The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-04-17
LYING ON The south.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL.
REVENUE DENOUNCEs BOs.
Ton SLANDER.
Unnamed "Gcntleman" Informs PA
per That Southern People Evadc
Income Payments.

Washington, April 14.-Datiiel G.
Roper. commissioner Of internal rev.
enue, today nailed h vile siander
against South Carolina and the South
generally. A Boston paper in it's issue
of April Z carried the following story.
which Mr.. Roper said he wished to
make public rs 1t shows it's untruth-
fulness on it's face; f
1T is perfectly clear to many people
who have made investigation into the
question of the payment of income
taxes to the government that the law
is not enforced equally in the differ
ent sections of the country.
From all the information that can
be obtained, the Southern States in
this country are very lax-the tax
payers in making their returns and
the. government officers in making a
thorough canvass of the people who
should have made returns, or those
whose returns clearly indicate they
are not paying the taxes they should.
THE income tax collectors in the
North are, on the contrary. very eff
ficient and are doing their duty.
I'm 1916 the State of South Caro-
lima paid only $4,000 for individual
income tax.
In the same year the State Of
Ohio paid s2.4OO,OOO, the State of
New Jersey. $2.sOO,OO State of Mas
sachusetts s4,19S,OOO and the State of
Connecticut $2,132,O0O.
Now South Carolina is a rich
State; they have valuable farming
lands; they are large producers of
cotton upon which they make a very
substantial profit. and they have O.
great many textile mills all over the
state which have been doing an ex-
ceedingly profitable business.
I'm the seaport towns they do a
large export business in cotton and
the cotton factories must receive a
large income from this business.
I'm 1917, when the rate of taxa
tion was increased by national exact
ment, the State of South Carolina still
paid $4,000 for individual income
tax. against Ohio's $7.5O0.O00, New
Jerseys $5,420.O0O. Massachusetts,
s10.644,0OO. and Connecticuts S.
$4,000.
"A Northern gentleman, who has
been spending good part of the win
ter at Aiken. S. c., and recently re-
turned had quite a long congregation
with resident of Aiken regarding the
national income tax.
THE Southerner, said he, had an
income of $4,000 year and he did
not pay any income tax, and did not
propose to. that the North wanted the
war and they could pay for it. The
Northern man said he found the peo-
pie in the South very apathetic and
evincing no interest in connection
with the war.
They did seem to be pleased with
the soldiers camps because that
brought money into the Southern dis
tricts in which they were located.
THE only thing in which they
showed any interest was the price OF
cotton; that they were pleased to see
steadily advancing.
"A New York man was recently
talking with the treasurer of a large
corporation in South Carolina about
the income tax, and he said to the
Southern man that New York man
not only had to pay a tax to the
United States on his income, but also
had to make return to the State of
New York and pay tax on his in"
come.
'The Southern man told him they
had a State tax in South Carolina, bu,
nobody paid any attention. to it. He
went on to say that he lived in Oar
linSton county, the richest county in
South Carolina. and he would under
take to say there was not a single
man in that county. practicalls
speaking. who paid a State income
tax, that each man thought his neigh
1 bor would not make return so h
did not make return, and apparently
none of the state officials felt callcd
upon to see that returns were made
IF this attitude exists on the par,
| Of the State officials, it is quite nat
ural to conclude that the same feel
ing would exist on the part of thr
United States officials regarding In
come tax returns.
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