The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-08-12
For the reasons above stated, your
request is respectfully declined" "
Yours very truly,
Thos. H. Peoples,
Attorney General.
Fred. H. Dominick,
Assistant Attorney General.
Flood of Letters.

A deluge of correspondence, varying
in tone from the spicy to the warm,
nassed fror: t!,c ttcrney generals o.,
flee to that of the comptroller general.
Recently Comptroller General Jones
called the attention of the
legal department to matters
relating to the payment of an
annual license tax by cor
porations, and local affairs of Monck's
Corner and Kershaw county, and
three of the letters refer TO these af-
fairs.
The following reply is made to the
communication from the comptroller
general with regard to the failure of
certain corporations to make their
annual report:
August 8, 1913.
Hon. A. w. Jones, Comptroller Gen
eral, Columbia, S. c.
Dear Sir: l am in receipt of your
letter of July 25 in reply to mine of
July "a, in reference to corporations
which failed to pay annual license tax
or make report as required by the
laws Of this State.
If you will simply glance at the
statutes, much less read them, with
the knowledge that you have of the
law and is construction, you will see,
under section 81 Of the code, that
actions against these corporations
must be brought by the attorney gen.
eral upon the request Of the comp
troller general. You do not make this
request, but say that action be brought
eff after investigation you think such
action proper" You are the one to
make this investigation; you are the
one to make the request; the respon-
sibility for these suits rests and lies
with you and cannot be devolved upon
the attorney generals office, no mat
ter how much you may try to do so.
AS stated in former letter, upon
receipt of the proper information and
your request that suits be instituted
by this Office the matter will be han
died in such manner as the law di-
rects.
AS you should know, it is not the
duty of the attorney generals office
to make these Investigations, it is his
duty to institute the actions upon the
request of the comptarller general and
after he has proper facts in his pos
session.
You say in your letter that here
tofore the attorney general has taken
I'D these matters with the corpora
tions and that in number of cases
he has collected these taxes, or ar
ranged for their payment to the State
! u easurar. anG you $50 s4nd ta's
Office several letters which you have
written the corporations in which
you say that the matters are in the
hands of the attorney general
and that they will have to
be taken up with him. 1. do
not know by what authority these set
Elements have been made by the at
torney generals office heretofore. Sec
ton 81 of the code clearly shows
that neither the attorney general, nor
his office, has anything whatever TO
do with the settlement or compromise
Of such cases. Such matters are en-
tirely in the hands Of the State board
of assessors, as is hown by the last
paragraph of said section, to wit:
"The State board of assessors, upon
good cause shown, may in their dis
cretion remit the penalty, or any part
thereof, prescribed in this article"
Now, sir, if you desire these suits
brought, make your formal request
upon this office and give the required
information that is necessary for the
proper bringing of these suits, for un-
less this office is convinced from the
facts and evidence furnished by you
that there is probable chance for
the recovery of the penalty under the
statutes against the corporations
named in your letter Of the first OF
July, 1913, thi office will not put the
State of South Carolina to the expense
of having papers prepared and sheriHs
costs and fees incurred in bringing
suits in which the comptroller general
has failed to furnish evidence suttl-
cient to show reasonably that the
penalties may be recovered. Read the
statutes for yourself, perform your
own duties, as required by the stat
utes, and you may rest assured that
+bi. oHoo will nerfOrm its duty