The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-01-22
Recommendations of County Commissioners

To the Hons. Louis Appelt. Senator
and H. B. Richardson. l. NJ. Woods
and NJ. G.. Galluchat, Rrepresenta.
tiveS from Clarendon.
GENTLEMEN:
We. the Board of County Commis-
sioners. would respectfully recommend
to your honorable delegation the fol
lowing matters which we think should
receive legislation at your hands, and
which we think will be for the better
ment of our county:
ROADS.
We recommend that general law
be passed. allowing County Commits
SionerS to hire road overseerS in each
township of their respective counties
and the roads to be worked by the
regular road hands. under hired over
seers. each overseer to have one OF
more townships under his control. al
the discretion of the Board Of County
Commissioners: or then that roads be
let out by contract, to be paid for out
of regular communication tax of respec'
tive townships.
Our idea for this is to secure better
labor on the roads by road hands, as
road working is now almost farce,
and road overseers as now appointed
have very little power to compel hands
to do a full days work.
,. We recommend that all persons
liable to do road duty who would pre-
fer paying 6. communication tax in lieu OF
working roads be allowed to pay a
Communication tax of S1.00, which shall
be PAYABLE any time from the 10th day
OF October to the first day Of March
following. In case road hand IS
warned and after being warned he
would prefer paying a communication
tax after the first day of March, that
the overseer in the township be allow
ed to collect $500 from said road hand
and turn same over to the County
Treasurer, at the same time reporting
to the County Supervisor or County
Commissioners the amount he has so
paid in to the Treasury, and from
whom same was collected, and this
amount OF $500 shall exempt said road
hand from performing road duty dur:
ING that year. provided that the said
$500 be paid at the time when said
hand is warned or his services are
needed; and that County Commission:
ers be allowed to furnish tools to said
overseer for the use of road hands, and
that road hands be required to work
anywhere they may be required, in
their respective townships, not exceed
ing four miles from their home.
3. AS the law now stands, the ages
for requiring hands to work roads run
from Is to 55. We find that road over
seers encounter great trouble IN max
ing minors do public road duty. and we
would recommend that the law be
changed so that the ages for requiring
public road duty shall run from q to
s..
COUNTY OFFICES
TREASURER.
At present the County Treasurer
has to pay 500 annually for his bond,
and clerk hire which is absolutely
necessary for him to have for at least
three months during the tax collecting
time also costs him another 500.
We would recommend that the Coun-
tv Treasurer of Clarendon County
either be paid a salary of $1,000 so that
the premium on his bond will not so
materially reduce his compensation,
and that he may himself hire his clerk
out of said amount, or then that be be
paid salary of $500 and you provide
800 each for his clerk hire and bond,
so that he will then receive salary of
$500 for his services, in lieu Of all COM
missions. and fees for issuing execu-
tions, thus making his salary the same
as that now paid to the County Audi
tor. We further recommend that if
practicable the said salary be paid in
the same manner that the Auditors
salary is now paid, so much by the
County and so much by the State, pro
rated according to respective State and
county funds collected by him-say
$500 by State and $500 by county, in
case the salary is placed at $500, and
bond and clerk hire provided for in the
same manner, or say $1,000 for every
thing and of this amount the county
300 and the State $500.
CLERK OF COURT.
We think the office of Clerk of Court
should be put on a salaried basis and
Ill fees which that officer collects be
paid into the county treasury. We
therefore recommend that the Clerk OF
Court be paid a salary OF twelve hun
lred dollars in lieu of all fees, and that
Ill fees collected by him be paid in
to the county treasury.
PROBATE JUDGE.
In regard to the Office OF Probate
Judge. we do not see where we can
make any recommendations which
would be a saving to the county, and
therefore recommend that the fees Of
hat officer remain as they now stand.
SHERIFF.
Under the present system the Sheriff
loes the work of the Magistrate at
Manning at the same salary the Sheriff
lsed to receive. We recommend that
The Sheriff either be paid a salary of
eight hundred dollars and let him do
The Magistrates work, or then pay the
Sheriff $500 and give the Magistrate d
constable at 5000.
SUPERVISOR.
We recommend that the Supervisor
De paid salary of $500, or then that he
)e paid a commission on all licenses
collected. so as to make his salary equal
% $500. The licenses collected the
past year amounted to $1,000, and their
enforcement and collection, which has
oeen put on the county Supervisor, en-
,ails a great deal of e: ira work. We
hink that if the salary Of the office is
not raised to $500. that said officer
should receive a commission OF at least
en- per cent on all licenses collected by
lim.
OFFICE OF SUPT. ED.
We find that the sum of $500 which
vas allowed the Supt. Education out of
he school fund, as capital with which
o keep stock of school books on hand,
: inadequate, in order that he may
Keep sufficient stock of books on hand
O meet the demands of the school-book
public. The Supt. Educa-