assembly
may determine: Provided, however,
That the sad supplementary taxes
shall on,v be levied when the net in
come aforesaid from the sale or license
from the sale OF alcoholic liquors or
beverages is not sufficient to meet and
equalize the Deficiencies for which the
said supplementary taxes are provi-
ded."
At your last session you passed the
following act:
Section /. That The profits Of the
State from the State dispensary here
tofore accrued up to Decem Der 81,
1895, inclusive of the fifty thousand
dellars heretofore covered iato the
State treasury, amounting to the sum
Of S243, ,S16.57, be paid into the State
treasury as the same is collected, and
that the same be entered upon the
general account in the State treasury
and he applied to the general current
expenses of the State government Tor
the fiscal year 1896.
Section 2 That the profits Of the
State from tae State dispensary accru
ing since January /. 1886, be paid ln-
to the State treasury as the same IS
collected, and that the same be entered
upon special account and be held in
the Stale treasury under the provls
ions of Section II Of Article N[ Of the
Constitution of the State.
1t is question as to what this Act
means. 1t is subject 10 different con-
structions when construed independent
of the Constitution. The interpreta-
ton now put upon it gives the net
profits from the business Of the gener-
al expense account of the State until
the amount Of profits reaches the sum
of s193 ,S16. the total value OF the
stock on hand on December 81, 1895,
consisting of bottles, sealing wax,
mules, wagons, Office furniture, Ii.
quors and 50 on. This view postpones
the income to the school fund from
the Disyensary until the net profits
amount to sl93, Sic. 81. My iuforma-
ton is that there has bsen paid into
the State Treasury during the year as
Dispensary profits $4,000, leaving
Sis SIC 81 still unpaid to the general
account. At this rate i will take
about another year and half to fin
ISL iissa paying~ths r-7er31 see55Nnt~cf
this is the proper construction i. will
be about Juue 1898, before there will
be realized to the school fund any
thing from the Dispensary and that
clearly defeats the purpose OF the Con-
stitution inasmuch as these profits are
in aid of the supplementary tax pro
vided for in the sixth section of Ar
tlc,e XI Of the Constitution. This
tax provided for in the
Constitution guaranteed to the people
for three years a school fund equal to
three dollars per capita on the enroll.
ment for 1895. If the regular school
fund and the profits from the Dispen-
sary to the schools do not equal three
dollars during any one OF these three
years, the COMPTROLLER General is re-
quired by the Constitution to levy a
deficiency tax, but he is not required
to levy the tax until the regular school
fund and the Dispensary profits fail
to raise the three dollars per capita.
The three years will have passed be-
lore tne schools realize anything from
the Dispensary and, therefore, the
Comptroller General will never have
to levy deficiency tax, and the three
dollars per capita for the schools,
guaranteed by the Constitution, will
be defeated to the disappointment Of
the people who have put fai.n in the
promise.
Under the &C! passed at your last
session the funds on hand and those
arising since for the permanent school
fund have been invested by the State
Treasurer as follows:
In S. @. All per cent. cou
pom oonds.....,........ .S2l 900 90
In S. G.. 41,2 per cent. stock Il ,757 95
IN s. G. 1-2 per cent. stock.
Brown. II ZOO %
In U. S. / per cent. consols 1900 %
Total. al....................$49, 157 90
During the year ninety-eight schoo!
houses have been erected, at cost Of
IS, 1872. The school houses fer
whites number 3, AS; valuation, $50
S63. 90; those for colored number 1862.
valued at S176,11235; making an
aggregate of /, 40 bushels, valued at
$746, ,676 As. The school furniture
and apparatus is valued at S74, 653.33.
which, added to the value Of houses,
makes total value of school proper
ty of 1921, ,329.7S.
Some feeling has been aroused IN
the State through the public press
over the use Of objectionable school
histories in the schools OF the State.
Some of these Objectionable books
have been named by The critics who
have engaged in the discussion. These
Objectionable books are principally
used in private schools and graded
cobooIS craota1 hV SDecio IeGiSi alton