Maxwell Defender Of
Tax-Payer Protection
§»r» Recent Legislature Protects
Tu-Payer Against “Three
Men” Debts.
tSee Editorial, on Page 4,
Mr. Maxwell Calls Mr. Foun
tain And Defends Protection of
Tax Payers.)
•peaking at Selma last week Mr
A. J. Maxwell, commissioner of
revenue, attracted considerable in
terest throughout North Carolina by
his defense of the local government
act of the last legislature, which,
he declared, offered the greatest
protection tax-payers have had since
1903.
The legislature," he said, "did
one thing of vast importance to this
State: It turned the tide in the cost
of government In North Carolina.
Tt was this sweeping tide in the
eost of government that was ab
sorbing property of the people j
throughout the State. It had in
creased nearly 400 per cent in twelve
rears—since the war. This Legis
lature stopped that engulfing tide,
and turned it backward.
Seven Million Less.
"The total cost of government in
the State this year will be at least
seven million dollars less than last
years, A large part of the reduction
in property taxes this year is rep
resented by this reduction in the
total co6t of government which, I
believe is generally agreed, has been
accomplished without imparing the
value of public service. The public
schools will be operated this year
for nearly four million less cost to
taxpayers than last year, and our
State Superintendent, Dr Allen,
says there will be no lowering of
standard* or reduction in efficiency.
aaiegaaras reopie.
‘‘It not only turned this sweeping
tide backward, but It set safeguards
against ite recurrence. And it is
one of these safeguards that I want'
to talk to you about this evening.
The effort to belittle and dis
credit. the work of this Legislature,
directed to the relief and protec
tion of the taxpayers of the State,
has resorted to the use of names
• nd slogans to Invoke the prejudice
of the pepole. The people have
been told that the Legislature in
vaded the sacred precincts of "local
self-government," and laid violent
hands upon this *acr»d heritage of
r free people.
"I happen to be chairman of one
t*f the organizations set up by this
Legislature that, has been singled
Your Child’s
Dysentery
»ed not be at all dangerous
if treated upon first symp
toms. Mothers for more than
a generation have put an end
to stomach and bowel disturb
ances by keeping handy a bot
tle of Anti-Ferment. It set
tles the stomach, soothes the
pains, prevents violent par
oxysms, tends to regulate the
bowels and in the end may
avoid Colitis and more serious
troubles, ft is harmless and
non-narcotic but a relief for
Dysentery, and Diarrhea and
digestive disorders due to up
set stomach and bowels. It
may be obtained in separate
formulae, for adults 75c or
for children 60c at all drug
stores. Keep it ready for
emergencies.
out as the most glaring example of
the wanton violation and destruc
tion of this sacred principle. I say
that I happen to be, because I was
placed there over my own protest.
I speak of the Local Government
Commission. Over my protest that
I did not have adequate time to
give to It, I was nevertheless in
cluded In the act as a member of
the Commission, and by its mem
bers was elected Chairman of the
Commission. The other members
of the Commission are Nathan O'
Berry, State Treasurer; Baxter Dur
ham, State Auditor; and five citi
zens appointed by the Governor
from the state at large. Charles
M. Johnson is also a member and
its active directing executive officer.
There is no man in North Carolina
who knows as much about local
government—its troubles. Us diffi
culties and its administration—as
Charlie Johnson He is known and !
appreciated by the governing offi
cers of every county in North Caro
lina
"The Ijocal Government Commis
sion is purely a service organiza
tion. operated at state expense, to
serve the local government units
in North Carolina ,and to give pro
tection to their taxpayers.
"Its chief function is to advise
with and sense the needs of local
governing boards throughout the
State—in their accounting systems
annual audits, tax listing, budget
making and in the handling of then
debt. The charge that the law
governing this Commission violates
the principle of local self-govern
ment is unmindful of two vital con
siderations
“First, Local self-government do*>s
not mean the exercise of despotic
power by local governors. It means
government by the people them
selves who constitute the local unit
of government. For example, the
Local Government Commission ex
ercises a restraint upon the action
of a local board in any matter of
incurring debt, such restraint can
be promptly removed by a submis
sion of the matter by the local board
to a vote of the citizenship of the
local unit. Instead of this consti
tuting a violation of the principle
of local self-government, it it a
safeguard and protection of local
self-government, because it provides
the machinery for bringing it into
full and complete operation. It fur
nishes protection to the people
against public officers who would
Ignore the rights of local self-gov
ernment and who would abuse their
authority against the will of the”
people.
"Second. Another important phase
of this question that should be un
derstood by critics of this law and
by the people of the State is that
: the protection which it gives to tax
payers is only a part of the protec
tion which the constitution itself
gave them for * great many years
until this constitutional protection
was removed by judicial construc
tion
“The Constitution says that ‘Nc
county, feity. town or municipal
corporation shall contract any debt,
pledge its faith, or loan its credit!
nor shall any tax be levied or col
lected by any officers of the same
except for the necessary expenses
thereof, unless by a vote of the
majority of the qualified voters
thereof.' -
"For thirty-five years after this
Constitution was adopted the courts
held local governments to a strict
and literal construction of this sec
tion of the Constitution. Just three
years after the Constitution was
adopted the Supreme Court of North
Carolina, in an opinion written by
Justice Rodman, denied the right
to issue bonds without a vote of the
people, and said: "This section was
intended to present another check
to the imprudence of local officers.”
This strict construction of the
Constitution, as a limitation upon
the borrowing power of local gov
ernments "unless by a vote of the
majority of the qualified voters
therein,” was closely adhered to by
our Supreme Court for thirty-five
years until 1903, when a former de
cision was overruled and it was held
that debts could be contracted for
water and light plants by munici
palities as a necessary expense with -
out a vote of the people.
"By 1923 thea courts had gone so
(ar in liberalizing their construc
tion of this section of the Consti
tution that It had little meaning
left. Specifically there was no lon
ger required a vote of the people
for issuing bonds in any amount
four the following purposes: Streets,
lights, water, sewerage, fire depart
ments. Incinerators, municipal build
ings, market houses, Jails, court
houses. county homes, school build
ings. and building and maintain
ing public roads and bridges.
"X suggest no criticism of the high j
tourt. On the contrary I sympa
thize with its reasoning when it
gave as a reason for reversing earl
ier decisions on this subject that
the luxuries of one generation have
become the necessities of another." !
But I call your attention to the
fact that after adopting an inter-1
pretatlon of the Constitution which'
deprived taxpayers of this constitu
tional protection the courts were
powerless to substitute any other
form of restraint in place of it. This
could only be done by legislative
act and administrative machinery
•imilar to that now provided in the
county government act.
"This act does not carry us back
to the hard terms of the Consti
tution. It still leaves the way open
to contract debts for all these pur
poses without the trouble and ex
pense of an election if an ordinance
Is adopted after proper public no
tice to taxpayers, and if approved
by the local Government Commis
sion. If not so approved, all the
local governing board has to do is
to empley a little of the principle
of local self-government and sub
mit it to the vote of the people,
as was for many years required by
the Constitution itself
"If the Legislature had enacted
this sort of protective measure at
the time of, and to fit in with, these
liberalized decisions of the court,
the condition of taxpayers in the
State 5 would not be what it is to
day, Local governments are creat
ed by the people through the Gen
eral Assembly, and the General
Assembly owes the obligation of
throwing proper safeguard around
them.
' One other point 1 wish to matt"
is that no matter how well a par
ticular county or city may have
been managed it is today paying
a penalty in higher interest charges
and consequent higher tax rates be
cause reasonable restraint has not
been exercised by others. Some lo
cal units have been so reckless in
issuing bonds beyond their reason
able ability to pay what their actions
have affected the credit of all local
government units and the market
for their securities. Some of the
best governed counties in North
Carolina are now having to pay at
high a* Six per cent interest on se
curities that are tax free because
of the imprudence of other ceunties
when with all of the tax exemp
tion privileges that go with these
bonds they ought to sell at four to
four and one-half per cent. Do you
get the idea that our failure to ob
serve prudence, and to require its
observance in all local units of gov
ernment, has not only given us the
burden of an excessive amount of
debt on which to pay interest, but
is also requiring us to pay too high
a rate of interest on such excessive
amount of debt?
"Those who seek by applying un
pleasing names to them, to make
unpopular theee protective measures
that experience have shown to be
essential to the protection of tax
payers, ought either to openly ad
vocate a return to the right of three
men In each county and munici
pality to pile up bond mortgages
on the property of all taxpayers
without limitation, or to suggest
some better means of providing
proper safeguards.'
Patterson Springs
News Current Week
Revival Service* To Begin Sun
day—Personal
Mention,
Aug.8.—The revival services Trill
begin at the Baptist church Sun
day A. M. at 11:00. Rev. L. L. Jes
sup, pastor of Second Baptist church
of Shelby will do the preaching.
Everybody has a cordial invitation
to attend all services.
Miss Adelaide King of Spartan
burg, S. C. spent last week with
Mr. and Mrs. L P. King.
Miss Elizabeth Kissiah of Char
lotte is spending this week with
Miss Edna Thrift.
Miss Harriet Roberts spent last
week in the Beaver Dam community
with Miss Cecilia Padgett.
Mtr and ; | Robert Neal of
Clinton, S. C. visiting his parents.
Mr. and Mrs. A. I., Neal this week
Miss Floeiha Roberts returned
home last Friday from Greensboro
where she has been visiting relatives
for the past two months.
Miss Ruby Pyron of the Beaver
Dam community spent a few days
this week with Miss Sarah Jackson
Mr. and Mrs. Garland Roberts of
Greensboro are spending this week
with his parents.
Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Roberts visit
ed relatives in the tallage last week
Misses Mabel Neal, Harriet and
Marie Roberts, Minnie and Kath
leen King, and Mtiss Julia King of
Atlanta, Ga„ were dinner guests
Thursday of Mrs. Ben Bridges,
Miss Julia King of Atlanta, Ga.,
is spending this week with Miss
Grace King.
Nobody’s
Business
OEE McGEE—
. . Uncle Joe dropped tn to see me
today. He has been kinder under
the weather since work time set in
He has had to depend almost en
tirely on Aunt Minerva and the chil
dren to look after the cultivation of
his crops
. . . .'Long about plow-time, some
thing got wrong with his right
shoulder blade, but he put his arm
in a sling. You know a fellow can't
plow with only one hand. When
cotton and corn got large enough
to be hoed and thinned out. his
spinal collum got out of whack
and he coulddent stoop over a-tall
or talk above a whisper
. Crops are all laid-by now. ao
he says, and his back and shoulder
blades have all healed up and his
stummick misery has Rlso disap
peared. He has been able to fish
and loaf and cuss high taxes all
year, and he is still very fond of
talking about the world crisis which
he saw in the paper the other day.
. .Uncle Joe thinks the morator
ium will hurt the United States and
won't help Europe. He wants to
know how Europe can pay next
year if she can't pay this year. He
seems to be a feared that France and
Germany will have another fight
•bout "Alice and Lorain" — which
France took away from Germany
In case of war. Uncle Joe
thinks that "them Italy-ans under
Mussellee-ny would Join the Ball
shevlcka and help Germany to
whip Europe and France both, but
if Cuby waster enter this war, It
might fetch Great Britan and meb
be England in, and then the United
States would no doubt hafter line
up with the Alleys again like they
done before, if much of our money
had been loaned to the nations that
had already got In."
Uncle Joe continue! "This
year's cotton crop is goner be verry
short, Borne of my neighbors plant
ed enduring the light of the moon
The time to plant cotton seed Is in
the full moon just before it quar
ter* I mind once that I planted
my crop at the right time back in
18 and 92, and I made nearly 2 boles
to each aker, but the guy Just across
the road from me waited for the
light moon, and he lacked 3 bushels
getting his seed back. The moon
has ter be watched If a farmer ever
gets his debts paid.” After getting
3 of my cigars and borrowing half
a plug of tobacco off one of our
truck-drivers, he lit, out for home.
Jolt and Tittles.
. . . Wall, all that I know is what
somebody tail* me. and It's getting
ao I ean't believe half of that
. . . A flapper asked me the other
day to tell her the difference be
tween sweat and perspiration: I ex
plained to her that It la sweat If
he's saving wood, but It Is perspira
tion If she's playing tennis
. . . .Now, Sallte; there are different
remedies for the treatment of the
afflictions of sweat and perspira
tion: the former Is wiped off with
a handkerchief, or drops off of Its
own free will and accord; but the
latter la mopped over or smeared
under with talcum powders
. . . The modern mother has arriv
ed I saw one at our hotel tn the
mountains last week. 8he was nurs
ing her little 8-weeks old baby, or
rather letting him nurse, She was
smoking a cigarette and the ashes
were dropping Into the kids mouth
and eyea. She was reading a movie
magastna with the other hand, she
had on no hoee. or fxx..: :**-xx, and
her little mustached husband was
about In the same tlx, except there
wassent. anybody nursing him
. . . Wheat, corn, cotton, potatoes,
eggs, and meat have declined about
40 peroent In price during the past
12 months, but automobiles, tele
phone calls, railroad rates, Pullman
fares, salaries of public employees
wash rags and manufactured tobac
co have been holding on to war
time figures—In sympathy with
taxes and the undertakers.
. , . Some of our northern Blacks
are joining the Reds The Tatis
will no doubt follow suit. But af
ter they join, they will be Blacks
and Tans The Reds are all right
If you will give them all yo've got
and turn the government over to
them ao's they can ahoot you with
out any risk of being put in Jail
The Reds are useful—In fact, they
render a service very much akin to
the services rendered by rats, mice,
moths, and boll weevils—except—
they are trying to destroy morals,
religious Weals and civilisation ra
ther than fruits, foods and vege
tables
These are indeed fast times we
are having, .lust a few months
ago. baby golf, tourist camps, and
swimming pools had the world by
the tall, but the world wiggled its
tail. Our present generation "won't
stay put" but a short while. Some
thing new is what we are all look
ing for. Right now, however. It
looks very much like the rumble
seat fnd is good for another 6
months. And beach pajamas will
possibly remsln with us thru 'he
summer
Belmont Mill To
Erect Office Here
Contract, has been let, by the Bel
mont Cotton Mill on S. Lafayette
street to Cicero Lutz for the erec
tion of an office building near the
mill. The office has been main
tained In the past In the Courtview
Hotel property. The building will
contain several rooms and he ef
brick construction. Work will be
gin right away,
In The Way.
Tourist—Thw seems to be a very
dangerous precipice. It's a wonder
they don't put up a warning sign
Native—Yes, It 1* dangerous, but
they kept a warning sign up for
two years and ho one fell over, so
it was taken down
Tributes Paid To
Judge James Webt
• Monroe Journal.)
Yesterday they unveiled a par
trait of the late Judge James L
Webb in the Shelby court houee
Judge Webb aat upon the bench lot
more than 25 year a. Before tha)
time he was a solicitor. It haa bees
said that the custom of recruiting
the bench from among men wh*
have previously been trained ai
prosecuting officers is not a goot
one, the idea being that having be
come trained as prosecutors they
carry the traits of the activity with
them to the bench. This may be tru*
In some cases, but It certainly vu
not with Judge Webb. So human*
snd tender a man was he on th*
bench thst In late years he was con
sidered by many as ' soft.”
But Judge Webb was a man ot
poise, physically and mentally. H*
was big enough to see that a great
many small things do not count fo»
much In the long run. As age anc
reason mellowed him and a mor»
intimate knowledge of the marts
frailty grew he began to feel the In
adequacy of any one man to sit it
Judgment upon the weakneas of at
other men
Name To Revert
'Charlotte Observer.)
A portrait of the late Judge Jame.
U Webb was unveiled yesterday tr
the Cleveland county court house, a<
Shelby and the occasion developed *
gathering that well-attested the es
teem in which that popularity per
sonality was held by his home folks
Judge Webb, as citlsen and lawyei
and Jurist, ranked among the fin
est. In North Carolina and his was s
name to revere. No court house ir
the state Is more fittingly adornee
Is that of Cleveland county.
theyVe got to be good !
No false alarm about Chesterfields. MILDER and
PURER! You can smoke as many as you like.
The best tobacco that money can buy—the
purest cigarette paper made.
Aged right, blended right, rolled right. Chester
fields are made to smoke milder and to taste better.
That’s why more and more smokers are finding
in Chesterfield the best cigarette made.
THEY'RE MILDER ,,,
and THEY TASTE BETTER
® mi. Lnosrr a Unu Taucco Go.
AT THE TAP OP
THE GONG
516,363
FIREMEN
[IN THE U.S.A.)
spring to action,
ready for anything!
"Go—we’ve get to
go." Off at a mo
ment’* notice. Off to
nobody knows what
dangers. Good—
we’ll say they’re
good. Hats off to
thsso fearless men I