Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1907-02-06
TAXES MAY GO UP STILL HIGHER.
Mr.. WERNER WRITES OF WHAT IS sEING
DONE AT THE STATE CAPITAL.

Columbia, February 4.-On account of
the illness of my brother, John S. Yer
ner, i did not get to write you letter
last week. am glad to say to his friends
in Oconee county that, though the doc
tors thought he could not live, he has
passed the crisis of the disease and is re.
covering.
Since 1 wrote you the House by large
majorities has passed two very important
and far-reaching measures-one to repeal
the lien law and one to abolish the State
dispensary-though I doubt that either
of these bills will get through the Senate
this session, as that body seems about
evenly divided on both measures.
A resolution passed the House last
week to investigate and fluid who, if any,
of the members we're using free railroad
passes. 1t created quito stir, and while
some of the members then seemed to
think that an attorney for railroad or
newspaper man could accept a pass with
out violating the law, it now appears,
after looking up the law, that no men,
Der of the House or Senate, whether he
be attorney for railroad or newspaper
man, or in anyway connected with q
railroad, can accept pass without vio-
lating the law. This Of course will be q
two.sided question.
1t seems to me that this Legislature
has done less in the past four weeks
than any body that have ever attended ;
though personally have had more to do
than at any previous session. My work
has been mostly on committees while the
House was not in session, and in watch
ing legislation while the same was In
session, rather than in taking very ac-
| tive part on the floor of the House.
There are thirty standing committees
private rooms allotted to them-the
ways and means, the judiciary and the
committee on agriculture. / am chair
man of the last named committee as we'll
as member of committee on railroads
and ways and means. l suppose l do
very we'll with the committee on agri-
culture and railroads, but count myself
of very little worth to the people as a
member of the ways and means commit
tee, because they, or majority of them,
seem to think or believe in great deal
larger appropriations than do, and that
idea grows year by year. The commit
tee has already consented for an increase
over last years appropriation of nearly
$4,000 A few of us object, but what
can we dop A majority rules, that give
a favorable report and that generally
carries in the House. So as matter of
fact about half dozen men virtually have
control of the State taxes, though of
course tho House has final action upon it.
The House passed bill to reduce rail
road fare to p cents per mile. The Sem
ate is yet to act upon it.
There was a bill before the committee
on agriculture last week of considerable
| interest and that developed very nice
question Of law. 1t was TO require keep
ers of game preserves in this State to pay
a license fee. A hearing before the COM
mittee brought out the fact that there
are more than 100000 acres of land in
this State owned by rich Northerners
| wired in and kept as game preserves.
In one county (Beaufort) one-fourth of
the entire county Is owned by foreigners
and fenced and kept with guards and
furnished with club houses, &c. AL
though the Senate committee had given
the bill a favorable report, the House
committee decided against it on the
ground that man had the right to do as
he pleased with his own land, and
thought that the assessors had sufficient
power to regulate the matter of taxes.
The point of law is whether they have
this power or not. If it is shown that
the assessors do not have this power,
then there will doubtless in the future
be law passed oomlcliilg these clubs
to pay license fee.
Our County and State taxes were IL
mills this year. Our county asks for
about 10i mills. This with 8 mills for
schools and 43 mills for State would give
us about 18 mills. That is an increase
of Z mills In our county, though we have