The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-08-21
TO PUT STATE ON CASH BASIS.
Special Legislative Committee Meets in
Columbia-Hon. Geo. S. Mower Chosen
Chairman.
News and Courier.

Columbia, August l8.-At the re-
cent session Of the General A ssem
ply, after killing ali pending legisla-
ton relative to taxation, concurrent
resolution was introduced and adopt
! ed looking to the appointment of a
35speoial commission to inquire into
the best plan of getting the State
snpon aeash basis and Of adjusting
the taken for the State. This COM
mission was duly appointed and
& seonsists of Senator'S Mower and
lShianning and Representative Moses,
Tat1rn aud Thomas.
,Sz Che commission was appointed af-
5ster38due consideration and the best
oseible selections were made. The
90 mmission held it's first meeting to-
night, but the individual members
haze devoted a great deal of time
amt attention to the entire tax prob
lon Sand will be in excellent shape to
asesomplish the very best results.
That the commission has a most
&imporlant and serious work is recog-
Sed8by everyone. The manifest ine-
equality of the assessment Of taxable
property has been time and again
emphasized and brought officially to
Ssthe attention of the General Assem-
3bly.
e That there is now plenty of law
on the statute books is admitted by
all, and members of the commission
are free to admit that if the existing
laws were executed there would be
no trouble, but that tax officers have
gotten into Il certain rule and unless
there la change in the law nothing
will be done, and it may be that the
commission may take this view of the
matter.
The tax question is by far the
most important that will come up at
the approaching session of the Cen
eral Assembly, but whether anything
will be really done it ia difficult to
foretell. The general practice has
been to kill everything on the sub
ject.
One great and crying evil of the
tax system, and which will hardly
come within the province of the COM
mission, is the utter incompetency
and political fear Of county auditors
and treasurers. A great mistake was
made when these Offices we're put in
the primary, and the pity is that
there seems to be no way to get them
out of the system. 1t is to be sup.
posed that the people of county
would select the most competent and
active men for county auditor and
county treasurer. Such is some.
times the case, but generally speak.
ing the primary system has not SO
resulted in most counties. Busi.
ness men will not in many cases con-
sent to go through campaign such
as is held in many counties, and the
result ls that some man utterly in
competent, with one arm or one leg,
and with large connections and good
political pulls, will get the Office
The result ia that the Office goes to
the bow vows and good results are
not obtained. Take this county, f. r
instance. Mr.. W. Hampton Gibbes
was recently appointed to the office
What did he do? In IL year's time
he has, by his activity and knowledge,
added million dollars to the tax
books. In Il few other counties good
auditors are elected as a result of
the primary, bnt if tho Offices were
filled with regard to competency and
not with regard to political pull and
the like, more property would got on
the tax books and better values
would be obtained. The law never
contemplated that these offices should
be in the primary, and they are now
and always have been appointive,
and it is merely custom that the
suggestions Of the primary are
equivalent to elections.
The present tax laws and any
other law that might be devised must