Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-07-06
Haley Replies to Zimmerman.

OAKwAY, July 1.--Messrs. Editors
Tho whole question about tho rebuilding
of tho rather bridge is ono of law, one
of means and of policy, and j. is foreign
to the issue and unfair for those who
favor it's being rebuilt to attempt to be-
cloud the question by charges or insinua-
tions of secttonalism, Populism or any
thing cleo, as they arc doing.
The first, or law, question is: Have the
Commissioners of Oconee county, South
Carolina. tho authority to tax tho poo
plo of tho county to build bridge in
Habersham county, in tho State of Geor-
giaP Remember, now, that low watol
mark on tho South Carolina side of Tuga-
loo river is the dividing line between the
two States named above, and henco the
Boards authority stops at tho wator's &
edge. .
The next question Is: Arc tho people
ovor-burdoncd (as they are) with taxes,
and with tho profits of d-cont cotton
and other farm products in proportion,
able, at this timo, to bear tho taxation
necessary to pay for its rebuilding, espe-
oially so when wo remember thnt there
aIe tfreo public bridges and several
good fords accessible to these people
and that our county is already in debt
from thrco to five thousand dollars,
placed on us by previous county admin
istrations, and other bridges IN our own
borders pressing for attention.
Tho third or policy question is: Is 1t
fair to the lower and middle sections of
tho county for us to maintain in part
throo public bridges (Jarrotts. the fourth
ono, boing also n free bridgo) OH the
upper Tugaloo or Chattooga, where tho
people arc thinly populated, tho coun-
try mountainous and whore, by reason
of its mountainous nature, but little
taxes arc cOllcctcd-and maintain no
bridgor On tho lowor Tugaloo, where
tho country is thickly populated, tho
land comparatively lovel, well i'm
proved and highly assessed for taxation,
and Oh whom tho burden for rebuilding
this bridge Gf built will fall, and espo.
cially so when wo 500 the most of the
county bridges now really in danger
GUS condition, and our own people, who
have sons at Clemson (thoir own COL
lcgo) paying TOLL to 60 to SEQ thom over
Ravonolls bridge.
TO my friend, b. G. Rothell, L will say
that all the goods l buy outside of our
county bring into it ovor TOLL bridges
and l only desire that We both in tho
future be placed, in this respect, on al
equality.
10 Mr.. Iimmcrman's fling about
"oxtra road work" we will only say that
tho section he writes for, in our opinion,
has no just cause of complaint whom wo
remember tho amount of money the
county now has on the upper Tugaloo
by reason Of this same Prathcr's bridge,
having built and rebuilt it three times,
only to bo topplcd into tho river again.
We observe, also, tho piles of blasted
rock, tho turns, changes and grades and
so forth in this section of tho county.
And, whom l see all these things, I am
constrained to think tho "doggcrol," or
whatever it is ho quotes, should DO made
to read this way: Mo and my wife, nv
son.inlaw Bon and his vito, n FREQ
bridge to cross in going to my Scott
place, us four, bankrupt tho county and
lot her go. And |, too, hopo 'I may
mover become so narrow and contracted
in MY public views" that when my
county has built mo threo free bridges
to my Scott place, and that bridge site
outside its own territory, too, all in a
period of sixteen years, at cost of thou
sands of dollars, as to again have the
cheek to ask them to build il for me tho
fourth time.
Now, Messrs. Editors, think the
above arc fair conclusions and arc borne
out by Mr.. Zimmorman's letter and the
facts in tho matter, and that they do not
smack OF that "mutuality of interest"
that advancement of &C. ur county, finan-
cially, agriculturally and roligiously,"
he so glibly and plausibly writes, but
thatit shows plainly thcir purpose to
mako lis again "hewors of wood and
drawers of water for our more ontcrpris-
ing noighbors," and, having done their
bidding on three previous occasions,
that wo will now bo too indolcnt" and
"timid" to resist their "domands" for
the fourth time, and that tho ideas Of
tho board will be $50 warped and
twisted" that thoy will not remember
that thoy are acting for tho "wholc
county" that they will just walk up
like "prt V boys" and pile up few
moro thousand on tho people in taxation
to DO toppioti into tho Tugaioo tho noxt
freshct
In conclusion. allow me to say that |
havo only the best of feelings for those
Interested. A number Of them arc my
kinsmon-all of thom arc my friends
so far rs know. 1t would bo a plea
sure for mo to build them this bridge
could l conscientiously boliovc that they
woro not now better provided for in the
way of FREQ crossings than tho remainder
of tho county, and if could do 80 with
out invading our already ovcrburdoned
Taxpayers with tax too heavy to be
borne to justify tho outlay; and further,