The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-11-25
ANDERSON, MORNING. NOVEMBER % 1886
COL. DUNCAN,s ADDRESS.
spler'id Grafton by the President of the
Society.

| Gull. UUNCAN'S AUDkESS.
spler"id Grafton by the President Of the
Society.
COLUMBIA, S. c., Nov. 1.-THE Ag-
ricultural Society held its annual meeting
to night. COL Duncan delivered the
following address:
GENTLEMEN OF THE STATE AGRIcUL-
TURAL AND MECHANICAL SoCIETY-Tbe
occasion of our assembling to night, is
the eighteenth annual meeting of this
association. In my judgment, you have
much cause for self congratulation and OF
commendable pride in your society,"
During the past eighteen years, the
obstacles you have had to surmount-the
difficulties and opposition to contend
with, are parts of your history that all
are familiar with, and need not be repeat
ed here; suffice it to gay the good work
has been carried on until to-day. You
are enabled to display to the farmers of
your State, one of the best equipped and
most successful Fair exhibitions in the
South. Four years ago tonight, although
comparative stranger to most of you,
you saw fit to call me to the Presidency
of your Society, the honor was as much
surprise to ME, as dare say it was to
many of you. Aided so ably as have
been by the officers and members of the
Society, as we'll as by the citizens of
Columbia, together with the railroads
and the public press of such success as
the society has enjoyed under my admin
istration. I leave others to speak, and in
again taking my place in the ranks
tonight have only to say l have done
what l could. In closing my four years
career as President of your society have
presumed that you would indulge me in
a few remarks, especially as l have never
inflicted you with an annual Presidential
address, as has been the custom. The
grounds and buildings are not in
Such condition as could wished to have
presented to you. The main building
should have been painted according to
the original design; what is called the
old building should have been covered
and the front remodeled after the plan of
the new building aud to correspond with
the same; new band and judges stand
should have been erected, some other
minor repairs and improvements attended
to. By anticipating the fair receipts, as
we have done on former occasions, these
improvements could have been made, but
in anticipating the effect of the short
crop and the general depression in the
State might have upon our attendance,
and more especially on account of my
retiring from the presidency at this time,
I felt reluctant to risk any contingent
that might leave my successor with q
debt to shoulder. We opened the fair of
1885 with our entire appropriation antic-
ipated we opened this fair with it
untouched and small balance besides
to our credit.
Indeed, wish l could say that our
farmers at large were in as good condition
financially as your society. Viewing the
State as whole, the present year has
been one traug ht with many varied
disasters to our people. The unprece.
dented floods OF the Spring, together with
the earthquake shocks of the Summer
and Fall will make 1886 memorable
year in our future history. We are
seemingly passing throughput may we
not hope only passing through-a cycle
of very hard and strange times. "Hard
times" the cry comes up from every
country, from every tongue and cline !;
from the largest land owner, with his
scores of farms to rent, to the humblest
laborer who lives by the sweat of his
brow; from those who are the puryeyors
of luXuries to those who only handle the
necessaries of life; from the legal frater-
nifty with their columns of cases on the
docket-to the humble porter who pol
| ishes up the handle of the big front door.
From the artist who fails to sell dexterous
skill-to the hollow eyed, street waif,
who begs you to take box of matches
for copper. From every class, condition
or type of trade or manufacture the cry
comes up business is bad and prospects
are most discouraging. The author of
John Halifax gentleman asks the very
pertinent question, Is this only tem-
porary crisis or warning of that deca-
dence which comes to all nations "when
wealth accumulate and men decay"
Some tell us tits the struggle between
labor and capital, what that may mean
or where it may end, you nor cannot
tell. Others tell US It's the bad and ex-
travagant State government and still the
steady contraction uf all classes of indus.
tries throughout the civilized world,
which has been going on for the past
decade continues without much relaxa-
tiou and the business of the country
seems 10 be under q strain which it cannot
stand for very long time. When we
turn to the prominent commercial press
of the country for some solution of this
great conundrum you read something
like this: The whole situation is some.
what peculiar and it is difficult to see
how the "hard times" will end, We rather
look for some improvement, if the labor
troubles are soon settled On the whole
it is a good time 10 let things alone, on
any break in the market we would
unhesitatingly advise to buy and as con-
Gdently advise to sell on corresponding
rise-to drowning man we might call
this a straw. There is another picture
that sets just on the opposite wall to the
one just described and it is this. During
the first three months of 1856 there were
organized in the South iron foundries,
8 cotton mills, 10 ice factories, II ma.
chine shops and foundries, 3 stove
foundries, agricultural implement fac
tories, 18 flour mills, "a tobacco factories,
Z furniture factories, 8 gas works, -
electrict light works, Z carriage and wagon
factories, Is mining companies and Ill
lumber mills. The amount Of capital
$4,000, 900 against about $21 900, 900 for
the same period in 1885.
How are these seeming contradictions
to be reconciled? In the first place the
wayfaring man, tho farmer, can tell
you that there is q general depression
throughout the length and breadth of the
land He feels it, be knows it and he
sees living evidences of it on all sides.
And yet, in the second place, there are
equally as clear indications that much is
being done along the manufacturing line.
Undoubtedly there is more cash in the
money vaults of the country to day than
at any period in our financial history, and
occasionally more or less of the capital
may be dropped in one or more of the
industries that have been mentioned
above, that has been brought into exis-
tence by some local subscription supple
mented by some Of this outside aid.