The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-11-02

TEN in this state is all wrong and
that there is now a chance Of hav-
ing it so amended as to at least mod
ernize the system or make it commen-
surate with the times in which We
live, we are reproducing it in the
hope that it may be of benefit to our
legislators when they face the tax
problem in the General Assembly ear
ly next year. The article follows:
No tax system is perfect and no
doubt the coming General Assembly
will find some places where our sys-
tenn can be- improved. There was
much discussion and debate which
preceded the change in Governor
Bickett's administration whereby the
state levies no tax on property and
the counties levy no tax on incomes
and other sources which are set aside
exclusively for state needs.
Compared to the tax system OF
other states, that of North Carolina
is shown to be better than the oper-
alton of the system in vogue in South
Carolina. In a recent speech in Lii
lington Governor Morrison pointed
out the difference, and to make his
Illustration concrete presented two
tax receipts on land owned by Rep
resentative w. N. Everett, of Rich
mond county, some Of the tract be-
ing in North Carolina and some in
South Carolina. The statement and
comment by the governor made a
marked impression upon his hearers,
and, in order that our readers might
get the full facts with relation to
their difference, The News and OBJ
server addressed a letter to Mr..
Everett at Rockingham asking for all
the facts, and he writes as follows:
Dear Mr.. Daniels:
! have your letter of October the
7th asking for information about the
taxes we are paying in North Caro-
lima and South Carolina. The farms
which the governor uses as an illus
tration do not belong to me individ-
ually, but are owned in common by
my brothers and sisters and myself.
In making calculation for division
where we were unusually careful to
put a correct appraisal on the prop
erty in North Carolina and South
Carolina, the total showed approx
r1ately the same values lying in each
ate.
Under the revaluation law, the
property, real and pers onal in North
carolina, was fixed at s61 ,040 and the
tax thereon for 1921 s392.s0. The
values fixed by the South Carolina
authorities, both real and personal,
was $34 1886 and the tax thereon was
S1,014.57.
1t is not necessary for me to go
into an analysis of what We get for
this tax money in North Carolina
and in South Carolina, further than
to say that in North Carolina the
value of the roads to our operations
is worth more than the tax we pay.
This leaves. out of consideration all
other objects to which raised by tax
alton is applied. In South Carolina,
or at least in that part of South Caro-
lima where our farms are located, we
have no roads and get very little bene-
fit, either directly or indirectly, from
either the state or county govern
ment.
May say in passing that although
we are now in the midst of the raw
ages of the boil weevil, our lands in
North Carolina will sell for at least
as much as they were valued at un-
der the re-valuation machinery.
The governor has the tax receipts
for 1921 covering the above amounts.
Governor Morrison used these figures
in a speech he made at Ellerbe in
July. 1 have gotten a good many
letters from people in South Caro-
lima, asking for additional informa-
ton. The letter from John w. Le-
Grand, of Bennettsville, is typical.
l understand that Mr.. Freeman has
either been in correspondence with
Maxwell or has been to see him.
With assurances of very best wish
es, / am
Very sincerely yours,
w. N. EVERETT.
Hon. Josephus Daniels,
Raleigh, N. c.
Mr.. Everett encloses letter from