The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-02-03


Teams and wagons-lnven-
tory. 1,Soi 90
Machinery and office hx- u
tureSsss..s s....."...... S.ooo ~
pensary. 73,oc7 II
sary. ............. 47,741 81
Total. ......$241,212 81
LIABILITIES.
Personal accounts due by
State.. 4,ooo 90
Due from general fund OF
the State from former
earnings. $4,000 %
Net accrued profit for pres
ent ntquarter passed to cred
it State School fund..... 44,299 81
Total. tal...................$A1,212 ,212 81
Before assuming the duties OF our
Office an inventory of all liquors and
and supplies on hand was carefully
taken by q committee composed OF the
Legislative examining committee ana
representatives of this board. we
found liquors on hand at the State
Ndispensary tothe amount of$373, ,067. II;
liquors in hands of county dispensers
$145, ,088.20; supplies $47, al 81, and
cash in the State treasury 50, 921.22 as
set forth in the above schedule of as
sets. We found an accrued profit due
the general or current fund Of $92, S47-
80, and an accrued profit Of $44, ,299. 81
to the credit of the school fund.
GENERAL FUND AND SCHOOL FUND.
As frequent inquiries into the sub
ject shows the fact that many citizens
Of the State do not clearly comprehend
the legal status of the general fund,
and the school fund in respect OF their
association with dispensary profits,
we deem it wise to briefly comment on
the authority creating school fund
from the net earnings of the dispense
~, and trust that we may sufficiently
elucidate it IS to make it readily un-
derstood by those who may make fu
ture inquiry into the matter. There
are many who seem unable to under
stand why the general fund had a pri'
ority of claim over the school fund on
the first of January last to the amount
of $192, ,S47.S9. 1t is simply a ques-
ton of law, and is the direct out
growth of that specific requirement OF
the late Constitutional Convention,
which ordained that the net income OF
the dispensary from the first of last
January shall be put aside for school
purposes. Before this ordinance be.
came operative the Constitution itself
not being of force until the first of last
January there was a balance OF net
accrued profit due the State to the
amount of 1892, ,847. SO
This ordinance not being retroactive
did not, therefore, make any provision
for the disposition of the 1892 847. 80,
which had accrued as anet profit prior
to the first of last January. And In
the absence of any legislative enact
ment placing the net profits OF the
dispensary accruing prior to January
Last to the credit of any specific fund,
these accrued profits were placed TO
the credit of the general fund of the
State, and being the Oldest claim must,
therefore, be iquidated from the accu
mulated cash surplus before the school
fund the younger claim) can hope
for any payment from the cash accu-
mutations of the dispensary.
We have paid into the State treasury
in the last four months $4,000 to the
credit of the general fund, and will Ii
quidate the $92, 900 balance that is to
the credit of the same fund by the first
of June.
TO THE CREDIT OF THE SCHOOL FUND.
There is now to the credit of the
school fund $222, 937. 81, which repre-.
sents the net accrued profit from the
business of the dispensary for the past
year. A conservative estimate OF the
possibilities of the business guarantees
safety in the prediction that we will
make first payment of SIS, 900 to the
school fund by the first of next July
and a like amount by the first of Au-
gust. And for the months of Septem-
Der, October, November and Decem-
ber $25, 900 each. Should these expec-
tations be realized, we will have paid
at the close of the present year $130, 600
to the credit of the school fund and the
balance of $92, 900, in round numbers,
due the general fund; making a total
of $222, 900, which we will have paid
at the close of the present year, from
the cash accumulations of the State
dispensary.
There are incorporated in this re-
port and to be found under their pro-
per heads statements of the purchases,
sales, profits to towns and counties
and State, and the total profits from
all sources from the beginning of the
dispensary to the close of the past fs-
cal year.
INVITE THE CLOSEST SCRUTINY.
We invite the closest scrutiny of
every detail of our official acts, and
are content for the results of our la
bors to speak for themselves. In the
management of the affairs of the dis.
pensary we have endeavored to hus-
band every resource and such energy
and ability as we may possess have
been given unstlntingly to it. 1t is a
business of great MAGNITUDE and OF q
complex nature, and we are impressed
with the gravity of our duties and the
great responsibilities which they carry.