Newspapers / Polk County News and … / June 25, 1925, edition 1 / Page 18
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PAUL WAGER TALKS POSSIBILITIES OF POLK Continued from first page this section W- % right sort. A IchooT la more than a school building. A teacher Is more than an hireling. An educa tion Is more than the possession of a diploma. I read lately that North Carolina leads the states in the percentage of high school pupils studying Latin but is at the foot, of the list in the teaching of bookkeeping, econo mics, and other business subjects. [ have no quarrel with Latin, but I believe a county official who knows bookkeeping will save the county more money than one who knows how Caest-r conquered the Gauls. \V0 need to include in our educa tional program that which makes better farmers, better home workers better artiscns, better business men better mothers. Neither do we have to limit edu cation to the children. There is a great body of useful knowledge thU can be taught to the old and young alike. Knowledge that will make for health and happiness. 32 v counties have now fully developed county health departments, and the results are more marvelous in my estimation than any other phase of North Carolina progress. Typhoid and malaria and hookworm have been almost stamped out and tuber culosis will go too just as soon as the people can be educated to do their part. Knowledge of health rules must be universal before di sease can be checked effectively. The fifth factor iin a model coun ty is culture. And that means, first of all. appreciation of beauty. Polk County is blessed with a wealth of beautiful scenery and you have a right to capitalize it !f you make th^ handiwork of man blend with the handiwork of God your county will draw t0 it Nature lovers in in creasing numbers. Great artists are produced in regions like this. These mountain scenes are inspir ing. I understand that Polk Coun ty is known for its interest in mu sic and art. 1 congratulate you. Keep on promoting that interest. North Carolina as a whole is very much lacking in esthetic apprecia tion. Except among the Moravians there is very litttle musical talent in this state. Put culture means to me more than an appreciation of beautiful deeds. Culture includes all the Christian virtues. Hospitality, Gen tility, Purity of life, Modesty in dress. Delicacy in speech, a spirit of tolerance and human sympathy. These are the earmarks of genuine culture. And I am afraid that the New Soutth has lost some of the grace and chivalry of the Old South. I -wish it might be restored I wish we might know again the "Southern Gentleman" and the "Southern Girl" of the old school. I I should think Polk County might be a fine place to make such an en deavor. How appealing it would be to your summer guests. If you can revive something of the gentile at mosphere of the Old South 1 pro. mise you that your county will be come a haven for the jazz weary people of the North. Culture In its richest sense, however cannot be capitalized. It is a spiritual posse^ Bion. The sixth factor in a model com munity is Opportunity. And I refer especially to economic opportunity. The county must furnish trade and business opportunities that will hold and attract the alert minded youth. Some of our counties are stagnating because they are losing their most aggressive young people. Are you holding yours,? If not, why not? Is there room here for a young man to carve out a career as an Engineer as an agriculturalist, as a manufac. curer, as a surgeon, as a lawyer, as an educator, as an architect? I sup pose there is room in each of these fields, but ambitious young men are often poor and unknown. They need financial and moral encourage ment. It would be a fine thing for a Kiwanis Club t0 spot this budding talent and give it a lift. These youngsters will be assets to the county later on. The way to supply opportunity t0 native labor and native talent is to develop your economic resources to the fullest extent. The increase in population and wealth will be slow if you de pend on agriculture alone. It is wrong, but nevertheles3 a fact that only about 37c of the consumer's dollar reaches the pocket of the far mer. That means if you sell the product of farm and forest in the raw state that only 37 percent of the Consumer's money comes Into the county. If you can put those products into finished form before they leave the county it will bring a much larger percentage of the consumer's dollar to you. Manu facturing is the keystooe of our ec onomic structtfl*e and without it your county cannot hope to be pros perous . You have the raw materials, you have the labor, you have the power Combine them and a fair share of the world's wealth will come to you. Utilize all the resources which np-j ture has given you, but don't ex- 1 ploit them ? especially your forests. Don't rob your children of a splen- ' did heritage for the sake of imme. ! diat0 reward. No county a refores tation policy can hope to become and remain a model. The seventh factor of an ideal county is a Unified Government. of the peo must be in large measure through the agency of government. If Polk County is to obtain the splendid goal which 11 ha9 set h mu8t have a government which is honest, effici ent and responsible and no govern ment can be that unless it fs a unifi ed government. By "unified" I mean complete co-ordination of all its departments and a responsible executive head. Did you ever stop to consider that the county is the only unit of government in the world that does not have a head? There are half score of officers each chosen separately and each operat ing in his own way without any co ordination of effort or uniformity of method. A dozen different spending agencies each buying supplies and dispensing patronage among its own group of friends. County expenditures in the aggre gate are not so much in a small ru ral county like this but just as much in proportion to your taxable wealth. Something like $75,000 a year, I believe or about $35 a family Perhaps there is no waste in this county. I haven't investigated but I dare say there is, for unless there is unified government waste is in evitable. And thi8 would be true even if every officer were entirely honest which 1 trust is the case in this county. Can you imagine a corporation do ing a $75,000 a year business with no boss except three directors who meet once a month? Yet that is the way most counties do business. And I have n0 criticism to make of the commissioners. They have my sympathy for they are a much abus ed group of men. In most counties they are fine, public spirited men doint the best way they can under a terrific handicap. It i.s not thfe men but the system that *8 at fault. made it Uhat is the remedy? Weil, no one single thing will do more to correct the trouble than a compe tent. full-time officer who will act as bookkeeper, auditor, purchasing agent, and tax supervisor, i know of several counties which have such an officer and he is saving his sal. arv many times over. I care not what title you give him but in real ity he must be to the county what the city manager is to a city. He might well be oaJled a "County Manager". , toel confident that Mich an officer in this county would help more in the realization of your ambition than any other single agency. Unified government calls or more than a county manager b?t that is its greatest need. But 1 hasten to add that such an officer must be strictly non-partisan No city has ever realized efficient ad mmistration until it discarded par ty politics. And neither can a county. My eighth ideal for Polk County s a non-partisan rule for that is the only kind that you can afford believe in political parties when e> represent the issues on which men honestly differ. But the issues which for the platform8 of our pol . ica parties are national issues ear no relation whatsoever to local government. Pray, tall me what the protective tarriff or the eag?e Qf Nations has to do with ui mg roads or operating schools I ?r recording deed* or holding court i m Polk County? People choose county officers on a partisan basis simply because it , a tradition ^ do so. There is no logic in it. people tell me they of [ten vote for the man that know is least efficient out of party py y. It is time we substituted for party loyalty-loyalty to our In telligence and loyalty to our pocket books. Three hundred of our best govemed cities have given up party I government for they have seen ttfat Party politics have no place in the administration of a political depart ment, or a fire department, or pav_ or street cleaning, or any other Phase of city government. Counties : 8??" going t0 l?am the lesson, too. Polk county citizens must be a unit in their advancement of their county. You can't attar* to let your political differences "over na, ional issues divide you In local mat | ers County government must be unified and no partisan. My ninth ideal for Polk County is -ry-" In your telesra?- you b Rested that I discuss this topic, to it rt be8n a l0DS time getting Neither shall I dwell on it If y0u want to make a man mad mention taxes to him. /Taxes a out as popular as small pox. ' ca .sionally l meet a man who ad mits that he ia getting "value , re ceived for his taxes, bift he 1b a rare bird. ' I suspect that if -the taxpayers are getting less than they pay for the other half is getting more than they pay for, but they ail complain alike? the man with five children in school who pays $3 school tax and the man with no children who pays | $500 taxes. Mark Twain once said. "Everybody is complainin' about the | weather, but nobody is doing any- j thing about it," So it is with taxes 1 What are you doing about it? Have j you analyzed the situation? Have j you counted up the services render ed to you by our government and estimated their value to you? May be you will discover a balance in your favor. To be sure taxes are double what they used to be, but don't two cows cost twice as much ] &.i one? Isn't your county govern ment rendering you twice the ser- 1 vice that it did when taxes were haJf as much? Maybe so? maybe not. 1 don't know ? find out. But more important than tax re. turns is tax equity. And let me right here say that inequity is the greatest evil in the state. The burden of taxation should be equit ably distributed ^md it is not. 1 can sympathize with the man who ob jects" to listing his property at its true value if he knows that his neighbor has undervalued his. Or 1 cj.n sympathize with him for want ing to withhold someL, of his proner ty if he knows or thinks that his neighbor is not listing all of his. If .everybody followed the same rule and listed half his property and that at half price it would not be so bad for there would be equity. But it doesn't work that way when some conscientious chap list all of his at its full value and some scoundrel does not list any. Or possibly some farmer hasn't anything but land and that can't be hid. But I must con fess that even land has learned to play hide and seek. Even though everyone takes oath that he has told the truth it is doubtful if the tax books show more than half of the actual taxable wealth of the state. The result is not only a high rate but the grossest inequalities just as long as the practice persists of listing at less than actual value because one will list at 80 percent another at 50 percent and another at 30 percent. If property were listed its full val ue more wtmld would be listed for the rate would be low enough to bring intangible property out of hid ing. Some people won't perjure themselves to escape a 50c levy but will to escape a $1.00 levy. There seems to be different degrees of conscientiousness. A high tax rate i3 a blight which destroys both the source of tax and the conscience of the taxpayer. I don't know about tax conditions in Polk Coounty but your county can not be a model unless there is equity and honesty in taxation. Put your levy down around 50c and the revenue will be greater, the honest man's taxes will be less, and your conscience will be easier. Fu ther more you will attract new cap ital into the county. A low tax rate seems like a mag net to attract investments. Tax re form is the most baffling problem before our countries and municipal ities today. If Polk County can of fer a solution you will win the plau dits of the nation and your hills and valleys will be dotted with settlers. And it is not an insoluble problem! If we had the spirit of the ancient Anthenians it would solve itself for the people, would be animated with the desire to serve instead of to be served ? to give instead of get; to render some free service instead of t0 ejctort from the government at every opportunity. I A retired naval officer has just accepted the post of highway com mission for S. C. on one condition, | namely that he be^ permitted to Jjserve/ without .compensation. The position offered $6000 a year. Has Polk County any men like this? Let's take a flight of fancy and ima gine that 1000 men and 1000 women in Polk County take the pledge, "In order to make^Polk County the mod. el county of Ehe state. I volunteer to contribute one day a month of my time to serve the county in whatever capacity I am most needed or can serve best." Do you know what would happen? It would not only solve the tax problem, but' it would generate such a county spirit as no county has ever yet known, impractical? Perhapfj, but indirect ly you would realize bigger pay for I hat days labor than for any dther day in the month. i But I must, hasten on to my tenth and last ideal for your county. I I have borrowed an English word and I that. iH "yoemanry'' which means a population of small land owners. No satisfactory civifozation has ever yet been built on shifting popula tion. Home and farm ownership makes for stability . of population and stability of character as well. A man will work and sweat, fight and die for a home and a few acres ; which hp can call his own. But no ? body ever got sentimental over plow ing another man's field or sweep j ing down another's back stafrs. An i independent farmer i8 a monarch j among men and "a little (arm well j tilled and a little wife well willed" He never appears as a favorite In the fashionable show, but he's welcome to watch the blowout If he pays fer a ticket to go ? We stand him along with the yappers that stay outside of the rinp, but ? fh spite of his comic whiskers ? he's the salt of the earth, by jingl He's never an artful trickster that feathers his neet with men ? but khows how to feed the porkers that fatten inside his pen. We couldn't exactly call hira a king in the social deck, but he knows how to grow pota ters that we can't do without, by heck! ! While the law provides special favors fer sons of the gifted class, there aint no statutes pro vided fer the feller that mows the grass ? but, so long as he finds contentment in whiskers an' crooked backs ? and so long as he feeds the "people" he can tend to himself, by jacks! YOU WIN! When you spend less than you make and Bank the difference. Bank it Here: We Pay You 4 Per Cent That Helps It Grow? Resolve Now To Do It ! OUR SAVINGS PLAN OPENS JULY 1, LET US EXPLAIN OUR SYSTEM Capital $15,000 Surplus and Profits $7,500 Resources over $1.75,000 Polk County Bank & Trust Co. Member American and North Carolina Bankers Associations Columbus, North Carolina fives the acme of satisfaction. gut 1 farming* for profit calls for skill of high order. Agriculture is i science, a business, and a profes sion. No farmer can gain indepen flence financially if he insists on be Jrig independent socially. There must be cooperation among farmers ? certainly in buying and market ing and increasingly in production. I am glad to know that Polk County has sense ?nough to know that it can not afford to be with out a farm demonstrator and a home demonstrator. They in truth are commonwealth builders. They are doing more than anybody else to make this a model county. They are bringing science to the aid of your farmers and prosperity with in your gates. They are lifting bur dens from the shoulders of tired housewives and putting color and comfort and cheer into once drab and joyless homes. They are mak ing life more than living; homes more than houses; work more than drudgery; God bless their noble ef_ forts. With tl^se mountains to inspire; this bracing air to exhilerate, these ?id ?mglt?h <$ Cru^eF Sand ^ ^ Nu ? Fold Correct for Women and hiea You will like to buy paper the Nu-Fold way, for it's the most economical. The flat sheet in the pound box, with two packs of envelopes, provide* stationery for the whole family. The .Nu?Fold size sheet folds twice to fit Monarch envelopes, correct for men, and twice ? lengthwise and across ?? to fit Nu-Fold envelopes, the popular size for women. Old English Crushed Bond is a lovely two-toned effect heavy weight deckle edge paper in "crushed" finish; made for those who desire the best. The Tryon Pharmacy Tryon, N. C. 1CH tu UUUi I.Ml hem, the farmer folk of this conn y ought to be a healthy and happv teople, a virile and content <(| reomanry out o f which i,, >uild your common wealth. x,,.. have spelled out for you what, u, r . rOUbL A Little I'icin, Tells 7 Of the advantages to h?. (,? on. out-door-life: \\ , happiness is gained by takir t the open. For years I hare boosted ti tion saying? "IT CAN BE DON I" ? Now LOOK A f I have rare bargains y? t estate? jentals? properties. PHONE 173 v *?ti, GHAHLKS J. i.VNCH "It (M n /?'<? !h,.t. RYON When You Visit SpartanW IP a friend gave you a letter of intr<y duction already sealed, you would think her either rude or ill-bred. Such a letter ia always sealed by the recip ient, in the writer's presence. But if you wrote such a letter on cheap, shoddy paper, or used a mis fit envelope, wouldn't your friend think the same of you? Undoubt edly ? and rightly. The letter paper you use for all occasions should reflect your good taste. You can be sure that it does if you use Eaton's Highland Linen which we have in *he latest shapes and shades. Let us show them to you. You will find Martin's Pharmacy in the Montgomery Building cool. [% and inviting. t Y uu will always be welcome The iinest stocky Pharmacy in Spartanburg. Martins Pharmac Montgomery Building Spartanburg, South Carolina Get Out into the Open! Kilpin Motor Company, Authorized SfryZcl Dealers Telephone - 15 We have in stock ready for immediate delivery U3?d cars of many models which will be sold at very low prices for cash or on easy terms. Every used car sold under FORD USED CAR GUARANTEE with thirty days free service. Our genuine Ford parts stock is complete. You will find what you want here. Accessories made especially for Ford cars ? also other standard makes. ^ ' Buy a new Ford on the easy payment plan and get six months free service. Details on application. Kilpin Motor Go. Inc., Tryon, N. C.
Polk County News and The Tryon Bee (Tryon, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 25, 1925, edition 1
18
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