Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-02-05
WALHALLA, 8. O.:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY s, 1913.
PETITIONS GOING AROUND.


OF Walhalla during the past few days.
The first petition seen was one call
ing upon the members Of the House
and Senate from Oconee to have
passed an act Cor to arrange for vot-
ing upon constitutional amend
ment authorizing and empowering
the Mayor and Aldermen of the town
Of Walhalla to assess abutting prop
ertoy to the extent Of SO per cent Of
the cost Of permanent sidewalk i'm
provement and % per cent of the
cost Of permanent street work. But
few signatures were attached to the
petition, and later the part calling
for 25 per cent assessment on street
work was stricken from the petition,
and then quite few, we understand,
placed their signatures to the paper.
This action naturally met opposi-
tion, and a second petition was cir
culated, asking the members Of the
General Assembly not to act favora-
BILE to the request contained in the
original paper. When seen, this pa
per had number OF signatures,
mainly among the property owners
OF moderate or small means.
There are arguments on both sides
Of this question. In cities where the
individual holdings are small and
the cost Of permanent work there
fore falls comparatively lightly upon
each it unquestionably commends it.
self, but we doubt if it would work
other than as a hardship in 90 per
cent of the cases in Walhalla, and in
20 per cent, in the case of small
home-owners, men working for
wages, widows with small means at
their command, and numbers of
young men not thoroughly establish
ed, the proposition, If carried into ef-
feet, would amount to but little short
of confscation Of their property. Ow-
Ing to the wide-spreading territory
Of the town, lots as rule are, with
the single exception OF those on Main
street, and in many cases there also,
many of the owners could not raise
money to pay for permanent street
and sidewalk Improvements. To levy
such an assessment against the prop
erty would mean that the small
owner must sell his property to pay
the assessment, or mortgage it to
borrow the money, the ultimate re-
suit being that it would go, at a great
sacrifice to the owner. into the
hands Of others who command
money
AS matter Of fact, taxes are al
ready high enough-and too high
in Walhalla, though the revenue de-
rived therefrom is not large. The
thing to be considered. If we need
more money to carry on the local gov
ernment, as we view the situation is
to EQualiZe the Assessments made
against the property. If all prop
erty in the town were returned and
assessed for taxation on the basis of
that which bears the highest tax val
uatiOn now, the tax revenues would
be doublcd-and doubtless more than
doubled. In the matter Of equitable
tax returns, we believe, lies the true
source Of a solution to the vexed
problem Of revenue.
Certainly our Representatives will
do we'll to make haste slowly in this
N a or hot hoe l.,
them Why seek to force the solution
or the question Of permanent i'm
provements in such manner? The
moneyed men will not be hurt by pay
ing their proportion for improve
ments, and they will doubtless do so
without compulsion. Why legislate
that some poor people who cannot do
a thing must do it?
We favor public improvements and
believe in them to tho extreme limit
and he Is indeed shoddy citizen
who will not cooperate with the au-
thorities to the extent OF his ability
But we, along with not a few others,
protest against any measure that
would work a hardship upon the
small home owner; and that would,
as we view 1t, be the ultimate result
OF an arbitrary assessment against
property for permanent work, regard
less OF whether the property owner
could meet the assessment or not.
S.@-.==s.=..s=