The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-02-21
WHAT BUTTERFLY"
LEGISLATURE DID

ties now without representation VOL
! r vas the same in the game warden
situation; the only bill that had a
| ghost Of a show and which passed
the Senate, provided for the general
assembly electing that officer, ano
naming the county game Wardens.
In the proposition of electlng a
hoard of control for the department
~ = agriculture, the suggestion as to
tho nersonnel of this board was TO
come from the general assembly, and
nnder the bill which indirectly aool-
;shed the tax commission and sought
to nroyide a general board of tax cs-
SCISSORS, the source of authority tor
annointments was also to come from
tho members of the general assembly,
and so the whole drift seemed 10 oe
to concentrate in the general assemo-
" the authorization of appointments
and this is one of the most signlhcant
features of legislation today.
Re the Tax Commission.
The tax commission survived, out
;+,e life has been very much impaired:
First by the refusal to give 1t tne
money that it wanted with which 10
do its work; and second, by the IRON
clad restrictions that the general as-
sembly would not tolerate a % per
cont valuation on property, but IN
sisted that it wanted something very
muhh more reasonable, and rather al
eoualization than raise OF values'
The difficulty about the sltuatlon'
frankly and candidly, is that THIS Is
the year for the assessment OF lanos'
and the general assembly is over
whelmingly in the control OF tne
farmers and others who own lanos
and who do not want any increases
IN assessments on lands that tney
and their friends own. The legisla-
ture was after the scalp OF "Oolph
1ones,' the man who has devoted a
lifetime to the tax problems; the man
who is larley responsible for the tax
commission. and the man, II le1t
alone. who would get the tax oooAs
to reflect real values. 49,.
The house never let up in its ngn'
an the tax commission. Every tlme
- had q chance it Overwhelmingly
voted to abolish the tax commission: =.
In the senate there was oeciueu
sentiment against this. tax commis-
sion and but for the conclllatory ln-
Auence of a man like Senator oher-
ard who poured oil on the trouoleo
waters, the situation might nave
heen serious; but from day to day
tho hill looking to the substitution ol
- new plan of tax assessing was de-
,aved and in the final hours wnen
on,v q senators voted, the tax COM
mission was left alone, largely oe-
cause no other method of handing
+bo situation could at the last mo-
ment be provided; and this situation
again emphasizes the seriousness o.
leaving so many important matters
- tho fading hours of the session.
Remains Problem.
Nothing, was done with reference
to the tax problem except to romp
On the tax commission and tell IL
lust as hard aslt could be told tha1
tho legislature did not want any in
creases in the basis of assessment.
In this connection it might be SAID
+bo+ Senator Sinkler won a decided
victory in having the income tax law
as applicable to State Incomes re-
healed The enmeshing net WORK OF
the federal income tax law is perhaps
responsible for the repeal of the state
income tax law, because up to this
wear every effort at repeal was un-
availing. /
Another significant bit of tax legls'
,ation was the adoption of the NC
Gown proposition of exemptlng les1tl'
mate building and loans from taxa
tion.
Some Results.
Suppose you drew line and on one
side placed what had been accom-:
| plished by the general assembly and
| on the other side what had not been
done. On the one side, under the
head of what had been done would
| be: CD the continuation of the era Of
good political feel; CD the adoption
of the Banks proposition of the State
undertaking to insure cotton in its
warehouses; 60 the adoption of anc
beginning of the Australian ballot
system; (4) provision for the council
Of defense, and the cooperation Of
the State in war activities;' 60 the