The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-01-07
Pensions, rAxEs AND soHoors,
comptroller General Norton Gives q
rev valuable Hints to tho Leg
iSlutnrc, -

| S"'uou'c hihtS to the Leg
| islaturc.
Specialize the News and Courier.
Experience with the present pension
law has shown that changes In Its pro-
visions will have to be made 80 ns In
insure satisfaction. The new law in
stltutes u great many radical Changes
from the old law, and while there Arc
u great many desirable fe features about
the Law as 1T now stands, 1t can, it ia
thought, be materially improved by
minor changes from the old law, and
| whlie therc arc great many desirable
features about tho law as it now stands.
it can, it Is thought, be materially i'm
proved by minor changes. There has
been sOme complaint that those who
ought TO be on tho rolls did not got
their money. This is, perhaps, SO in
sOmo instances, but it could not bo
helped. When applications were sent
to tho Comptroller General in proper
shape they went through all right. A
good many came with radical omissions
| Whenever it was possible these errors
wore corrected by returning the pa
pcrs, but great many OF tho county
boards delayed sending in their reports
until tho eleventh hour and there was
no timo for further delays, especially
as tho law fixed u timC for tho paving
out OF the money, and thorc was i'm
patience among those entitled to the
money.
Tneso irregularities will. in time,
adjust them elves, ana tho local boards
may be expected to be moro prompt
but it should be remembered when
there is any complaint that the fault
was not at this end Of tho limo. With
the pension applications that were ap-
| & ~
each OF the pensioners received $40 10
| This Is little enough, but Mr.. Norton
III speaking about tho matter to-day
said that next year, with the applica-
| tlonS That wore not properly prepared
and the new ones that would come in,
he would not 10 surprised to SEQ the
amount Of each soldiers pension in
this class reduced to $40. Now the
question the General Assembly will
nave To decide is whether it wants to
rive $l0 to the many or more to those
, ShO are more in need.
MIR. Norton, who has had cOnSidcr-
able experience in the matter of pom
Slon$. and who is himself an old soldier,
*Ays that he will make two or three
! recommendations to the General AS
samblN that he hopes will be carried
out. In the first place, he SAYS the
pension and tax departments should
Be entirely divorced. The one depart
nent should have absolutely nothing
to do with the other, and with this
View be vii! recommend that the cOun-
~ treasurer and county auditors be
taken or the pension boards, as the
present plan, IN nj! opinion, will in
lure either the pension or the tax de-
partmcnt. He thinks that the matter
OF pensions should be first referred &c
) the township board OF assessors. and
that the township assessors should in
turn report to central board at the
county seat, and that this board should
report to theState board. He thinks tn al
/ such plau would work more satisfac
torily than at present. He also wants
TO see pension work turned over to the
, Office of the A0jutant ana Inspector
: General, and have all the papers ex
amlned and made upethcre, while the
!. the Comptroller Generals office.
/ Mr.. Norton also thinks that it is YER,
necessary that there should be some
: expert accountant aud tax man con
( nected With this Office. Such a man
he thinks, has been needed for some
time. lie cited an instance in Edge
held where one grand jury wanted tn,
books examined, and SUBSEQUENT
; grand jury did not care to employ an
expert accountant to do the work. a
, good deal Of trouble with the tax de.
partment IN the various counties is on
account of the infamiliarity of the
officers With the books and methods.
and good man could easily straighte n
out things and get the tax machinery
oack IN the right groove. He saws
tEerc Is nothing wrong with the tax
machinery, but that sometimes it j.
not property carried out, and then the
trouble arises. With such an cxpcr,
rs he would like to have attached to
the Comptrolier's Office he thinks -
great deal of good can be done, and
there would he general satisfaction
with the innovation as soon as it was
trled. Now, whenever any such work
| mas TO be done, experts have to be EN-.
ployed ut large salaries, and often the
counties decline to mect the expense
and necessary work is not done, where.
ao II the State had such man regular
$ connected with the tax department
u would be his duty to correct all the
BAD bookkeeping that may occur in
the tax department in any part Of the
State.
Talking about tax matters MIR. Nor.
ton said that he proposed recommend.
Ing to the General Assembly that the
law be so amended that ali schOO!
claims should pass through the haGGa
OF the county superintendent OF schools,
or il this Is not done, that the county
school officer be given Il report OF a.!
money spent on account Of schools.
He says that it Ia very important that
| the :hOoi upnrintcnGent be aIgj.eI
| o. all achoO! expenditures, 80 81 10
Nhc" ~" 10 ma%n up nia rrport ma
sGtticm"nt an>Gt r. uNuIG, netnin1s
| .: az "G!t II ail r,ains Dn ApprD1eI by
| the cDUntY :chonI officer, 80 ~ 10 ynjfy
toe ay.t"m thrnughout The Statc in aiI
Of the d"pArtmcnta.