The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, 1921-10-12
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER IL, 1921
THE NEXT CAMPAIGN.

THE NEXT CAMPAIGN.
Distressed and harrassed, first by
a calamitous decrease in the price of
their chief product and then by the
almost complete destruction of an
other crop by the boil weevil, the
people Of this state will be in a frame
Of mind next year which will make
glaring inequalities Of the tax system
and the unscientific method of secur-
ing the tax money make it easy to be-
lieve that there is great extEavagance
n our state government, that there
has been multiplication of state offices
without benefit to the people and to
the great confusion of the taxpayer.
Doubtless there is some extravaganza.
It is hard to run any kind Of business
without little extravagances creeping
in here and there. But if the taxpay-
ers will stop to inform themselves and
refuse to be carried away by emotion
they viii! find that in the main their
state government is pretty we'll ana
pretty economically administered. It
is, all too true that state taxes have
increased tremendously in the past
few years, but it must be borne in
lisind that most Of the increases that
really amount to something have been
Sneurred for the education Of the
masses. Some of this, like for ex-
ample, the. expenditure Of vast sums
for the building of the greater Cita-
del, were in our humble judgment,
unjustified and unwarranted under
the circumstances, but, in the main
the educational program of the state
has so expanded and the vision of the
taxpayers themselves has SO widened
that very little complaint is registered
against money spent for this purpose.
Proof Of this statement is to be found
in the willingness with which the
people all over the state have voted
upon themselves taxes for school pur-
poses.
AS a matter of fact, the taxes which
are paid to the state government are
by no means the greater part Of what
we pay. Lexington county last year
paid II mills to the state government,
amounting in money to $91,256.99.
She received from the state in aid of
her schools, s:46,367.S5, leaving her
net contribution to the operation of
the state government, s44,SS9.12, as
against 1922, 2,041.90 paid for the pure
~ local purposes Of county activities
and the common school education Of
her children In other words our
state taxes were little more than one
eighth of the whole.
And results are beginning to show
for the money expended. Gradually
we are getting away from the foot of
the column in illiteracy, the last CEN
sus showing that we have made
marked progress in this respect in
the past decade. We are still far
from being a universally educated
people but it will not be many more
years before every person who at
tains the age of maturity will start in
life with at least a rudimentary edu-
cation. And there are many boys and
girls in college today-the sons and
daughters Of comparatively poor men
who under conditions prevailing 20
or rs years ago would never have
had an opportunity to adequately pre-
pare themselves for college, much
less round out their education in an
institution of higher learning. Some
10 or 20 or % years more and those
who are fortunate enough to be
spared that long will find that divi-
dends will be cashed on the invest
ment which we are now making in
education.
8 The problem of taxation is a both
ersome one-bothersome because no
system has ever yet been invented
which was absolutly equal and just.
Certainly there are grave abuses in
our present system. glaring inequali-
ties which ought to be remedied. A
way must be found to shift some Of
the burden from the shoulders of
those who own the land and houses
and tools and implements Of produc-
ton and place it upon the shoulders
Of those who take their toll of pro-
duction without contributing little to