The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-07
STATE AND COUNTY NANCEs.
Careless way In Which the County Finances
Are Usually HaDdled-Tbe State
Sinking Fund.

Careless way In Which the County Finances
Are Usually HapdIed-The State
Sinking Fund
august Kohn in News and Courier.
4 ID deal has been written about
the condition Of the States finances.
The necessity of getting the State
upon a nonborrowing basis has here
tofore been mentioned. The coun-
ties are integral parts Of the State,
but far too little is known about the
/ financial condition of the counties.
Of course the chief requirements is
| that the counties should be satisfied
| with their own financial condition.
The fact of the matter, however, is
that most people in the counties do
not pretend to inquire into the county
finances as they should. Take the
average man, and he hardly knows
whether his county is operating upon
a cash basis or not, and he isos rarity
if he can tell how much money his
county has borrowed, and certainly
not one in q hundred taxpayers can
tell the aggregate Indebtedness OF
the county, bonded, or by notes float.
ing.
1t is really q very much more seri.
Gus condition than might be supposed
Within the last few weeks in two
counties loans of $1,000 and $4,000,
which ought to have been settle
with funds on hand, have slipped
through the hands of those who
ought TO have discovered the irregu.
larities, and the county officials did
not know whether these claims had
been paid or not, and certainly if the
county grand juries and county Off
Gals did not know of such irregula-
rites the average taxpayer could not
be expected to know it.
The Comptroller Generals Office
hopes to be able to present tables
from the various counties showing
exactly what amount of Indebtedness
is outstanding against each of them.
It will be a difficult matter to get
this data up correctly, but when it
is prepared with care it will be I'M
portant and valuable.
A great many counties have war
rants outstanding of which they keep
no record, and a systematic plan on
the part of the State authorities will
at least have the merit of getting the
counties started right in keeping tab
of what they owe and how the varl
Gus sinking funds and bond accounts
stand, and letting the public know.
While on the subject of sinking
funds it may be interesting to note
that the States sinking fund must
now carry itself and that it's main in
crease will have to come from the
interest account. The sinking fund
now amounts to about half a million
dollars. This fund was largely built
up from the royalties on phosphate
rock in the days of the Coosaw CON-
pany. More than 100000 a year
has been paid into the States Golfers
from the royalty of phosphate rock,
but since the goose which laid the
golden egg was killed tbs annual
royalty has dwindled down year by
year and now is only about $4,000
a yer, and the prospect is that it
will be even less. The state sinking
fund was created for the purpose of
retiring the States boLds. Il will
be a slow process, but the half a
million that is now on. baud will at
least be available for that. purpose
when the bonds are due.
The State now holds, having pur-
chased them III open market, about
$4,000 worth of State bonds. 1t
has loaned to the State House com
mission, for the purpose Of complet-
ing sbe State House, about $4,000,
of which two instruments of $4,000
have already been paid as agreed
upon, and subsequent annual pay
menss will have to be paid at the
same rate. The State has loaned to
the various borrowing counties about
Sl25,000, for which the county taxes
are pledged, and the counties are
paying the State sinking fund nom