The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-08-18
Establishment Of a Home for Incur
ables is Urged.
Adequate Provision Should be Made.
en- of it Necessitates a Bond Is
lum-The Englisl,man and Hamlin.
The Body of john Paul Jones'.
For The Messenger.

and Charlotte Observer and
Evening Chronicle, Raleigh Post and
Evening Times, can see their way III
advance of the meeting of b next
legislature, + a timely and vigorous
advocacy of the establishment Of a
home for insane incurables-the class
of un%fortunates, who, under the recent
law defining lunacy, are being sent
back from the asylums to their respec- |
tive counties.
Under the operation and enforce
ment of this law the establishment OF
such an institution has become a press
ing necessity which can no longer be
ignored, and in meeting this urgent
need there should be as little delay as
possible; there has been too much of
that already. If the only feasible way
Of erecting and maintaining such a
home is by the issue of bonds, then the
bonds should be issued. Debt is a bad
bad thing-bad for individuals, bad
for d state; but there are worse things
for a state than debt, and one Of these
worse things is the neglect or insult
fcient care of it's physically and men
tally wretched and helpless.
Even i'll Il pecuniary point of view
there is nothing to be gained by fall
ure to make adequate state provision
for this charity; for it is probable that
there is not q county from the Blue
Ridge to the seashore which will not
be forced in the future to provide for
its home insane of this class, and the
separate county expenditures Will
amount in the aggregate to Il far great
eF sum than would be required to es-
blish and support such a home as is
~ested above.
Cardinals financial system is
NJ Of a nature to utilize in the high
90 degree it's wealth and
The assessment and valuation Of prop
erty are far too low. Here follows a
striking instance of it. In the Char
lotte Observer of Saturday, July 18TH,
was a local article summarizing part
of the contents of a booklet setting
forth the III of CASTOR county,
and in that article this paragraph oc-
ours:
Some interesting data concerning
CASTOR are to be found in this booklet.
Th area of the county is given at $40
miles; it's population is estl-
ated to be $4,000. The assessed val
uation of property is placed at $685.
BOB. while the actual value is eStlmat-
ed to be S16,0OO,OUO. In the numDer
and size of her cotton mills CASTOR
county claims to Surpass any Other
county in the South. Within its Dor
ders on July LIST, 1904, were 36 mills,
operating 226,117 spindles and 4,223
looms. During the past year this num-
Der has been very largely increased.
Here the acknowledgment is frankly
made that the taxpayers OF CASTOR
county are paying on property assess
ed at les sthan SS,OOO,OOO, which is
worth more than double that sum-; n
other words, they are paying taxes to
the state on less han 80 per cent. OF
their real wealth. Surprising that Gas
ton county is paying % cents ON every
500 to the state, it is a contributor TO
the treasury to the amount OF SlS,292,
where upon a full valuation of its prop
erty, it would contribute $36,SOO. 1t
will be readily seen that if a like low
valuation prevails in all the 81 coun-
ties OF the state the public revenue
falls short of what it might be by an
amount which would put all three OF
the insane asylums in North Carolina
on a much more satisfactory footing.
In Cumberland county the assess
ment of property is nearer fair TO the
state and county as well as to the tax
kayer than it was some years ago, out
those who from long experience are
yersed in such matters inform me tnat
It could still be raised without 1nJus-
tice to the prOperty-owner III all OF tue
u townships Of the county, except one,
In Cross Creek township, which is
taken up by the city of Fayettevllie
and its suburbs, the assessment OF
realty in many cases is out OF proper
ton to its sale and rent value, ana tnlS
disprOpOrtiOn increases as the property
is more costly. While small tenements
are assessed in proximity to their
value, the owners of fine dwellings and
expensive stores would not listen to a
proposition for purchase, based on the
tax lists. A piece of property changed
hands the other day for $500, which
is down on the tax books at less thai
50 per cent. of that amount. l have in
my mind two dwellings or different
streets in this city, one of which is as
sessed at only $3.50 more than the
other, but if they were offered for sale
the one would bring at least s2,OVo
more than the other.
a SIdlc COultIlllS duOuI oO,OON
square miles, or SO, 900 acres
clothed with forests of the most val
liable and varied woods, veined and
scanned with mines of the most valua
BILE metals and other minerals, surfac'
ed with strata of the most fertile and
teeming soil, irrigated by generous
navigable and water power streams
with vast extent of coast line, indent
al NTH HAYS and sounds. rich in fish
cries: this splendid domain dotted witt
opulent cities, prosperous towns, thriv
irg villages, and busy mill centres
1nreIy need not be afraid of facing tn
~sponsibility of performing a solemn
49,, even if the assumption OF d smal
increase of it's debt N with tina
responsibility.
The incident, related in the Fayette
Vile news letter to the Wllmlngtol
Messenger of the 18th OF July, of tn
return tn Cumberland county OF tn