The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1915-03-05
ITINERANT PEDDLERS
MUST PAY A LICENSE

that he is not allowed, and not pay
a cent to the county, state or town
to help run schools, or anything else.
This is the condition that the mer-
chants of Union and Union county
have faced for the last several wears,
men living outside the State of South
Carolina, bearing none of the expen-
ses that the home merchants bear,
are allowed to go from house to
house all over the county, and because
| they do not have to bear a cent of
the expense that must be borne, and
| that the home merchant and farmer
has to bear, offers his stuff cheaper
and creates the impression that he
can sell cheaper than the home mer-
chant and farmer can and would over
charge his own home people for his
goods. Every body knows when he
stops to think that hotel can take
boarders cheaper if it does not pay
for the supplies it buys and uses on
it's table than one who buys and pays
for what it serves on it's table. Not
mill in Union county but that can
make and sell cloth cheaper than any
other mill, if that mill gets all it's
labor free and all the others have to
Poy Aoi iaboI lihC IISy UO HOW. NO
farmer in Union county but can
make money and sell his stuff cheap
er than his neighbor too, if you take
all fertilizer taxes, all County, State.
Road and School taxes off of him
and let all his neighbors continue to
pay. Not a merchant in Union county
but what can undersell his competi-
tors, if you take all County and Town
taxes off of him, while his fellow mer-
chants have to pay these. If you
will take all the cost of fire protec-
tion, police protection, State and Fed
eral licenses off him, let him stop
contributing to every church and
good cause in the county and require
all his fellow merchants to pay right
on to all these things.
These are the conditions that have
existed in Union county for Ions
time as compared with the home mer-
chant and others who live outside
the state and come in here from time
to time, and for this reason and this
reason only, that the stranger and
alien, who lives beyond the borders
of this state and county, who comes
and wakes f&t at the expense OF our
people and of the home merchant,
and the home producer, getting free
of cost to him what the home people
pay for, I have this reason and this
reason only, had passed a County
License Law, not to stop any man
from selling, not to raise the price
of any article of food or anything
else to any man in this county or
anywhere else, but to see that some
do not enjoy for nothing what every
producer and merchant of this counu,
has to pay for, to see that the stran-
ger and citizen of another state and
county, who comes here to do bust
ness pays a small share of the cost
of roads, schools and county, state
and town government that everv
home merchant and producer has to
pay.
am willing and glad for the peo-
pie of this county to get every art,-
Gle they consume at the lowest pos
sible cost, and the fact that l have
distributed practically million dol
lars worth of food stnffs in this
county in the past ten years, is proof
positive (that in spite of unfair COM
petition like that referred to in this
article), that we are not only willing
but that we do contribute to the eff
forts of the people to get the most
value for their money, and if there
is a farmer or producer in Union
county, or merchant in Union coun.
ty who does not endorse and approve
in full the county license law pro-
duced below in full, or who does noS
agree with me that we want every
article that the people of this county
consume at the lowest possible price
but not at the expense of allowing
one man or set of men to do without
cost and without taxes, what all the
rest of us pay and are taxed for, I
would like for him to tell me so in
person or by letter and whv.
Very truly, L. l.. Wagnon.
Author County License Rill.
The following is the bill referred
to by Mr.. Wagnon in the above ar
ticle:
A BILL
To require a License Fee from Itin-