The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-06-02

three times as much invested in au-
tomobiles as we have in schools. Dur
! ing the year 1920 Dillon county cit
liens purchased 353 new cars. Using
the same valuation Of $11OO per au-
tomobile this was an expenditure Of
S3SS,5O0. During the same Year the
county spent only $132,5S3 for school
purposes.
Figures secured from the State
Department of Agriculture and bas-
ed on the eighth of a cent a gallon
tax on gasoline gives 737,O81 gallons
as the amount used in Dillon county
in 1920. Using 32 cents a gallon as
an average price this gives $685.
S66 as the value of gasoli~~ consum-
ed during the year.
The average number of miles Der
gallon is 13. This gives a total of
l9.5S2.053 miles, 1t would be conser-
vative to estimate the operating ex-
penses OF a car at ten cents a mile.
This would include gasoline cost.
tires, repair and depreciation. Such
an estimate indicates an approximate
cost OF operating of s95S,2O5 COM
bining the cost of new cars pur-
chased di,ring 1920 with the total
cost of operating during the same
Year We get approximately $1,346,-
7O5.
These figures lead to some start
ling conclusions. They show that in
the year 1920 we spent ten times
as much on automobiles and trucks
as We did on education. Also they
show that 58 per cent of>the money
from our 1920 cotton crop was in
vested in automobiles and in keep
ing them up And the amount we
have invested IN automobiles is al
most seven times the capital stock
of all our banks.
). Roads and Railways.
Dillon county is well served with
railways. The Atlantic Coast Line.
through from New York to Jackson
vile and the Seaboard Air Line from
Hamlet to Savannah. completely ira
verse the county. The Raleigh ant-
Charleston. in the eastern part of
the county, the Bennettsville and
Cheraw in the south west portion.
Gnd the so-called Latta Branch con-
Meeting Latta and Clio. are all
branches of these two nam lines.
is 1910 miles and they own property
III the county assessed to the amount
of s757,22S.
There are approximately 500 miles
of roads in Dillon county at the pres
ent time, only Al miles of which be-
longs to the state highway system
Roads branch out from Dillon to
Mullins. Latta, Pages Mill. Nichols,
Dunbar and Hamer. A county road
connects Latta and Dunbar and an
other connects Latta and Brownsville
We are well supplied with roads but
the county has been very lax in keep
ing them up Plans have been made
for the future, however, which i'll
carried to completion will put our
roads in very good condition. A con-
tract has already been let for the
construction of 1877 miles of i'm
proved roadway for which govern
ment aid to the amount of $40,O0Ol
will be obtained. This road is part
OF the county seat to county seat sys-
TEN passing through Marion, Latta,
Little Rock and Bennettsville and
will cost approximately $50. 900. An
other project being considered is al
seven mile road from the town of
Dillon to Rowland, n. c. This is a !
part of the South Atlantic Coastal
Highway and involves the construc-
ticn of modern bridge over Little
Pee Dee River.
q. Taxation.
In 1920 the total taxable wealth of
Dillon county was $14, 4,17S,126 Inl
1917 the figures were S9,527.135.
Our increase in taxable property from
1910 to 1920 was 1865 per cent
Only seven counties outranked us in
the increase.
Dillon county in 1920 ranked
fourth among the counties of the
state III her general levy, state
county and school, with 35 IA mills
while the average for the state was
20 IA mills. The average levy for
the county, not including the prn-
.cipal town district, was 40 IA mills
In this respect Dillon county ranks
first among the counties of the State
being great deal ahead of the av-
erage for the state which was 81 3-5
mills. All of our school districts have
levied special taxes for schools.
Three counties have a higher tax
rate than Dillon county. Our rate
IL 1920. state and county, was 1858
per- hundred dollars. The county of
n NIL .