Saturday, Harcli 10, 1SI7
(19) 327
:EpyCJLTI0m:COQPEI
m ?"e!op:Po- Cfo to Muldply lt,W 0) Wc ; -I 'thir end
to !Vomo E4u4 Rights nd Kama Progrpfain Tik About Men, MoZJ
-Br CLARENCE FOB
The Legislature of . South Carolina
TM3E Legislatures of North and South Carolina
I have now" adjpurned,v and our readers in
hundreds of petitions from farmers went up
at the so-called set months school term -
1913 be made sl reality, hut no program to !
this end was; ever actively pushcdV Farmers must
pledge their members in advance next time We
, ought "to say however, that appropriations were
made, for a state-wide moonlight school campaign,
k ua - 4U ur meaicai inspection ot scnooi cmwren, and. tor
te"J2iVu hLSm! Ame T;VGono.r ! : schools social centers, while the aP-
:V& "ia. "lc u?y uwiuc ia weir oenaiv propnation for public hitrh schools was increased
the, bill would have failed
V M . H
It tne farmers' Union, in North Carolina had
these states may;-look over the record of - never done anything else, its work in this one bill
tWr Btiklic servants
In South .Carolina the session is admitted to have
been of but little. moment; Meeting every year, as
the Legislature does,- there s'etms to be a tendency
to take matters . less; seriously and to postpone
things from one session . ta another: At 'the begin
ning, of the session' we called, attention to six
things recommended by Governor Manning as fol
lows: x ' :. .
Instead - of allowing" school districts to vote
would have been worth to the farmers everv cent
of dues they have even paid. The jute bagging
victory won by the Farmers' Alliance is insignifi
cant in. comparison, with this crop lien victory "bt
the Farmers" Union.- "
This new taw is so important that we expect to
print it in full next week and urge farmers in
every Southern state to demand similar legisla
tion It does not become effective until next year,
and that for traveling libraries doubled, v The
teachers' certification law will also insure higher
(Concluded on page 29, this issue) ;
A SUCCESS TALK FOR FARM BOYS
I Why Not Be the Raiffeutn of Your County
, oc Male 7
Dear Boys:
1.
themselves under the jwmpuisory attendance act,..
TTT TEEK before last after discussing the career
t.-...
uuwevct. yfi : of Dr. Seaman A. Knapp as an inspiration
. 5 " for farm bors: T added. "But it mav he that
make the law state-wide with provision permitting Tftf:Af ff.w fJAi pf JAA1 you are the sort of boy to whom the work of a
;ctr,vta t netition for exemotion. . - . - taxation ueicnR uur next breat need J TtJa;
districts to petition for exemption.
2. Make, better provisiaa for, teaching agricul
ture, in the schools., V. -.
3. - Appropriate $30,000 a year foe tick extermina
tion work, with the hope, of 'making the state tick
free in two years :
4. Establish, a. State Highway "Commission.
OVERNQR. Bickett announced in his inaugu
ral, address that "the first arid dearest work
of this administration will be a supreme
effort to translate the tenants of the state into,
landlords" In. his efforts to reform the crop lien
5- uevew a constitutional amendment exempting
system,
6. Pass an inheritance tax law. Only South Car
olina, FUrida and New Mexico are now without
such laws. -1 ; - r- " 1 ,
Of these items Nqs. 2 ,3- arid Ar succeeded but
nothing was.. done as. to the. first arid sixth. We
hope our South. Carolina., friends will get ready
to demand both wherii the Legblature meets next
winter. As State Superintendent Swearihgen said
in his report to the Legislature: . -
"At least one-half ' the districts of the state
are ready ahd'ablt to. enforce compulsory at
tendance. The; people have' built their school
houses, voted their local tax, and employed
competent teachers.. "In such communities, at
least 90 per cent," and frequently 100 per cent,;
of the patrons are eager.to put their children , .
in school'. Such people ought not to be cam-,
pelled either, to petition or to . vote on this ;
question. It would-be far better that districts .
unprepared for compulsory attendance of. un- ;
willing to accept it, should be required to ask
exemption.? , ' ' , "' - '
We are glad tq say, however; that in the matter
of financial support of. schools, the Legislature, did .
show itself genuinely progressive. As our Colum
bia correspondent writes us:
"There was the best possible disposition to-,
wards the department of rural schools, under
the appropriation act practically one half rail
lion dollars was voted to. what, are knowiv as.,
'needy schools' In various forms. ; There was."
included this year. for the first time $187,000 as
a land of subsidy, to consolidate schools in
rural districts. r: The $444,00Ct included in- the
general apptopriation bill; to respond to the
various forms : of . encouragement for - rural
schools is in addition to the three mill constit
utional tax and -.other forms of local taxation
which amount t6 over four million dollars."
We also understand that $50,000 was added to the
appropriation f or ybringing:up" the term of weak
schools. Ten ; thousariddollars - was also appro
priated ftr, teaching' agriculture in the public
schools. 2- . .-". - . .. - "
The bill to" reduce the interest, rate to 6 per cent
iaued,.as did the bill to modernize the Torrens sys
from taxation, all money lent to buy small homes
and farms will, also help by making , money for
such, purposes more plentiful and by reducing
rates; of interest, it is provided:- that the rate on
such tax-free loans shall in no case exceed Slt per
cent, and competition may make it less. ' .
Stopping crop lien usury will make it easier for
tenants to get ahead financially and cheaper in
terest rates will help them buy homes, but Gover
nor Bickett has yet another dragon, to meet. That
dragon is. unjust taxation an evil this Legislature
seemingly had no. stomacn to fight It must, now
be clear to everybody that the next great battle
in. North Carolina will beaver this question.. As"
to the changes, to be made, we cannot, do better
than, to repeat what .we have previously said on
this subject:
" "In. nearly every state the poor man is as
sessed at, more nearly the full value of . his
. holdings than, the rich man: 'You don't find a
:, $150 mule assessed at $30, but-you will find a
$15,000 house assessed at $J,00O as has been .
.' said And we must repeat again Mr. R. F.
, , Beasley's illustrationthat horses were as
sessed in his-county at $200, cows at $50, and
. corn and wheat at $1 per bushel full value -while
land was assessed at probably t)ne-third
of its value; Large holdings also are usually
taxed at a lower rate per acre than small
holdings, whereas the reverse should be true,
r Provision should be made for publishing the
rate per acre at which farmlands in each school
district are assessed, and the rate per .front
foot at which landman each street is assessed..
This will destroy favoritism and inequality of
' assessment. And this still more .fundamental
matter must be constantly emphasized that
more and more ot the tax burden must be put
on incomes and inheritances, especially inheri
tances, and less, and less on productive labors.
' "Then we should also have either some form
of graduated land tax or else provision should
1 be made for taxing a resident's first $1,000 of
' real estate at only half the rate at which hold
. . ings beyond $1,000 are taxed This will, tend
to-, discourage large holdings and encourage
smalt holdings."
If we had had a proper system of taxation in the
vig will appeal more strongly,
sa I next purpose telling you ,
more , about them." 1
'"
Frederick Wl H. Raiffewen
is a name with which every
farm boy ought to be famil
iar. It's a hard-looking, word
to us but the pronunciation
is easy Ri-fy-sen, with the '
accent on the "fy." And Raif-
raiffeisen . f eisen did a great work for
farmers. Other men had discovered plans to help
increase crops and profits for men who owned
sufficient land, but he worked out a plan to help
tenant farmers and smalt land-owners on the way .
to independence.
Born in Germany,. March 3Q?. 1818, and dying
there March 2, 1888, Raiffeisen lived a long and
useful life. And he is an illustration of what'a-
man may accomplish in spite of poverty, ill health,
and lack of special gifts and, in Raiffeisen' s case,
in spite of a drunkard father. Says Hon. Myron
T. Herrick, our former Ambassador to France:.
"Raiffeisen was not a brilliant boy, and be
cause of the poverty of his parents he had
only a little schooling. His sight was so poor
that he could neither read nor write after he
reached middle age ; moreover, he was always
sick and physically weak. Yet in spite of
those handicaps, he evolved a grand idea, and
- by dint of unremitting hard work he develop
ed into a great force that revolutionized ag
riculture in Germany, . . . .;. 'Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me,' was
his life's motto, and he denied himself or- '
dinary comforts, traveled third-class and stop
ped at cheap hotels that he might save money
to carry out his mission. As he went up and ;
down the country and visited his credit so
cieties, the members called him. 'good Father .,
Raiffeisen.'". -: '
. ';, . .
Raiffeisen found the poor people of his part, of
Germany oppressed by extortionate time prices.
The system was much like our unregulated crop-
lien and "time prices" systenxin the South,, where.
' by a man buying on time pays 23 per cent more
than the cash prices. And as the average item on
a time price account runs only about four months.'
you can see that paying 23 per cent more, than;
the cash price in order to get four months' credit is
equivalent to borrowing money and paying inter
est at the ruinous rate of 70 per cent a year. I
hope our Progressive Farmer u boys will resolve
right now never to let themselves become victims
of such extortion.
tern, we are informed.. And after all the discussion oast even with the $500 exemption we are urging;
- , ., - , .
pt rural credits'this year and last the net result it: would not now be necessary to issue three mil- , , Well, the German peasants of Raiffeisen's time
is , - r..r. ... lions m bonos tor permanent improvements nor
"A committee was anoointert from the mem
bership of r the," House, aid Senate to inquire .
into: the advisabiliry of establishing some form:
of rural credits. The committee will report at '
the next session of the General Assembly." : :
Of course, the problem, of land credit has been
largely solved by the: national rural credits law.
And on personal credit the North Carolina law for
preventing crop-lien; usury ought to be considered
by our Palmetta State, readers. " ' . " ,
North Carolina Rcf orms tfie Crop Lien
caa .we ever hope to pay off these bonds without
adopting some such changes as we have suggested.
A Good Record on the Whole
A 1.1. in all. this Leirtslature made a crood record
A For one thing it did not attempt to repeal ought to add thatHaiffeisen. got many well-to-dV
the State-wide primary law, as some predict
ed it would try to" do.; On the contrary, the pri
mary plan was extended to cover county contests
in new territory; and the Australian! ballot system
got; recognition in' spots.i Compulsory secret bal
lot is now the sorest need ot our primary law.
Mt will not bur votes when thev cannot see them
FIRST'.'andJr.fofemost? among-" theVgoodHhingSi-'delivered.
dorie"By:'the. ,Nbfth:"CoUnaLegshitutelas; It. M also-ta the credit of the Legislature that it
the Vi(ci(rA f t:iT r(nrm the rrnn lien r:na&pd thfr' Turner bill fori orison reform.. Our
system as described on this page week before-last: treatment 'of prisoners has been barbarous; the the books at his, own farm home, and, a com
It was a'.f-snp'raf- trf,f ' aH ,T farmers of- new Uw will make, it humane ; ' mittee of farmers, meeting monthly or oftener,
North Carolina had not been strongly organized r ' The most lamentable failure of the Legislature; passes on all loans.
aesperately in' earnest, and il they naa not -.was wnrr rcra w mc pbouc stuvui icim. Jtwic
(Concluded on page 28, this issue)
were kept poor by some - such system. He got
them to come together, sign ioint notes, and bor-
' row money from banks at fair rates of interest.
In this way they were able to save some money;
get ahead and become independent - And since
that time tle fame of Raiffeisen, and "Raiffeiserr
Credit Societies" has Kone around the world. I
men to join the credit societies with the poor, the
strong thus helping the waflj.
Let's see what are some of the characteristics of
these "credit societies or cooperative banks, and
how they have managed to make, business men
and home-owners out of hitherto discouraged
tenants. :. ' ' " -"
L ;There is icv-staff of regularly employed offi
cers and no town office ;." A. farmer secretary keeps
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