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die Georgia Peach and Melon Belt. Volume XXX11. Number 53. HOUSTON CO. CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE INSULTS INTELLIGENCE OF VOTERS Argument Against New County Worthy Only of Those So Biind They Will Not See Truths Proven By Statistics. Statistical Data From Every County Created in Past Fifteen Years Published Below Dispel Bogey of Opponents - The Houston County Campaign Committee opposed to the of Peach County'has issued a to the voters of the County which is an insult to the intelligence of men who read and think. It assumes the voters are babes in intelligence and that they will swallow a “bug¬ aboo” story that all statistics and facts of history disprove. The letter opens with reference to the centenary anniversary of Hous¬ ton County next year and with an appeal to the voters “to prevent the division and destruction of your grand old county. IP That it is a “grand old county w* will all admit and being “grand” and . * old” is it not high time it were per¬ petuating its greatness and counter¬ acting the decay that is inevitable to age by becoming the father of a new offspring with youth and “pep” to “carry on” where it has left off? That it is a great county, a large county, and an old county is one of the strongest arguments in favor of its division. They say it is a “perfectly good county. M From the standpoint of what nature has done for it that is notably true, but from the stand¬ point of what man has done for it that is far from true. Nature has blessed it with a splendid location, climate and soil; man has blasted it with bickering and friction and jealousy and mutual antagonism so that it has fallen behind other counties in progress apd is deeply in debt. Compared with the man-made progress of other counties it is far from being “a perfectly good coun¬ ty.” But it can be made one if those opposed to the progress that will come from division will wak[e up from their nightmare and put their shoulders to the wheel and push for¬ ward instead of backward. They say “a large business can be conducted proportionately cheaper than a small one, the larger the or¬ ganization, the cheaper the cost pro¬ portionately of administration. That is'feenerally true of a privately conducted business, but everybody knows it is not true in the matter of popular government-—-a business con¬ ducted by all the people. In private business the leaks are watched and stopped—efficiency is the watch¬ word. Who watches or trie? to stop the leaks in the administration of the public’s business? In the public’s business the bigger the organization the more leaks and the greater the extravagance of administration. Gov ernmenc operation of public utilities p.-oves this. The business of a small county can be and the data proves that it is—more economically admin¬ istered than that of a large county— especially of an . . old” county where business routine has fallen into a rut of traditional carelessness. We need a reorganization of busines-; methods in Houston county—and a new county new business organiza tion will give them a model and an inspiration. They say taxes will be increased in both old and new county sections'. The statistical data of every new county created within the past 15 years and of the old counties from This issue consists of Two Thousand Copies, Are YOU a Subscriber ? TTI "I E L EADLR" 1 RIBUNE AND PEACHLAND JOURNAL FORT VALLEY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER, 3, 1920. TEN PAGES. which they were created, published below, prove this is not true except where the people wanted public provements and conveniences they did not have under the old tax rate. And even if Houston county were not divided taxes would have to be increased to get the county out of debt and give it the improvements needed. They say “the old county will be left with the bag (the debt) to hold.” That is not true. Every bill for the creation of the new county which has been drawn and that which will be introduced in the next legislature pledges the new county to assume its proportion of the debt of the old county. They say the new county citizens will be taxed to pay the cost of ad ministration, salaries of officers, etc. Will they tell us, pray, what county officers draw salaries, and what other cost of administration there is not based on the fee system? is a palpable attempt to “pull the wool” over the eyes of the voter. Does not every voter know that a U county officers—treasurer, tax col¬ lector, tax receiver, clerk, ordinary, sheriff, coroner—draw their entire compensation from fees, and are therefore paid only for what they do, and that this pay comes not from the people’s tax money but from the people who have business with these officers direct; and that it will cost such people no more to do business with these officers in a new county than in an old one? New counties, so far as officers are concerned do not cost the people a penny in taxes. They .say we will have to be taxed to build a new court house and jail and for the installation of a chaingang. The new county won’t need any such penal institutions—till our prosperi¬ ty attracts a lot of bad folks from elsewhere, and then we will be plenty able to issue bonds to provide such institutions. The smaller the coun¬ ty, the fewer the law-breakers, the lower the cost of penal institutions. Furthermore we don’t even hope to escape taxes or death. They say the capital assets (prop¬ erty subject to taxation) in the old county would be reduced by division. Poor pessimists! Poor blind men;who cannot read, or will not see what they read! It is written in statistics so that he who runs may read that in every new county created in the past 15 years and in every county from which they were property values have increased new population, new business, proved facilities, so that a property was worth more, sell for more, and rent for than under the old regime, and enhancement has always more than offset the taxable property taken away from the old county. If property is worth more, brings more, can’t you afford and you willing to pay taxes on its creased value for the sake of _ fits you could not otherwise Does your property under the hanced value, not bring you more vantages derived from the taxes pays as well as more net over and above these taxes and ' lYIARSHALLVILLE BESTS LOCALS SIX 10 FIVE The cohorts of baseballdom were again in evidence Tuesday afternoon, when Marshallville met the Peach County boys from Fort Valley on the local diamond in the second game of the series, the locals going' down in defeat by the score of 6to 5. The score does not tell the whole story, however, for it was one of the best, ! if not the best, game of the season. | There were approximately from I^LfunTwa,t«^ *. !£ST j pastime, giving up only six hits dur¬ ing the whole game. He was well supported on the bases and in the 0 ^’ l° ca ^ ^oys showed need of more batting practice. Frederick, who pitched five and half innings for Marshallville, scat tered his hits up to the time he went U P in the air > whun through errors all< l bunched hits, he gave up» the mound to J. Jones and took center field, Lyle playing 3rd. M. Haslam covered himself with glory when he lined out a three base hit to left field, For umpires, Mr. A. J. Evans saw to that each man on each side re ceived his rights when the pitcher was in action, while if the circuits 0 f +j,e bases made by Mr. Holt Skellie as field umpire could be counted for Fort Valley, we would have J more than tripled the com bined scores of each team. TWO DISTRICTS TO HOLD B. Y. P. U. RALLY HERE SOON The first and second districts will hold a B. Y. P. U. Rally at the Bap tist church on September twelfth, About 50 delegates are expected an( l be entertained by members of the local B. Y. P. U. Several State workers are expected and a full and interesting program will be announced later. VOTE FOR “PEACH” AND PRO CRESS, AGAINST PESSIMISM and PETRIFACTION! suing advantages? The history of ALL new counties and of their pa rent counties say?, “YES!” They say the creation of the | new county is merely to gratify the ambition of a certain locality and coterie of men? We do not deny that we are ambitious. We are am¬ bitious. We want advantages for ourselves and our children that we have not enjoyed and cannot obtain under the present regime. Have the opponents of the new county no am¬ bition? They prate about ■. our grand old county”—the same old County their grand-dads bequeathed them—but what have they done for it? advancement? What are they do ing for it? What do they propose to do for it? Nothing! They promise nothing. They hold out no hope for its improvement. They want to keep the “grand old county” just like it 1S- in debt— a pauper county, if you please—yet a “grand old Coun¬ ty!” Do the opponents of the new county really love the “grand old county? Or is it merely love of their 30 cent dollars that actuates them in wanting to keep the “grand old county” just as it is? Action ‘peaks louder than words. The intel¬ ligent voter can read between the lines that selfishness, not love of the “grand old county,” actuates the op¬ position— the selfishness of the mi¬ ser, who would hoard what he has, withholding it from investment for future and greater gains. If you love Houston County, you will vote for its advancement; for the new county candidates, whose sup¬ porters propose to set an example for the old county worthy of emu¬ lation. A TWO SILL FIRES CAUSE EXGlTEWiENT WEDNESDAY Fire about 9:30 o’clock Wednes¬ day morning badly damaged the combination barn and garage of Mr. C. T. Eberhardt in the rear of his residence on Person street, attract ing quite a crowd. The pluck of Miss Marie Eberhardt saved the family’s automobile, which was in the ga¬ rage at the time. The plucky young lady entered the burning building de spite the presence of a tank of* gas¬ oline therein and drove the car out to a place of safety. The city fire truck arrived in time to save the building from total destruction, a portion only of the roof being burned. The course of the fire could not be ascertained, but it is thought to have originated in some oily waste in the building. Wednesday afternoon the home of Sherman labor, colored, on Vine ; ville street, was threatened by fire in the roof originated from kitchen flue. The blaze was extin guished, however, before the fire de partment arrived, little damage re suiting, O I PRESBYTERIAN SERVICES R ev. J. W. Stokes Returns To Take Up His Work. I ! This Sunday is “Go to Church Sunday” for the Presbyterian Con gregation of Fort Valley, Their pastor returned today from his cation prepared to lead his people in large endeavors. The Sabbath-School meets at 9:45 and will study “The Building of the Temple.” Mr. Stokee will speak a brief word about Rally Day which is set for all Presbyterian schools for the first Sunday in October. At the 11 o’clock hour Mr. will preach. He will have as his text God’s command concerning the Law of the Lord. “These words which 1 command thee this day shall be on thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children.” At the evening service his subject will be the 51st. Psalm. Eevery member is urged to be present at these two church ser vices as well as at the Sabbath j School. A cordial invitation is ex tended to the public generally to at¬ tend. A hearty welcome awaits all wb o do attend. o SCHOOL NOTICE Public school; open Monday, Sept. 13th. Children entering first grade must enter within two weeks after Sept. 13th or wait until Sept. 1921 unless up with grade in their work. No child may enter unless he is six years old on or before Sept. 27th. All pupils above first grade obtain books before opening day. j Book room will be open for that purpose on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week. Ralph Newton, Adv.— Supt. o Let’s settle the new county issue at the polls Wednesday and end the strife. Your vote for the Peach County candidates will settle it. Un¬ less they are elected the strife will be indefinitely prolonged. o | FORX VALLEY’S NEW COTTON WAREHOUSE OPENS MONDAY _ The new cotton warehouse being built here on Macon st 2 'eet just op¬ posite the Fort Valley Oil Compa ny’s office and plant will be ready for business Monday morning. The warehouse was built by .1 half dozen public spirited of Fort Valley who put up the mon ey, and it has been rented and will be’under the management of Mr. W. F. Andrews of Roberta. It is of ample capacity to take care of the needs of the tributary to Fort Valley. Statistical Data From Fifteen New County Areas Effectually Re¬ fute Argument of Croakers As to New County Cost. 1 j Letters From New County Officials Show Tax Rates Not Increased But Property Values Greater and Other Benefits. To effectually nail the spurious argument of the opponents of county i division as to the largely increased j expense to citizens involved, the | Peach County Publicity 'Committee j i sent the following questionnaire to officials of new counties throughout ttle state. August 19th, 1920. My dear Sir:— As you may be aware, we are in the midst of a strenuous fight for the election of a ticket in the approach | j i n g primary committed to the ere- 5 ation of a New County with Fort Valley the County Site: 1 Our adversaries are making a great many prejudicial statements with reference to a largely increased tax rate in the New County territo ry; and) in order to meet these as j sertions, we desire to obtain a brief ; summary of the facts as to the con j ditions obtaining' in your County. We, therefore, request that you (immediately furnish us the informa : tion indicated by the following ques tions: 1. What was the tax rate of the J 0 ] d County before the creation of the Ni? w County? 2. What is your present tax rate? 3. If there is any increase in the rate is it attributable to the creation . 0 f the New County, or is it the nor-' ma j increase due to the general ad vance in cost of labor and all com modities? 4. What increase, if any, has there been in your tax values since the creation of your County? 5. What arrangements did you make as to Court House and Jail and for what period following the creation of the New County? 0. Has the creation of your Coun ty resulted beneficially to the old County from which taken? If so, in what way? 7. Please make any additional statement that may occur to you showing the results of "the creation of the New County as applies to old territory and new County area. If pressed for time, kindly answer upon this sheet, Self addressed stamped envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Again thanking you to let me have a prompt reply, I am Yours very truly, "Ralph Newton, Chairman Peach County Publicity Committee. * Replies were received from fif¬ teen new counties arid the data con¬ tained in these replies is publish¬ ed below. It should be noted that in the j puestiennairt the committee failed to provide information regarding the ; age of the new county from the information was sought, that, therefore, the answer to 1 first question in each case would not show the year to which the old ( tax rate would apply, it being the rate in effect before the new ty was created. We have supplied this information ourselves as to to which the previous old county rate ' j applies." In comparing this rate the present rate in the new given in answer to question two, the period of time (should be taken into The only newip»p»r published in the heart of the largest Peach growing section of the world. $2.50 Per Year In Advance and the present rate in each new county should be cai-efully compared with the present tax rate in Hous ton county, which is 14 mills for County tax alone, 4 mills for school tax, and 5 mills for State tax. Some of the answers to question two se¬ gregate these different taxes, but in some of the answers they are combined, and where they are com bined they should be compared with the combined county, school and state tax in Houston, which is 23 if.ids. Comparisons should also be made with the increase in the tax in Houston County from 14 mills nine years ago to 19 mills last year, both exclusive of school tax. i\nd it should be remembered that notwithstanding this increase of 5 mills in nine years and that despite the present rate of 23 mills state, county and school tax, Houston county will be $100, 000.00 in debt by the end of the year, without bonds for public im¬ provements and without any other extraordinary expenses to which this enormous deficit can be attri buted. i Crisp County 1. *01d County Tax rate (15 years ago) was 6 mills. 2. Present tax rate 11 mills 3. Increase due to high cost of living, building first-class highways and steel bridges all over county to replace old wooden bridges. 4. Tax values in old county in¬ creased from $2,428,000.00 to $9, 000,000.00; in new county from $2,- 291,000.00 to $9,000,000.00. 5. Voted $80,000.00 bonds for court house and jail twelve months a ft er cre ation of new county, 6. Both counties admit division has resulted beneficially in every way to the old county. 7. Fifty to fifty-five million dol¬ lars increase in property values in territory affected. Tift County 1. Old County tax rates 15 years ago were: Berrien, 10 mills; Worth, 11.50 mills; Irwin, 12 mills. 2. Present tax rate 15 mills for county alone, 5 mills school tax. 3. Increase due to all items men tioned. 4. Tax values increased from $2,- 500,000.00 to $6,500,000.00. 5. Rented hall for six years, then bonded for twenty years and built. 6. Values in old counties three times as much as before new county was formed. New cuunty ten years ahead of what it would have been if left in old. • Ben Hill County 1. Old County tax rate (15 years ago) was 12.5 mills, 2 . Present rate 17.50 mills, ^ Increase due to all conditions mentioned _ ^ bab]y doubled if no mo,e ^ ' 5. Rented quarters tor twelve months, then issued bonds. 6. Better schools and roads and (Cont’d on last page, Col. 1.)