The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-01-08
THE MANUFACTURING EXEMPTION.
hr. seudday's Reasons for Payor,p, N
hepeai OF tho Ezisting Law.

NIX. EDITOR: In your issue OF Decem,
per 18TH you mention the fact that ]
ssposo In the House Of Representatives in
III Iavor OF repeating the iaw exemptine
factories from taxation. In the article
you express your satisfaction that nv
views did not prevail, and you speak OF
the law as one highly beneficial TO the
state. Whilst the House by an over.
wheiming vote killed the exemption. vet
since your article has put me before the
people as opposing q measure of such
Deneht to them, think it but lust Ia
them, as we'll as to myself, for you to al
low me TO present to them my reasons for
the position / occupied. This is only
what desire. have no IDEA you m .aut
70 provoke newspaper controversy. nor
do mean by this communication 10 do
So. Perhaps I can best accomplish INV
desire by asking you to publish the
speech referred to and leave the people
TO judge the correctness Of my position.
D.. G. ScUDDAY.
MR.. SPEAKER: The ingenuity dis.
played in the arguments OF the friends OF
the Exemption Law to-day, is only sur.
passed by the ingenuity displayed in 1878,
when its friends succeeded In placing II
upon the Statute Books of this State. in
tne lace OF the express mandates Of the
Constitution against IL.
Their speeches are as remarkable for
what they do not tell us, as they are for
what they assert. Whilst the climax of
their argument has been that "foreign
capital illseek investments In our State I"
yet 1t is quite remarkable that We have
not been told on this floor of o. single
factory in South Carolina that has been
6uitt 6y foreign capital. Nor have we
6een shown that enough foreign capital
has been added to home capital in build.
ing factories to justify taking from the
treasury annually such large sum of
money thatshould remain there te Tighten
the burden of taxation upon the people.
1t has developed here that one foreign
capitalist did put forty thousand dollars
in one factory, but he did not do it until
ne was given the exclusive right of
handling and putting the goods upon the
market when manufactured, with the
right to retain large commissions for his
work. he may not have known of the
existing law.
The gentleman who last spoke made
use of one remark that completely shat.
tered the force of his speech. He said
money ia power" Yes, Mr.. Speaker.
money is po,0er, and little does it need the
arm of legislation to sustain it. Another
remark of bis made the injustice of the
present law even more glaring than ever.
He said "he favored the exemption
because when factories sre built the poor
by hundreds could get employment" He
failed to tell us that the Exemption Law
said to the wealthy corporation, with its
magnificent buildings, you need not nav
your tax, and that It said to those hun,
dreds OF poor people who really need aid,
aud who furnish the physical labor. with.
out which the factories CT Id not exist
you must pay the last farthing of your
tax. My friend could much better show
his sympathy for the poor by advocating
an exemption from taxation for the ope.
ratiyes of factories.
The gentleman from Greenville (Mr.
Anseil places himself in an amusing DO.
sition by his advocating the Exemption
Law. Two sessions ago when he felt
that the welfare of the people of this
State demanded it, he stood here and
la6ored zealously for the Railroad Com.
mission Act, even when he was told that
its passage venld drive forAise capital
from Railroad enterprise in this State.
Then 1t was duty to ignore the claims of
foreign capital in order to protect the in.
terests OF our own people. Now the in.
terests of foreign capitalists seems to out
weigh In importance the interests of our
own people. Again it Ia somewhat
amusing 10 notice how extremely anx.
ious be is to benefit the people, even at
the expense of violating the terms of the
Constitution, and yet when the opportu-
nifty is offered him by complying with
its requirements to benefit the people, as
for instance the maintenance of the South
Carolina College, We find him opposing
it With Q consistency TINT 80 indeed striE.
ing. I shall notice only ono other point
OF his before noticing the more important
Issues of this discussion. He favofs the
exemption because he is an advocate of
q diversity of industries in South Carroll.
na, and thinks it will develop them. 7.
assert that the ramefly the gentleman
suggests is worse than the disease.
Whenever the. government takes under,
its wing any one department of industry,
bestows upon it favors, which 1t denies
to others of equal merit. or enters into q
sort Of partnership with it, by legislating
to increase the ordinary profits Of that
industry, you at once create govern,
mental monopoly as It were, and destroy
the very possibility Of healthy develop.
ment and growth on the part Of Tho other
industries that are denied such fayors.
Ny position is, that the Burest way to in.
duce o. diversity' of indlsssfiiee5 Ii South
Carolina, Is TO secure the protection of
the rights Of. all, and to show favoritism
and paFtiality to none. .~s
II, however, Mr.. Speaker, this House
is determined to violate the principle ]
have just announced, and foster any one
department Of industry in this State by
the strong arm of legisIation, let US have
an eye to the one most meritorions. Let
US foster tho one that contributes most to
the welfare aud support Of our State.
This 10 not o manufacturing State and
We can never hofe to make It one. We
can never compete with the manufacture.
ing States Of, New Eogland. It is purely
an agricultural State, Now, cir,
1t would be huta Just recognition Of this
fact, and that the life blood of this State
comes from that department, for Us, IL
we have any special fsvoIB to show, to
give It. .he benefit of them. ,la "a, "a
The day Of the necessity for the exemp-
tion of factories has long ceased to exist
ia this Stste, In 1873, when the law
was enacted, who; filled the eeats Of this
Hall Who. occupied the chair now
graced By yopf Property Ia South Caro-.
liza, aa well 80 peSsonal rights were in
jeopardy. Foreign capital would not
sesk our State. Perhaps IL was policy
then to enact such law. But, sir, I