The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-06-15
L. c. WANNAMAKER WILL
NOT BE IN THE RACE

Permit me, please, to announce
through your paper to the voters of
Chesterfield county that l will not be
a candidate for recollection to the
House of Representatives, nor will
be a candidate for the State Senate.
81 deeply appreciate the confidence
of the voters when two years ago they
gave me about four-fiftEs of the votes
cast in our county, eycn when there
were five candidates in the race. Con-
siderations Of duty to my private
business make rne, af ;er careful con-
sideration, decide to withdraw from
politics for the present.
"The past two years have been fl
nancially distressful to all of us, and
made the burden and responsibility
upon the Legislature doubly heavy.
Feeling it duty, have hereinbelow
set out some general lines of policy
which l think mean county progress.
81 consider the income tax and the
inheritance tax laws the most progress
sive steps taken by the State in re-
cent years. In theory these taxes are
so just and equitable as to be beyond
question the ideal sources of revenue.
Legislatures should address them
selves to making fair and even the
practical application of these laws.
From these sources wealth ought to
contribute more largely to the devel-
opment and maintenance of our school
system.
During the past two years the
State levy has been reduced from
fourteen to seven mills. As soon as
proper sources of state revenue are
tapped this seven mills ought to be
wiped out.
"In addition to supporting the in
come and inheritance taxes, 1 sup
ported the gasoline tax and the hydro
electric tax, while fought the luxury
tax. The gasoline tax was necessary
on account of our broken down tax
system, and is especially justified in
that half of the fund goes to the
roads direct in the counties, and the
other half goes to the State The lat
ter half help to reduce the mill levy,
and certainly the mill levies for road
far overbalance this amount that goes
to the State. The hydro-electric tax
is tax on what Providence gave to
all of the people, not to a class of
people, to wit: our splendid natural
resources. The luxury tax as a State
proposition would discriminate
against our merchants in favor of
mail order houses, and is cnly feas-
ible when it can be collected at it's
source or so fairly levied not to dis
criminate. It's cost for enforcement
would be terrific, and if not strictly
enforced the honest man would suffer
and the dishonest man would reap a
harvest. 1t would be, like our pres
ent system, thorn in the flesh of the
body polite of the state. 1t is a source
of revenue that the National Gov
ernment can better invade than the
State Government. Besides the above,
the bill presented at the last session
led me to believe that the small tax
payers burden would be made heayi-
er.
81 hope the next Legislature will
submit to the people the question of
amending the constitution so that diff
ferent levies can be made on various
classes of property. AS matters now
stand we are not getting any appreci-
able revenue from invisible property,
but with reasonable levy, / believe
that within a few years I'VE could have
$3OO,0O0,O0O.OO worth of such prop
erty on our tax books. People do not
return bonds, mortgages, stocks,
notes, moneys and other property of
this character. With reasonable levy
such property would get on the tax
books.
when we have succeeded in doing
away entirely with a state levy on
tangible property, and only the county
is interested in the valuation returns,
it will be advisable to have a survey
of our county made by competent, dis
interested parties so that all property
now escaping taxation can be put on
the books, and so that expert informa-
tinon can be put before the County
Board of Equalization in order that
the local tax burden can be fairly
distributed.
"In County matters have tried to
look to business qualifications in the
matter of recommendation for ap-
pointment to various offices. Our
County Commissioners ought to be
our best business men, and come from
different townships in the county. A
bill by me making it unlawful for
County Commissioners to deal with
the county for profit either directly or