Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-10-02
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.

Il
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
The old battleship Texas. which
took a prominent part in the battle Of
Santiago bay, is to be permanently
stationed at the Charleston navy yard.
| Columbia special Of September %,
to Charlotte Observer: Internal Rev.
enue Commissioner ]. G. Capers, for
many years Republican referee for this
state, was here today and after a con-
ference announced that his party would
put up the following electoral ticket:
Electors Large, L. W. c.. Blalock,
Goldville; A. C. Kaufman, Charleston.
Electors: Isaac H. Norris, Yorkville;
George r. Mayfield, Greenville; Thom-
as F.. Brennan, Columbia; James Pow
ell, Aiken: L. w. Bolton, Columbia P.
L. Grantly. Charleston; ]. A. Baxter,
Georgetown.
- Edgefeld special of September
gust a public cotton weigher for this
county was elected on the assump
| ton that there was a law authorizing
the same. Recently it has come to light
| that the last legislature repealed the
law. Although the weigher has been
| here ready to perform the duties Of
the office, he has only weighed about
twenty-one bales, the buyers having
their own employees to do the work.
A meeting Of the farmers who sell
cotton here was held here to-day and
passed a resolution asking that buyers
agree to allow all cotton sold or stor-
| 4 Lo oior6 h,y Ioa ioo
er. This the buyers refused to do. A
public subscription was taken up with
which to employ buyer, the cotton
purchased to be weighed by the pub
lie weigher. The situation Is unfortu-
nate and has created considerable
| friction between sellers and buyers,
and is calculated to injure the busi-
ness Of the town.
Winnsboro News and Herald:
Judge Hydrick in his charge to the
grand jury made a most favorable
| impression upon this his first visit to
| Winnsboro in an official capacity. He
magniied the office Of grand juror,
seeking to impress upon the grand
jury the great responsibility that rests
upon them. Not only are they grand
| jurors during the session of the court
but at all times While no one could
be convicted or acquitted without
their decision, yet they are not all
power There is no absolute power
| in our form Of government. There
are checks and counterchecks. The
success of a law depends upon how 1t
is administered. The law Is just what
the people make it. And what they
make it is just what they want 1t to
be- Judge Hydrick deplored the per-
functory manner in which oaths are
so frequently administered and the
common custom of administering the
oath the grand jury, first to the foreman
and then requiring the others to take
the oath that he took. The secrecy Of
| the work Of the grand jury must be
preserved. All that is done in that
room must be as a whole. The talk
ing to jurors, petit or grand, must not
be permitted. The man who seeks
to defeat the end of justice in this
manner is an undesirable citizen. Such
an approach should be resented as
personal insult. There should be no
| favoritism on the part Of the jurors.
| Justice by favoritism is only one step
| from anarchy. The responsibility for
the administration Of justice is with
the jurors. All this talk about the
sharpness and shrewdness of lawyers
is nonsense. The failure to adminis-
lack of backbone on the part of the
jurors.
Columbia special of September 25,
| to Charlotte Observer: Comparison
between the insurance carried on prop
erty in this state and the values fixed
for taxation throws an interesting side
| light on the low average value at which
property is assessed in this state.
or course, there is no way Of ar
irving at exact conclusions as to the
per cent Of market value property ap-
pearing on the tax hooks over the state
generally, but the insurance figures
obtained from the comptroller generals
Office afford some entertaining compar-
isons on certain classes Of property. In
| 1906 buildings and merchandise were
| insured, according to reports made by
| the insurance companies, at total or
IS133O561S245, This was almost Who'll
| ly on city property, large per cent OF
| country buildings not being insured at
all and much Of the remainder carried
in mutual companies which make no
reports. This was also exclusive OF the
greater portion of factory property,
| which is insured in the mills mutuals.
| That year this property was assessed
at a total of $63,475.SS6, Of which s29,-
| l4O.153 was charged against personal
property supposed to include n1erchan-
disc in the country as well as In the
cities. The comptroller generals Of
| flee estimates that total Of S250,OOO,-
600 insurance was carried that year on
all classes of buildings and contents,
and the insurance is supposed to cover
onlv from two-thirds to three-fOurths
Of actual value. This $250,O00000 was
| more than the total tax values of all
kinds-lands, railroads, factories and all
classes Of personal property. In other
| words. according to these figures, prop
erty is assessed not at half its market
value. but at less than one-fourth its
value. In this connection 1t is said
that one Of the attempts that will be
| made in the new legislature to remedy
matters will be in the form Of bill
| seeking to extend the law OF MiSSis-
| sippi to this state, which is said to
provide that in case man insures MS
| property for more than he returns 1t
| for taxation he can be eStOpped from
| collecting the insurance in case OF fire.
REPRESENTATIVES of the cotton mill in
terests, which complain that this class
of property is unjustly taxed at 60 per
cent of market value, while other prop
| crtv, particularly land, is returned at
from 10 to 25 per cent of actual value,
are said to be quietly gathering evil
| dence in the form of affidavits which
| will create q sensation when they are
made public involving some prominent
| men and showing them up as tax dod-
i gers. Some Of these men, 1t is said,
have for years been members Of i'm
| portant assessing boards.