The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-06-06
Tuesday, June I, 1910.
THE TAG TAX REVENUE.

lizer tag tax will amount to S250,OCO
for the current year is a bit of infor-
nation which should be of interest
generally, but of particular interest
to the farming classes. This is a tax
collected from the sales OF CONNER
cial fertilizers, Is cents on each ton
used in the State. It is turned into
the treasury by the fertilizer manu-
facturers, but the tax is of course ad-
ded to the selling price of the fert1-
lizers and is paid by the farmers.
It is suggested that the tax is too
high and should be reduced, which
probably is true. But the thought on
which we would focus attention is the
use to which the tax is put and to
point out how it could be more aG-
vantageousIy used. Every dollar OF
the tax goes to the support OF Glenn
son college. Clemson college is a
great institution and is doing a
worthy work in advancing the agri-
cultural interests Of the State, but
Clemson colleges does not need $780,
900 a year-at least, the college Goes
not need so much revenue from the
tag tax. One hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars a year for Clemson col
lege would seem a liberal a%ppropria-
ton, with supplementary revenues
from the students. The remaining
hundred thousand dollars should 60
to the public schools. There it would
be Of greater benefit to the people.
Clemson is not, however, the only
state-aided college which is receiv-
ing too much money at the expense
of the common schools. The Uni
versity of South Carolina is, consid-
ering the number of students enroll
ed and the work of the Institution,
quite as extravagantly p DIVIDED Jor
nv the legislature; likewise possibly,
Winthrop college. The legislatures
: Of the last few years seem to have
lost their equilibrium over the sub
iect of higher education. They have
too greatly disregarded the crying
need of the youth of the State for
better preparatory schools, unmlnd-
full of the fundamental truth that
structures are reared from the
ground upward and not from the K
downward.
There is work for the next legisla-
ture in providing a more equitable
and beneficial distribution of the
revenues collected for educational
purposes, and the people should give
the matter thought in selecting the
members of the legislature this
summer.-Fort Mill Times.
We think the Times is correct IN
the above article. We do not be-
lieve that the management would
claim that it needed as much as $780,
900 in addition to it's other income.
W. recall the time when Clemson got
along very we'll with less than $780,
600. Of course the institution has
grown since then, but the income
from this source has grown much
more rapidly than the college. No
body in SouR Carolina desires to do
an Injustice to Clemson college, but
as Senator Tillnlan said on an &C.
casion when the college was a matter
of discussion, "They are ~extravagant
in the management" and necessar-
ily SO because of the large income.
W. do not agree with the Times
in it's statement that "the fundamen-
tai truth that structures are reared
from the ground upward and not
from the sky downward" is a funda-
mental truth as applied to education.
In the matter of education the his
tory of the question shows that b
fundamental principle is reversed.
AS a matter of fact only in those
countries where a thorough system OF
higher education was maintained and
fostered have the common schools
1ourished. In the matter of educa-
ton it comes from the top down
ward rather than from the bottom
upward.
At the same time it is a fact in
South Carolina that the proportion
which the States gives to higher edu-
cation is larger than it ought to be
- ,s1yo ronrn Tonn0T and