The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-10-29
Wednesday, October 20, 1902.
Speculative Ideas VS.. Facts.

Speculative Ideas VS.. Facts.
The secessionists seem to be at sea
IN the matter of getting up argu-
ments to support their contention
that it is to the interest of the Fork
section to secede from Lexington
county and annex their territory to
Newberry and Ricbland, for they
contradict themselves in all material
essentials and ii fact the whole fab
ric Of their contention is based on
false premises and illogical conclu-
sion. They claim in the first place
that by seeding they will have better
roads for their s'city cousins" to
travel upon when they go visiting.
We admit that the roads of the
county, for various reasons, are not
in ss good condition as We would
like to see them, bus deny that they
are in any worse condition than the
roads Of q majority Of the counties of
the State. The complaint of bad
roads comes from nearly every sec
tion Of the State. TIE county Of
York claims to have the best country
roads in the State and her claim is
abundantly sustained by the record
and the evidence. She is the pioneer
in road improvement in this State
and other counties have wheeled into
line and followed her example, and
still others are preparing to do SO
This good roads movement, be it
remembered, is Of comparatively
recent date and it takes time and
patience TO convince people to adopt
new innovations no matter how mer-
itorious those innovations may be,
and this accounts for the slowness OF
many counties in adopting the new
system Of road making, therefore we
argue that from sny economical stand
poins that it would be unwise for the
Fork to seceds from Lexington,
from the fact the public roads of
the county will doubtless be i'm.
proved Immediately, and that the ex-
penses of the change will be far in
excess Of the benefits, if any,
derived therefrom, and in sup-
port OF this contention submitted
that Richland county is in debt and
the people Of the Fork. should they
decide to 60, would have to bear
their proportionate share of that in
debtedness as we'll as of any that
might arise in the future; and that
the valuation of real estate being
higher in Richland than in Lexington
the burden of taxation would fall
with almost crushing force upon
those already heavily tax burden
people. Both of these contentious
have been admitted By the Columbia
State, the 6rst in y round about way
snd the second openly and frankly,
but to break the force Of our argu-
meut the State adroitly attempts to
point ssout the immaserial character
Of the objection" and proceeds TO
state that the difference between
500 acre tract in Richlsnd and 500
acre tract in Lexington would be ''in-
significant" and illustrates it's po.
sition on a q mills levy basis for
Richlsnd, which exists only in the
luxuriant imagination of the States
Editor, and 81 mill levy for Lexing-
ton. The proposition is nothing but
q palpable effort to delude and de.
esive the people of the Fork. Let
us analyze the statement: Accord
ing to the Comptroller Generals re-
port of 1901, the only accurate
authority We have, the valuation
of real estate in Richland. outside Of
cities and towns, is $4.S3 per acre,
which would make taxes on 500 farm
IN that county, S7,84.9 on 81 levy,
while the taxes on the 500 acre farm
on levy of 81 mills