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THE COCHRAN JOURNAL Entered ns second-class matter August Ist, 1912, at the post oflice at Cochran, Georgia. T. L. BAILEY, Editor and Manager. PUBLISHED WEEKLY by THE COCHRAN PUBLISHING CO. OFFICIAL ORGAN FOR BLECkLEY COUNTY SUBSCRIPTION PRICE SI.OO PER YEAR IN ADVANCE. BOND ELECTION SATURDAY JULY 19th. The pros and cons of the bond issue has been hashed and re hasted in the columns of this paper for the last few months until it seems that it is useless to give any more reasons why a bond issue is absolutely neccessary for the present and the future welfare of our county. Time and again it has been shown that the issuing of bonds is the simplest, easiest and best wa> of raising money for county, municipal, state and federal purposes. I here is not a state in the Union, and I daresay a progressive town or city in any state, that have not found it necessary at times to issue bonds to raise money to further their progress. The State of Georgia today has over six millions of outstand ing bonds. The best business people in the republic resort to this means of raising money. If the State of Georgia was to attempt to liquidate her six million dollar bond issue by direct taxa'ion in one year you would hear a howl all the way from the mountains of Habersham to the marshes of Glynn. The very crux of the situation is simly, that we are not able to raise this money in one year, and by means of a bond issue we can get the money on long lime and at small rate of interest. In regard to the amount of the bond issue, we do not believe any loyal citizen desires to erect an expensive building, neither do we believe that any citizen who has pride in his county would be willing to have a court house and jail that Bleckley’ ? people would be ashamed of. We believe the amount recommended by Bleck ley County's first Grand Jury was a very conservative amount. The fact of the matter, is, it is a very small amount in comparison! with other counties. We fully believe that our people are overwhelmingly convinced ; that the bond issue is the only proper thing and will vote for it if they will only take interest enough to come to the polls Saturday, July 19th. gome say the poor man has no intertest in this issue. Why J not? If the finances of this county were crippled for several years and business stagnation was to result therefrom would this county be a good place for a poor man? In times of stringency are not the banks according to a natural business policy going to take care j of their largest and best customers? If the majority of property holders were forced to borrow money to pay excessive taxes and the demand on the banks were too heavy where would the poor man and the tenant come in? If the landlords were pressed to the wall for tax money would they be liable to raise or lower rents?] Remember that our interests are woven and interwoven and noj class is immune from a public calamity, especially the poor man. OUR El NAN CIAL PROBLEM Most of the people in Georgia probably are ignorant of the fact that one hundred and seven counties in this state received from the state treasury in pension and school money in 1910 more than the taxes they paid in. In some instances these amounts run as high as $23,000 to the county more than the taxes paid! A startling condition, truly! : As a matter of fairness to the veterans and the state’s teach | ers, it must be said in the beginning that neither are paid enough. ’l’he appropriations are not too large. The property in these 107 counties is not assessed at its proper value. The tax income is too small. That is the crux of the whole matter. Rich counties in Georgia where farm lands sell at from S2O to SSO an acre are beneficiaries of the state treasury. We call attention to the fact that Meriwether received $23,- 493 more money than she paid in; Carroll $13,927, Franklin $lO.- 138, Hart $13,655, Heard SIO,OOO, Jackson $10,596, Jones $10,602, Madison Pike $11,479, Upson $12,146. Ihe remainder of the 107 counties received on an average of approximately $5,000 in excess of the money paid in. This is the way Georgia money goes! Thirty-nine counties of the state during I 1? 10 contributed $764,658 more than they received in pensions and school money. Of this amount $566,000 was paid by the four big counties—Rich mond $57,000, Bibb $63,000, Muscogee $77,000, Chatham $107,- 000 and Fulton $261,000, The figures are assembled from the reports of the state officers and are authentic. It is probably the first time such an exhibit has been given to the people.—Macon News. We agree with our esteemed contemporary that something is radically wrong with our state tax system. We think Governor Slaton expressed it ii a “nut shell'’ when he said “It cannot be denied that injustice is done when one man pays taxes on ten per cent of the value of his property’, while another pays on fifty per cent.” Equalization of taxes, either through the enforcement of present laws, or new correctives, so that each bear his proportion ate burden, would not mean the increase of taxes upon any one now performing his duty, but woul * rather mean the ilghtening of his unfair proportion of fhe load. Because the four big counties Richmond, Bibb, Muscogee, THE COCHRAN JOLKIAL, (XX II RAN. GEORGIA Chatham and Fulton paid into the state $566,000 taxes more than they recieved in pensions and school money does not neccessarily mean that their system does not need revising just the same as the poorer and smaller counties. These counties all have large cities and consequently large property valuation and no doubt when it comes to inequality in tax returns the same conditions prevail in these counties as in the smaller ones. Of course by vir tne of their large wealth they necessarily have a greater participa | tion in our benevolent common school and old soldier pension sys tems. FARM ECONOMICS IN GEORGIA Mote money than Georgia m. Inr- o- l ive fr ■ :r cotton -rip is sent out of the state to buy farm products that equld l>e raised in abundance in Georgia. This is the keynote to our 1,-n-k of prosperity. \Ve think we are a progressive people, agriculturally sneaking, but are we? We think not. 1 ,1 >ok at tin 11 r >r* 1. From the SI .SOO.GIU bale- of cotton raised in Georgia : n the year 1912 We received approximately $ 1 do,0(HI.000. During thesnmeyear there were elsewhere, pi im-ipally in the west, and sold in Georgia, Corn, hay, oats, meat, and dairy proiluets valued at $172, RMI.OOO. 'I his constitutes a balance of trade in these products of $37,490- <K)O against Georgia. Every imported product, now mind you, could have heeu produced in this state. Why wasn’t it done? Ihe inain reason, in our opinion, is the fact that the farmers have no system of marketing except for ti.eir cotton crop. The market for cotton is thoroughly organizi'd. A lame r can take a hale of outf.iii to auv town or village and get ea.-h for it Mi any working day of the year. The market for corn and hay and butt-rand meat is i-ganizcd, so to speak, against tlie Georgia cimsulie■ r. Tie epr hut,- have been imported by jobbing houses for many years and they have the distributing machinery. A Georgian knows where lie can has hay and corn and meat, but he doesn’t know where lie could s-ll then if he soouid raise them. That is why lie has grown only e-.tton. Of course, thorough going business men would have no didi-nlty in dialing with such situati on. Rut the scattered and usually unorganized farmers tire not thorough-going business men. Here are need and chance for co operat i ve mat kef ing. Given a marketing system, the f irmer will receive a better price for his products, and prosper'd \ wall smile upon him. —Macon News We believe that this editorial is on the right line. We have for some time thought tnat there should be some organized effort on the part of those concerned to create a cash market for all kinds of farm produce. Ihe average farmer knows no market except his home town. If he can not dispose of his product there to advan tage he sees no inducement to produce a surplus. A system ol marketing where the farmer wou; 1 be assured that he could get the market price in cash for any kind of staple produce that he would bring to town would do more towards inducing the farmer to diversify than any other plan we know of. FARM LOANS Lowest Rates. Negotiated by L. A. WHIPPLE \ Attorney-at-Law I lawfonsville, Georgia LOANS ON FARM AND TOWN PROPERTY handled at reasonable rates of interest and small commissions in any amount H. b. LAWSON, Attorney at Law, Hawkinsville, Georgia. WHEN YOU NEED COMMERCIAL PRINTING PHONE 66 and we will take pleasure in submitting prices and samples of our work. No Job Too Large or Too Small We guarantee our work and prices to compete with the city offices. Prompt and careful execution of all orders, regardless of size. Cochran Publishing Co. To Our Subscribers We have mailed hills to all our subscribers who are in arrears. The amounts uue by each individual are small but when taken together 'bey amount to a great deal to Please bear this in dud. We have the following p. isitions to submit: 1.-t. If you are not prep.ir. Ito I*A 5 IS, call in to see us about it anyway. 2nd. If you have any farm produce to spare and can’t get up the cash come to see us about the "farm pro duce we want to keep you on our list IF TOP ARE SATISFIED. Don’t read the paper two or three years end then say you didn't Mibserilje for it and don’t owe if-, and then tell 11- to tfke your name off the li.-t lieeause we ask you to pay up. What we aie after is ;o get a list of live subscribers on our books who are inteie-ted in our town and county and can take some interest in their home paper. We had rather have I(HXJ LIVE subscribers than any number of DEAD ones. We are the official County organ for the best little coun ty in the State of Georgia. Our subscription is only ONE DOLLAR per year, which we believe is the minimum price for any Georgia Weekly. Every loyal citizen of the City of Cochran and Bleckley county should be willing to co-operate with their home paper for the industrial, moral and civic welfare of this community. PAY I P YOUR SCBSCRIPTK >N, Giveusamoral support, and occasion ally, if you can conscientously do so, an encouraging word and \\e will do our best to give you a good clean paper. But hear in mind that the encouragement we need most ju.-t now is that “LITTLE DOLLAR’’ you owe us, or its equivalent. L. B. Kenmngton I he man who appreciates your bu tness wants voiK business. Won’t you give him yours? MONEY TO LEND Loans negotiated on farm and city property at low inti|ess4sp All appl lcauons closed in a few days. Write or call to see me A. C. Adams Cochran, Ga. FARM FOR SALE 102 l one-half mile Nice dwelling house, splendid barn and out-houses, high ly improved land. No better farm in the county. Very healthy: good water land well drained. C. C. Porter