The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-07-16
Local News.
Tie Meeting Of the School Trustees.

of the County schools, at which rcso-
lutions were adopted and committee
appointed to mcmorialize the Legisla-
ture and ask for the enactment of a
law which Will give to the public
schools throughout the State the fer
tilizcr tax now used in support Of
Clemson College, and to apply to the
public schools in each County in the
State the profits arising from the
County dispensaries, which is now
paid into the County treasures for
County purposes, calls for some com
mcnt, which it is hoped will throw
light upon the entire subject.
There can bu no question a., to the
necessity. and the positive duty of the
Legislature to do much more than has
been done for the educational advan-
tage3 OF the children Of the State. In
Anderson County, for example, there
are IL, 2,on0chiildrcn enrolled in the public
schools and only $4,000 per year pro
vided for their educati0n-&2 90 per
pupil. The schools cannot be kept
open with SO small an amount longer
than five months Of the year, and the
results obtained in advancing the pu-
pills are not and cannot be expected to
be satisfactory. That something
should be done to better this condition
OF our public school system is of vital
Importance to every family in the
State, and this explains, in mca sure,
at least, the action of our County
Trustees in the meeting above referred
to.
But would it be wise to disturb the
tax privilege fund now used in support
OF Clemson College, even il it could be
taken from that College and diverted
to the public schools, which is very
doubtful?
Prior to the establishing of Clemson
College the inspection and analyZing
"f fertilizers was performed by the old
S'ntc Board of Agriculture, together
,..n other duties, and it took the
".iv.e OF the ak on fertilizers to pay
the salaries OF the Board. III 1890
Clemson College offered to assume the
duties OF this Board if the fertilizer
tax should be given to the College, and
that they would undertake tn save
enough surplus from this fund to SUP
port the College without calling on the
State for any other aid. This was
made plank in the reform movement,
went before the people and received
their endorsement and the tax was
turned over to the College.
This fund has had much to do with
the establishment Of every branch of
the College work-agriculture. me-
chanical. including electrical, textile,
chemical for performing State work,
indeed all. All of the duties of the
Board of Agriculture have been per-
formed by the faculty of the College
inspecting fertilizers, inspecting cattle
and visiting all parts OF the State
where there are epidemics among cat
tie and eradicating the disease; in.
specting fruit 'rees shipped into the
State and visiting diseased orchards,
extermlnating the Insects which pro-
duce the disease; analyzing ores, min
erals, water and soils; holding insti-
tutes all over the State for he benefit
OF the farmers, and many other duties
which have been imposed upon them
by Legislation from time to time ND to
the present. No additional! sum has
ever been appropriated for this Of any
other work of the College. The fer
tilizer tax fund is all the support Glenn
sou College gets from the State, in
consideration of which the College
performs the work ns partly enume-
rated above.
To take this fund from the College
would necessitate the creation of au-
other Board of Agriculture, or similar
body, to perform this work, and to
provide for salaries and expenses.
Clemson could not perform this work
free of charge, and the common schools
could not perform it at ALL
1t may be thought good idea, in
order to meet the conditions which Sd
tar have defeated direct appropriations
to the public schools. to apply the fer
tilizer tnx to the public schools, and
makeadirect appropriation to Cemson;
but there appears to be very consid-
cradle barrier in the way Of this plan as
follows:
Several years ago manufacturers of
fertilizers in North Carolina brought
suit in the Federal Courts against this
State to test the, right OF the State to
levy tax on fertilizers, basing their
action on provisions of the Interstate
Commerce laws. The Supreme Court
of the United States, to which the case
went finally. decided that ouch IL tax
for the purCose of raising revenue only
could not be levied, but that the State
could levy this tax to meet the expense
OF protecting the farmer from fraud in
the purchase of fertilizers; that IA def
mite amount for such an expense need
not be stated. and that any surplus re-
naming could be expended by the
State: hnt that M port nf +h;, +ox