The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1915-03-02
CAN ANDERSON AFFORD GOOD RoADsl

The Intelligencef thinks that the people OF An
derson County should think OF the bond issue TO
good roads just farmer would think OF diggin,
a ditch on his farm. clearing field or making an,
| other Improvement on his farm. 1t will either pa!
10 dig the ditch clear the field or build the barn
II 1t will pay end he make the necessary Gnan
| cial arrangemenss then he should make the i'm
| provements. But he should consider well the cos
and the consequent income as result of the ex
penditure. hGrhe percentage OF cost should not b.
too great for the good to be derived and he shou!t
feel at least. tthat he IS going to do Bomethinj
which will increase the value. the. comfort and iii,
convenience of hts farm The same rule shoul,
apply to any other business and q good busnes.
man will figure out the cost and the desired IN
| crease in value OF his property
THIS Is exactly what the voters of Anderson
County should consider in this good roads bond IS
sue Will the building of $50 miles OF permanent
roads in Anderson County be worth while? VIII Il
pay the county To cxpend this amount OF money fol
this kind of Improvement? II so. how will II bene
III the voters OF the county? Wherein will the,
reap profit from the expenditure? Will the value!
of the land in the county be increased, and will II
make the home more desirable? VIII it improve
the schools and the churches. making 1t easier tt
reach them. and increase the interest and ut
tendance? VIII it enable the farmer living some
distance from the county seat or the market where
he sells his produce, TO reach the market quicker
and with heavier load and with less wear and
tear on his team and vehicles? II these questions
can be'apsWsred in the affirmative. will itpay then
to make the expenditure? What will 1t cost the
individual citizen to obtain these advantages?
thats sthseo opinion Is thai
1t Will pay to have these advantages and that II
would be good Investment, At least, we may saJ
that is the universal verdict and opinion whereveI
up16rn du hnyto lx,,;tk
value of Peal estate adjacent near to a system
OF good roads Is usually increased in value two
or three times the former value The convenience
Of the people. and the with which they can gel
about on this good road is hard to estimate in dol
lars and cents 1t has been said that It divides dis
tanr- making places at least half as far away
when the time to go Is considered. and the ease
with which the trip is made. All this being true
then 1t stands TO reason that 1t will pay to have
good roads. The only thing to be considered. then
is the means OF securing them. How shall coun-
ty 30 about getting good roads? Shall 1t be done
by direct taxation, by the work OF convicts. by a
bond issue. or yha, means? Again the universal
experience Of those counties which have built them
is TO the erect that the most feasible way is to Sc
cure bond issue. build the roads and let the pay
ments be made while enjoying the roads. This be-
Ing true then, we need to consider the matter tc
wqther or not we are able in Anderson County to
use this means of building system of good roads
without burdening ourselves with heavy obliga-
tion which will he hard To meet by the people. In
order to arrive at this conclusion we must inquire
into our finances and see what the resources of the
county Is, and how the burden OF the taxation nec-
ossary to pay the interest and create sinking fund
s to be borne. Let us see.
The total taxable value Of the county according
to the returns made In 1914 Is $13506,705 This is
divided into two kinds Of property. as foliowe:
Real estate. S5.73805G; persona property, $7,76S-
GLE. OF this personal property the cotton mills and
manufacturing plants, telephone and telegraph
companies, railroads. and street car systems. are
assessed At $4.6S5.850. The bonded Indebtedness
will cost 500 interest and the law provides fol-
sinking fund of $500. So there will be 5000
to raise each year to pay this amount. It will re-
quire little more than mills extra tax to do this
Owing to the provision in the hill for interest to be
paid on the amount deposited In the banks, O. mill
will be ample to meet the requirements as to this
The next matter OF interest will he as to who
shall pay this taxes. Let Us look into this bit
The corporations and railroads will pay on 1856,
$50 propAFtys Anderson. thetcounty seat; and ths
lergest ,ofty in the ap,hty %in pay on 264s s7t
property; the OTHER to@nsSin the county. .incor-
porated, will pay on. estimated valuation of al
least $2.0Ooo00. According TO the terms of the law
none of these contributors can iave ay roads buff
for them and 1t wilBmegn that the farmers and the
peope living and owning property In the rural dis
tricts will receive the entire benefit Of the bond is.
cue, ard will pay only 80 per cept OF 1t. In other
words the hgures above show that for every 80
cents the rural inhabitant puts into this bond is
sue ne will receive $1.00.
The Intalligencer has gone to the trouble tc
figure thiR ont little moro in detail and we find
taking several school districts in different parts OF
the county Into consideration that the burden
viii be very light. For instance:
Martin School District No. 49, has q total taxable
property value OF S249,o0e. There are 24s taxpay.
ers In this district. and of this number 4s pay
taxes on more than 81 900 worth of property. or or