The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-09-09

boy. does not South Carolina boy
need or deserve more than s6.37 IL
his education. God las done his part
by the South Carolina boy and girl;
has the State done It's payt:'
A:cs* people Will admit that oni'
school fund is insufficient. How are
We to increase it? Several plans have
been offered. and several ways are
open. Some of them. however, do not
appea. 70 men of experience. Not
few people insist upon increasing the
school fund by private subscription.
This plan is inadequate and rather
vicious in it's effects. The public
schools are supported primarily for
the benefit Of the State. rather than
for the benefit OF the individual. If
the support of the schools is depend
ient upon voluntary subscription, the
less patriotic shirk their duty. and
the burden falls upon the willing few.
Besides, such support is irregular,
unstable, and uncertain.
Frequently it IS proposed by few
to increase the common school fund
by direct appropriation from the
state treasury Unless such ap-
preparation were made upon the
condition that each district 1eeeiv-
ing its part should frst make
a speciGc:local effort. the result would
be hurtful. as the districts would
soon come to look upon themselves
as benefc;aries Of the State, and
would cease to make any effort to
help themselves. Only a few years
ago one house OF the General Assemb-
Is passed bill tknowins that II
would fail to pass in the other house}
appropriating 100000 to the com
mon schools. How much relief would
such sum give to the schools? Il
would increase the fund only 63
cents per pupi! on last years enroll
nent,. or &S15.75 to a school Of 70
pupils. An appropriation Of s2oo.9oo
aisbursed in such way as to require
The districts to raise in the aggregate
something like 100000 in local tax
les, would be equitable and wise.
lam at once reminded that this plan
would not entirely relieve the strain
/ in a few of the poorer counties, ane
7 admit it. Our present plan of col
Electing and apportionins the consti'
tutioral s-miu school tax is not a de-
Inocratic one. That tag is collected
land appertioned by counties. Some
Sccunties with poor land. lack Of water
power for manufacturing, and Will
sno railroads to tax, are at decided
isadvantage. It would have been un
| just to have collected and apportion
led that 3-mill tax as a State tax, 0u
lit would have been just and demo
Icratic to have made two mills coun
sty tax. as at present, and have made
the other mill State tax. Then thu
Sstronger counties would have bee!
contributing a wei,-guar6ed tax TO
! the support of the weak counties.
So far. in this State atleast, lcca
taxation has proved to be the beS
iueans of increasing the school fund
TT is equitable, 1t is stable, and it i
Icertain until a majority Of the peopl
Ivote it OF. It conpels the unwillinI
( few to bear their proportionate par
lof a legitimate and necessary com
Immunity expense. The district which
S1evies local tax knows Just wher
}eyery dollar comes from, and jus
lwhere every dollar goes. Moreover
lit is usually not very difficult to lev.
la local school tax, if there is onl.
| some safe person to lead. for as rul
1.-THE wealthiest persons in the distric
! are the readiest to vote local schoo
Stax.
/ Personally I am confident that tn
Emost just, equitable, and REASONABLE
sway to increase our school fund is t
Iipaugurate sensible and honest sys
| tenn Of returning our property for tax
alton. When you compare the amour
sof school taS raised in South Carolin;
on each 500 OF taxable property
with that Of other States, the showin'
lis very good. But when you stop II
Iconsider that our property has beer
greturred at perhaps twenty-five pc
sent Of its--true value, the showing i
aot good. The habit of returning
spiece Of property at one-fourth It
lsrue value, then taxing it at { mills
Sinstead Of returning it at somethin:
like It's true value, the taxing it a
lone mill to raise the same amount O.
money, is not only childish business
ioractice. but 1t is training school il
| dishonesty. Men who offer to return
their property at something Ike it:
strue value are actually laushed-at fol
their avtlessness Civic honesty mus
/ decline under such vicious system.
/ We're the real and personal proper
ty 10 this State returned at something
like ninety per cent land Why should
lit not?) Of its true value, the 3-mil
| school tax alone would practically
double our entire school revenue. II
1907, the land outside the fncorporat'
ed towns in the prosperous, produe'
Eve, and wealthy county OF Ander'
son was returned for taxation at ar
averase Of s6.51 per acre. Marlboro
one OF the finest farming counties n
the whole South, returned her land
at an average of S5.2s an acre. Or
sangeouCg is justly proud Of her farm
Hand, but she returned hers at sS.54
an acre. Williamsburg has some
poor land. but she has some Of the
| finest fields OF. cotton and tobacco to
be found ii the State; on the tax