The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1920-09-24
WARD WARNS UP
in SPEECH HERE,
Would Have Addressed The La
dies But They Were Not
Out to Hear Him

oA-N
District of North Carolina, and mud
singer extraordinary, delivered one of
his characteristic political speeches at
the courthouse here Monday at noon re-
cess Of Superior Court. Ward made
a special appeal to the women of the
city to be present in the published an
nouncements preceding his speech, and
his efforts were, rewarded by the pre-
sence of one lady, who left before the
verbal cataclysm came to a delayed end
In defense of the 1919 Tax Revaluation
Law, Ward reeled off column after col
umn of figures running into the millions
and billions, showing that the farmers
are not getting it in the neck under the
new system of taxation. He went on
to say that the constitutional school
term of North Carolina has been in
creased from four to six months, and
that the average salary of the teacher
has risen from $3.50 to $467 per year,
and wound up his remarks on education
with the statement that the man who
| wants to pay less for schools is good
Republican.
Still upon the subject of taxation,
Ward stated that the authorized 10 per
cent in the gross amount derived by
| taxation will be collected at less of
burden to the people than formerly for
the reason that much property, not
hitherto listed, has been placed upon
the taxbooks. He asserted that $124,-
400, ,33S in good notes and mortgages
has been uncovered by the Revaluation
| Act, and $20.93O,OOO in taxable incomes,
all of which was accomplished without
a single arrest, because the State has
adopted q policy of square dealing to-
] ward the citizenship, and is getting hon
est returns as a result. Ward declar-
| ed that the tax rate of Pasquotank coun-
| ty will be reduced this year from $1.75
| per 500 property valuation to between
| 6S and 4 cents per 800. He stated
that the solvent credits for Pasquo-
tank county alone, in notes. mortgages
and other negotiable papers, total S.
| 122 900.
Dives and Lazarus
In reference to some Of the surpris-
| ing discoveries made in the work of
listing property under the new taxation
measure, Ward announced that &c, ,334
acres of land have been taken off the
flA4UOOhS sOI COuuIy, White Oh
| the other hand, LA s643 acres have been
added upon the taxbooks of Hyde, which
had never before been listed for taxa
! ton. The total increase in the entire
State will amount in area to four ave-
rage-sized counties. said Ward, and $49,-
617 900 in merchandise has been added
fto the taxable wealth of North Caro-
line under Revaluation. He stated that
not a cent will be collected by the State
| upon incomes.
Everybody knew it was coming soon
er or later, so when Ward launched
| into the Biblical story of Lazarus and
Dives, nobody was surprised. 81 am
going to show you the difference be-
| tween a Republican and a Democrat
said Ward, as a prelude to the story.
He recounted the tale of Lazarus, i'll
and poverty stricken, lying before the
palace of the rich man, and getting what
nourishment he could from the crumbs
which fell from tie table of Dives, while
the dogs of the plutocrat licked his
sores. ''The Republican," asserted
Ward. will say, How kind it is of the
rich man to give Lazarus the crumbs
from his table, and permit his dogs. to
lick Lazarus sores, when he doesn't t
have to-, while the Democrat in indigna-
ton will cry out, How can a govern
ment exist which permits such shame
full condition to continue, and which
neglects to care for such men as Laz-
arus?
SIaps Billy MeAdoo
Wards parallels and bombast brought
no great response from his 800 Or more
hearers in the courthouse. One might
almost have thought he was addressing
a Republican crowd, the applause was
so weak and so seldom accorded him.
He next touched upon the number of
4 bank failures under Republican rule dur
ing the past so years, and stated that
Wall streets financial hold upon the
finances of the country had been broke
en- by the recently enacted Federal Re
serve Act, passed under a Democratic
+ administration. He stated that when
the Democrats took over the govern
ment in 1913, they began to tinker
with the tariff, with the result that the
banks in North Carolina became alarm
ed, and sent representatives to McAdoo
to seek loans from the National Treas
which confronted them. Mr.. McAdoo,
Ward declared, told the bankers that
their banks were individually too small
to receive loans from the government.
and upon his suggestion, they then and
there organized the State Bankers Cur
rency Association, which with the COM
bined resources of all the banks, and
with the power to acts one bank, ne
gotiated loan of sufficient Size to meet
the needs of all the banks concerned.
Ward credited McAdoo with then say
ing, "Come back, boys, when you need
more; there's plenty where that came
from" Which, declared Ward was a
genuine Democratic lie, because there
wasn't plenty more.
Still speaking along the subject of
banking, Ward asserted that, under Re
publican rule, the National banks of
the country were not permitted to lend
money on land, whereas, with suitable
Endorsement they could make loans on
dog or a hog, as personal property.