Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1921-01-27
AT tho 1919 session Of tho Gene,

the governor, the chairman of the
finance committee Of the senate and
the chairman OF the ways and means
committee of the house. The duty of
the budget commission is to prepare
estimates of the amounts it thinks
necessary to run the State govern
ment during the next succeeding
fiscal year and to submit these esti-
mates, along with its recommends
tions, to the General Assembly dur
ing the first week or ten days of the
legislative session. The law provides
that the representatives Of the Cen
eral Assembly on the commission
shall join the governor In his reports.
During the two years the commission
has been in existence neither the
nor the chairman of the ways and
means committee signed the report
of the commission. Neither was in
vited by the governor to do so. Both
committees were represented at the
1919 hearings of the commission, but
when the time came to submit the
report to the General Assembly, the
governor sent it in as his individual
report. The same thing happened
with respect to the commissions re-,
port for 1920, with this exception
neither committee chairman had any
part in preparing the. report. neither
having attended the. commission
hearings. and neither therefore join
ing the governor in my OF the rec
ommendations in the report. 1t
ought to be known throughout South
Carolina that Governor Cooper alone
is responsible for gtheS recent rec
concentrations OF the: budget COM
mission, be they good or bad. If
his recommendations are wise, he Is
entitled TO monopoly, of the credit
for shcni: ff-{heysSare "unwise. and
call for an expenditure of public
funds the. state .siss hot in position to
make. by. the same reasoning he is
the Only one WHO should be censured
for them. Meanwhile. however. 1t is
matter for wonder that the governor
should overlook the provisions of the
budget commission law requiring
that the reports of the commission
be the work of the three members
constituting the commission and not
those of himself alone.
II President elect Harding appoint
cd all the men who are recommend
cd for his cabinet 1t would take a
good sized hall to hold them. They
might have to hold meetings out of
doorss The old time politicians idea
was to use the cabinet appointments
to flatter the pride of States and
sections, and to take care of rivals
who might make trouble IL omitted.
But the country in, these times de-
mands that government be run more
like a business concern. Many pres
idents have been clever in naming
candidates that would please the poll
iticians. But frequently they lacked
business ability One of the biggest
problems Harding will have to meet
during his administration is UP right
now. 1t is to get as heads of the
departments men with enough prac-
teal insight and constructive genius
to solve the difficulties of this re-
construction period and give the
people relief from the troubles of
which they complain.
! There's many a slip 'twixt the cup
and the lip, and the North Carolina
newspapers which seem to think that
so million dollar bond issue for
good roads in that State Is certain
ty, judging. from the way they are
playing up the proposition. may wake
up soon to learn that they have
had the wrong connection. The new
governor. Morrison. is advocating a
system of hard-surface roads for the
State and proposes to build them
from the gigantic bond issue. Natu-
rally. some of the newspapers across
the line have fallen all over them
selves in their hurry to indorse the
governors proposition, as certain
South Carolina newspapers do when
|the governor of, this State launches a
plan to put more taxation upon the
People.' Good roads are about the
lost essential thing for any State
ext to good schools. but 1t is possi-
for State to have plans that are
ambitious or the time inoppor-
Do to push them through. and tits
bears to be the case with Morri-
Ne good roads program for North
oiina. Would 1t not be well for
North Carolina Legislature to
qhRa little deeper than the sur
G< this proposition before agree
eaddle such an enormous debt
<feir State? For instance. 1t