The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-08-26
EQUAL TAX PROBLEM.
Features of the Problem Before
the Commission.

Features of the Problem Before
the Commission.
Columbia, Aug. 19.-At the recent
/ session of the General Assembly, after
killing all pending legislation rela-
tive to taxation, concurrent resolu-
tion was introduced and adopted look
| ing to the appointment of special
commission to inquire into the best
plan of getting the State upon cash
| basis and Of adjusting the taxes for
| the State. This commission was duly
appointed and consists Of Senators
Mower and Manning and Representa-
Ives Moses, Tatum and Thomas.
The commission was appointed after
due consideration and the best pos
sible selections were made. The COM
mission held its first meeting tonight,
but the individual members have de-
voted great deal Of time and atten-
ton to the entire tax problem and will
be in excellent shape to accomplish
the very best results.
That the commission has most I'M
portant and serious work is recognized
by everyone. The manifest inequality
Of the assessment of taxable property
has been time and again emphasized
and brought officially to the atten-
tion of the General Assembly.
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 execruted there would be no tron-
BILE, but that tax officers have gotten
into certain rut and unless there IS
change in the Law nothing will be
done, and it may be that the commits
sion 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 General
Assembly, but whether anything will
be really done it is difficult to fore
tell. The general practice has been to
kill everything on the subject.
One great and crying evil Of the tax
system, and which will hardly come
within the province of the commits
sion, is the utter incompetency and
political fear of county auditors and
treasurers. A great mistake was made
when these Offices were put in the pri-
mary, and the pity is that there seems
to be no way to get them out of the
system. It is to be supposed that the
people of county would select the most
competent and active men for county
auditor and county treasurer. Such is
sometimes the case, but generally
speaking the primary system has not
so resulted in most counties. Business
men will not in many cases consent to
go through campaign such as is held
in many counties, and the result is
that some man utterly incompetent,
with one arm or one leg, and with
large connections and political pulls,
will get the Office. The result is that
the Office goes to the bow-wows and
good results are not obtained. Take
this county, for instance. Mr. W..
Hampton Gibbes was recently ap-
pointed to the Office. What did he do?
In years time be has, by his activity
and knowledge, added million dol
lars to the tax books. In Aiken and a
few other counties good auditors are
elected as a result of the primay, but
if the Offices were filed with regard
to competency and not with regard to
political pull and the like, more prop
erty would get 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 have always been ap-
pointive, and it is merely a custom
that the suggestions of the primary
are equivalent to elections.
The present tax laws and any other
law that might be devised must de-
pend very lagely upon the county
auditor.
It will be one Of the most difficult
tasks that the commission will have to
suggest some practical way to pre-
vent one farmer being allowed to re-
turn his farm lands at 81. so an acre,
and his neighbor being made to pay
taxes on practically the same class of
lands at $40 per acre.
It will be most fortunate if the COM
mission can get access to the records
that were fled with this State board
of equalization at it's meeting in 1902,
showing the result of the careful in
quiry made as to the valuation of farm
lands as related to the assessed valua-
tions. The facts were from the re-
cords.
Very many and very varied have
been the plans that have been suggest
ed by which the State can get addi-
tional taxes. Some suggest State
license system, with a franchise tax
others say that if all classes of property
were put on the books at 100 cents on
the dollar the State would be able tc
remain on cash basis.
The members of the commission
have been studying the tax laws OF
many other of the States, and hope to
get up some plan that will prove sat
isfactory to all interests. and
| r0rrsor