Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-06-09
|. G. council SOUNDS
WARMING THAT I A X
BURDEN MUST LESSEN \
Declares Farmers Must Have Re-
Iief-1922 Taxes Yet
Unpaid
SAYS END USELESS JOBS
People Must Have Roads; Mala-
ria Must Go, But Time TO Call
a Halt on Higher Taxes

"We've got to call a halt. It's
time someone was sounding a warn
ing. A balance. sheet must event
ually be struck, and ! think the
sooner we realize this, the better
for all concerned" L. G. Couacll
said to a reporter Of the Times
Recorder Saturday morning.
Taxes and more taxes; it almost
is daily occurrence for some ad-
ditional tax to be asked for or sug
gested, and / am speaking for the
farmers principally. they are al
ready up to their neeks and simp-
ly cannot add to their burden.
There are lots of things we
think we need and would like to
have, but right now we must cut
the garment to fit the cloth. Our
people simply cannot pay the tax
es already placed on them.
Here's a list of five prominent
Sumter county farmers; every one
a good business man and hard
worker, but conditions have been
against them and they cannot pay
their 1922. state and county taxes,
Mr. Small tells me, and their lands
will be advertised unless. some one
comes to their rescue: S1,176.00
for one of them; another owes
$460.41; three more owe $476.19,
$826.75 and $208.60, respectively.
These mentioned are. only few
Of the many Sumter county farm
ers whom l could name, all in just
as deplorable condition as the five
instances given you.
"The legislature meets IN few
days and I hope our three rep
resentatives, three of as able mon
as there will be found in the state
law-making body, will go to Atlanta
with their minds made up to ap-
propriate just as little money as
they possibly can. hope they
will search diligently every depart
ment of the state government seek
ing to eliminate useless or semi
useless jobs, cutting appropriations
to the bone" said Mr.. Council,
"The same is true Of our coun-
ty. We must call halt. There
are some things that must be done
and / do not want to be misunder-
stood by eur people. We must keep
up our roads; we insult, by all
means. get rid Ct mosqiito breed
ing Llaces, Fever is and will CON
tinua to Interfere with our labor
and this labor question is the most
acute problem before us today.
But our county officials must help
keep taxes down all they can.
"The city school board is asking
for s mills for our Schools L am
not in position to say whether they
can get along on less than 8 mills,
Iut if it is possible to operate our
.hools next year on z mills, I be-
Leve we should. But as I said
before, that is a question for the
board to decide.
: However, / am opposed to
any bill that may be presented to
the legislature that will continue
this extra levy for an indefinite
period. The period should be limit
ed. If We will trim at every COR
ner, even though it be for only a
small amount, the total at the end
of the year may mean the saving
of the financial life of some our
people.
can eminent financial authori-
ty, a man who knows what he is
talking about, said TIE other day
that while manufacturing interests
of the nation were 100 per- cent
active; and prosperous, the farm
ers of the nation were only so
per cent in like condition. TAX
ing the State of Georgia as a whole,
| believe the percentage is nearer
80 or 40, than so per cent.
Here in Sumter county we are
so much better off than our neigh
bors in North and Central Geor-
gia, that we have much to be
thankful for, and yet as | said
before, we have large number
of our farmers who cannot now
pay their taxes. What arc these
fellows to do, if additional tax
burdens are laid on them?
IF we cannot travel under the
burden in Sumter, what must be
the condition of those fellows in
the upper part of the state? l tell
you, they are up against the hard
est fight any community ever
faced.
"There are many ways to re-
duce this tax burden, if our rep
resentatives will only roll up their
sleeves and go to it. There are de-
partments in the state that are
wasting hundreds of thousands of
dollars; there are officials on fee
systems that should be placed on
salary and this in my opinion, will
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