Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-01-04
AFTER THE TAX-DODGERS.
Rake-Offs In Liquor business Not the
Only Mode OF Graft.


We often become awe-stricker
over corporation or foreign graft, but
have to be lambasted into paying any
attention to our big army Of home
made rs-~tax-dodgcrs our
own door.
If it is a tlagrant violation OF law
for the genial whiskey drummer and
dispensary men to fail to turn in just
revenue and profits to the State, is it
not also a crime of the same class
for our genial friends I'm other occu-
pations to fail to turn into the State
every dollar OF taxes they are due
the State according to law?
We farmers are prone to point to
corporations and the business world
as the great harbingers Of grafters,
but the plain truth Is that no man or
class of men can point the finger of
scorn at any other class and say
thief! CRATER
The farmer has the same kind OF
human nature in his makeup that
everybody else has. All the farmer
has TO do to rid himself Of this con-
ceit is TO take a peep at a few pages
OF his county auditors books and
blush with shame at the black sheep
there are within his own flock.
why, bless you, not long since 4
farmer was looking over his county
auditors hooks after another matter.
and uncovered the tax returns Of an
other farmer who is worth more than
one hundred thousand dollars, who
returned his property at less than
five thousand dollars.
This wcll-io-do farmer pays less
than one hundred dollars tax, Wnilc
another farmer near by. who does
not own onc-fourth as much proper
ty. pays two hundred and twenty
dollars tax. And worse still, this
well-to- do taX-dodging farmers son
is on the county board Of cqualiZa-
ton, while yet another son is the
n conspiracy to have one son holding
down the county board Of cqualiza-
tiOn and another holding down the
lid Of the books that contain records
of securities of his fathers, but at
the same time we are forced to say
that If this ugly state OF affairs is not
a conspiracy, that it is at least an
all-tircd convenient accident or coin
cident to protect taX-dodgcrs.
An IntoIcrabIc Outrage.
nf Of
some unfortunate who owns nothing
taxable save his head and heels (poll
and road has been chased for miles
over the country and finally run
down and in for from SIS to So
costs and the employer is compelled
to put up the cash for his unfOrtu-
nate laborcr or tenant or his man
goes to the chain gang, while ano-
Their wcll-tO-do taX-dOdgcr who is Just
rs lawfully due the state anywhere
from $50 to 500 is allowed to false
swear and go free. Another case is
the "hOmc-buildcr," Ghc slogan for
the safety Of the state and nation)
who pays onc-third on his purchase
for home and bOrr0ws the balance,
and after years Of toiling under the
burden of high interest, taxes and
family expenses is closed ont at last
TO satisfy the money lenders claim
which is lawful. but the holder of
these iron~clad securities had not
paid dollar taxes on these notes and
mortgages during the whole time this
"hOmc-buildcr" was struggling 10
Ask this money lender why he
does not pay the taxes on his sccuri-
ties and he will have the gall TO say
whole heap about doublc-taxing. to
compel the farmer to pay tax on bor-
rOWcd money and the money lender
pay tax too. while the law SAYS both
shall pay tax
\ King TaN-Dodgcr i'm IL High Place.
am informed by n reliable source
that we have in our State a CORPORA
ton that has put moro than one and
half million cash into its business,
mat is paying tax on only ninety-fvc
thousand, for the reason that one Of
the head officials Of this CORPORATION
is on the board Of assessors. and no
doubt the whole state has all siZcs
OF this kind of graft in all It's coun-
ties
Are tho tax laws OF The State made
for the plain, honest people to go by
and the unScrunDlouc cunnino 10