Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-07-09
LETTER FROM j. a COOK.
He Knows How 10 Run Road Machines and
Says They Won't Work In Wet DIrt.

CbaSe OF tne new macn1nery by our
county officials great deal, both pro
and con, but the most of it is con. A bic
majority of our citizens think the county
officers have made mistake and that
the new machinery will be failure.
But have an idea that good machine
Is neNDr failure if it is properly man
aged. An OLD saw mill will make money
when it is running. 1t is the machine
That stands still that breaks its owner,
and that will be the great trouble with
the county machines. Oconee county is
too rough to work the roads successfully
with machines. There are some roads
in our county that can be worked with
tho machines. But where you can work
road with machine it usually does not
need much work; it is always good
enough. We think wherever the road
machines can be run they will prove
success; but we think there are o great
many roads in the county that will have
to be worked without the machines,
simply because they are not success in
rough countries, where there are
stumpa,. rocks and steep hills. When
the machines are coupled to the engines
and start down hill and strike some
thing solid, they will break. The ma
chimes will not work successfully in wet
weather: We have tried it. Wet dirt
will stick to the knife and olog the ma
chine, and there is about half the year,
months, that we have wet weather.
Therefore, the machines, am afraid,
Will be standing idle more than half the
time. Under the circumstances we have
no IDEA there is man in the county who
can handle the machines successfully.
Wen, we wrote a letter some time
since in regard to the bad management
of the chain gang. suppose our Super
visor says that the reason we wrote that
letter was that we wanted to 90 to the
Legislature, and we thought that we
could ride in on that Now 1 want tc
say for tho information Of our Supervisor
that l have nothing personal against any
taught from my youth that it is fraud
to conceal fraud. Therefore, if know
of the existence of fraud, and conceal
the same, why then am guilty of fraud
myself. If our Supervisor thinks 1 have
any axe to grind, he is very much mis-
taken. L grind my own axe, and when /
get it sharp l hew to tho line and let the
chlps fall where they may. If he could
hear the citizens talk about that chain
gang he would think everybody wanted
to go to the Legislature. If they were
all to come out as candidates The Cou-
rier would not hold their names. Also,
If other people had as little regard for
the laws of the country as our Supervi-
sor seems to have, it would not be nee
essary to send anybody to the Legisla-
ture. Our legislators passed an Act in
1901 requiring the Supervisor and the
County Board of Commissioners to pub
lish an itemized statement of all &C
counts audited, and that the published
reports should show the nature of the
claims and services rendered, as we'll as
the names Of the claimants and amount
of accounts; and in 1902 the Legislature
amended this Act, and added a penalty
for tho violation of this law, and our
Supervisor and Board of Commissioners
have not even made any effort to COM
ply with this law. If they will comply
with this law then the people can see
what the expenditures are for, and the
work of our legislators will be appreci-
ated.
We hope our next Legislature will in
crease the salary of the County Superyi-
sor. We think this is where the whole
trouble is. Tho salary of that Office is
too little and the wolk too big, and the
result of it is usually field full of can
didates, a majority of whom are men
who have never been able to manage
their own business, and of course are not
competent to manage the county's bust
ness. If man is worth from only one
to two thousand dollars, and has failed
to manage that successfully, it seems
strange that he would attempt to man
age thirty or forty thousand dollars for
the county. But they will do it, and we
Will never have a competent man until
the salary is raised. A man who can
manage the business of this county is
worth one thousand dollars per annum
to us.
Now, Mr.. Editor, we know that the
pest OF men make mistakes sometimes,
but good man don't want to make the
same mistake twice; therefore we would
ask you to answer n question or two for
the information of the citizens of our
vicinity, if you please, as follows:
How many dollars was the county in
debt when the present officers took
charge of the county affairs? And how
much is the county in debt to-dayp We
want to know whether our debts are
increasing or decreasing.
Yours, etc., j. A. Cook.
A Partial Reply to Mr.. Cook.
Walhalla, July S.-Editors Courier: In
justice to the County Board Of Commits
sioners / deem it my duty to reply to so
much of Mr.. Cooks article as relates to
the reports of the Board, as 1 make up
these myself. Mr. Cook says they are
not made according to law. l do not
know, but rather believe they are. The
title of the law enacted in 1897 in refer
ence to the reports of the Supervisor
body of the Act it reads "monthly" re-
ports. On the statute books, as l under
stand it, there are only two Acts relat-
ing to these reports, and they are pub
lished below. The law enacted in 1902
repeals all "Acts and parts of Acts in
consistent" with it and the Act passed
in 1897. Neither Act specifies the
mature" of the claim or an itemized
statement of the account, but the file
number, amount claimed and amount
allowed ARE specified. This is the way
the reports have been published all
along, and l am INCLINED to believe it
right, but will ask Mr.. Cook to please
tell me where l can find the law he
refers to. | can't. l ask Mr.. Cook to
read the Acts below and sec if he does
not construe them the same as do, and
also ask him to write me where ] can
find the 1901 law referred to by him, as /
desire to make up the July report for
next weeks paper and would like to
have 1T as near correct as possible.
Respectfully,
+. a. ii. Schroeder, Clerk of Board.
The Acts of the Legislature upon the
subject follow:
An Act to require the Supervisors of the
State to publish Quarterly Reports.
Section /. BE it enacted by the Gene
raj Assembly of the State of South Caro-
lima, That the Supervisors of the State
be, and they hereby are, required to pub
lish in some newspaper published in
their respective counties, at least in one
issue thereof, and within fifteen days
after each meeting of the County Board
of Commissioners at which claims are
audited, full statement of the claims
audited by said Board at its meeting i'm
mediately preceding said publication,