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


of the County schools, at which reso-
lutions were adopted and committee
appointed to memOrialize the Legisla-
tuIe and ask for the enactment of a
law which will give to the public
schools Throughout the State the fer
ti!:zcr tax now used in support Of
Clemson College, and to apply 20 he
public schools in each County in the
State tho profits arising from the
County dispensnries, 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 be no question as to the
necessity. and the positive duty of the
Legislature to do much more than has
been done for the educational advan-
tages OF the children Of the State. In
Anderson County, for example, there
are Il, 00chilldrcn enrolled in the public
schools, and only S:'j,O00 per year pro-
vided for their cducat0n-$2 80 Der
pupil. The schools cannot be kent
open with SO small al amount longer
Ihuii iiN - IuOitIlo vi luC year, ana Inc
results obtained in advancing the pu-
pills are not and cannot he 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 a mca sure,
at least, the action Of our County
Trustees i'll 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 til" establishing of Clemson
College the inspection and annlyzing
III fertilizers was performed by the old
S'"tc Board OF Agriculture, together
"''n other duties, and it took the
".,o.e OF the tax OH fertilizers to pny
the salaries of the Board. In 1880
Clemson College offered to assume the
duties of this Board if the fertilizer
tax should begiven to the Co llege, and
that they would undertake to save
enough surplus from this fund to si,p-
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 cf 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; i'll
spectlng fruit trees shipped into the
State and visiting diseased orchards,
exterminating the insects which pro-
duce the disease; analyzing ores, min
erals, water and soils; holding insti-
tutes all over the State for the benefit
OF the farmers, and many other duties
which have been imposed upon them
by Legislation from time to time up to
the present. No additional sum has
ever been appropriated for this or any
other work of the College. The fer
tilizer tax fund is all the support Clem-
son College gets from the State, in
consideration Of which the College
performs the work rs 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 echools
could not perform it at ALL
1t may be thought good idea, in
order to meet the conditions which so
far have defeated direct appropriations
to the public schools. to apply the fer.
t,lizer tax to the public schools, and
make direct appropriation to Clemson;
but there appears to be very consid-
cradle barrier in the way of this plan AZ
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, Dasing their
action on provisions of the Interstate
Commerce laws. Tho Supreme Court
of the United States, to which the case
went finally, decided that such tax
Tor the purpose of raising revenue only
could not be levied, but that the Stat.
could levy this taz 70 meet the expense
OF protecting the farmer from fraud in
the purchase of fertilizers; that a def
mite amount for such an expense need
not be stated, and that any surplus re-
naming could be expended by the
State; but that no part of this tax
nnnlI on inf ~