The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-08-03
Christensen Tells of Work
of Imported Auditors

twelve to five mills this year. The
reduction in expenditures over 1921
was to have been over a million dol
lars. The new revenue vas 10 come
from income, inheritance, gasoline,
corporation, luxury, and water pow
er taxes. We embodied these Latter
in seven bills; the reductions being
accomplished through .he appropr!a-
ton bill.
No such comprehensive program
of tax reform had ever been propos-
ed, nor had such tax reduction pro-
posal ever been agreed on by any leg
islative committee. Four OF the
sources of new revenue have in for
mer years been separately proposed,
but never have before assembled
these proposals, and developed them
into a we'll rounded and balanced
whole. This result was not handed
down by any superior intelligence
among either the committee, the spe-
cial staff, or the legislature. 1t de-
veloped from the efforts of each.
But in it's main features it was pre-
sented by the special committee.
which was assisted most efficiently at
every point by it's special staff, and 1T
may be fairly said they were indis-
pensable to the final results.
The presentation of the report to
the legislature aroused furious at
tack from certain departments and
institutions affected. We found our
government to be clean and honest to
a gratifying degree, but slack and in
efficient in important particulars.
These findings brought denunciation
on us for employing outsiders and
spending the necessary money. OF
course it was impossible to secure
trained and disinterested investiga-
tors in the state as it was for us per-
sonally to have made the inquiries.
The cost was the least we could ar
range for, and small compared with
the results obtained.
The house adopted the entire pro-
gram for new revenue. Under the
very able leadership of Mr.. Hughes
the seven revenue measures were
voted by large majorities with few
amendments. The house reduced
the appropriation bill approximately
three quarters of a million. Here the
recommendations Of the committee
were not followed in detail, but they
were of the greatest assistance, both
in influencing recommendations by
departments and institutions and in
interested legislators. The
net result was reduction that broke
all records and surprised trained OBJ
servers.
The senate revised the reductions
but did not materially increase them.
It also passed five Of the seven rev.
enue bills, all Of which were some
what altered and one completely re-
written.
The net result was a reduction in
the levy from twelve to seven mills.
No such result has ever been ap-
proximated in our state.
Many factors contributed to this
gratifying outcome. Economic con-
ditions had created a very strong
pressure. Educational influences set
up by the legislature and other agen-
cies, effectively presented by the
newspapers, had set the masses Of
the people to thinking along con-
structive lines. But it was the pro-
ince of our special committee to pre-
pare and press a new and definite
program. In this we were ably as
sisted by the firm you have since en-
ployed to perform a similar service
for the state Of Georgia.
It is said in Atlanta as well as here
that we might have secured the same
results for less money. That is an ca
sy thing to assert, but more difficult
to prove. During my eighteen years
in the South Carolina senate, and on
it's finance committee, I have seen
constant efforts to secure reductions
in appropriations and reforms in our
tax laws. I have taken part in some
of these efforts. Several years ago
we had an attempt to reduce the ap-
propiations by veto. At one session
thirty-one items approximating lit
tie over ninety thousand dollars was
vetoed, but only items aggregat1ng
forty-two hundred dollars, less than
five per cent, were sustained by the
legislators. On Is of these 28 votes
in the ihonSe not ten favored the We