The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-05-08
THE SUB.TREASURY BILL.
A Warming to tho Farmers of tho South
not to be Caught with Chafl.

WASHINGTON, April 27-Judge Goth
ran, Representative from the Sd South
Carolina district, has received so many
letters of inquiry from His constituents
in regard to the sub. treasury bill, that
be furnishes the following copy of an
answer to one of them, with the hope that
through the Me,cs and Courier it may
reach all his constituents:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE u. S.,
WASHINGTON, April %, 1890.
Mr.. A. NJ. Guyton, Percetown, S. G.
My Dear Sir: Your letter of the 14th
instant has been received In it, writing
in behalfof yourselfand neighbors, you
ask me "please to tell lis (you) what the
bill (kDown as the sub treasury billy
proposes to do; also your (my) views
concerning said bill"
Acknowledging at the outset and to
the fullest extent the right of every one
of my constituents TO demand of me, as
their Representative, at all times, infor-
nation upon public questions, promptly
and cheerfully comply with your request.
Upon the subject referred to by you,
two bills have been introduced in the
present Congress, one in Inc Senate and
one in the House. send to you copy
of each of the bills Upon each of them
you will observe the words "by request"
in legislative ethics, this simply means
that the Senator Mr.. Vance and the
Representative Mr.. Picker who intro.
duced them are not thereby necessarily
committed to their support.
The bills provide for the storage, in
ware houses of all kinds of farm pro-
ducls which are suitable for storage and
shipment and not of an Immediately
perishable nature. These ware houses
are to be built all over the country, at
an estimated expense, to be borne by the
Government, of something like $50, ,000,.
600. Upon the products 80 stored ce<tifi-
Gates shall be issued by the Govern.
ment, and to tho amount of so per cent
of the value of the articles so stored the
Government shall lend to the holders Of
these certificates, or receipts, money at
the rate of par cent per annum.
The obvious reason Of the demand for
this extraordinary legislation is the
present depressed condition of the asri-
cultural interests all over the United
States, and especially in the Western and
Northwestern States. The burning of
corn for fuel in the State of Kansas is the
most complete and summarized statement
of the cause. This is SO far from being
applicable to the farmers of South Caro-
lima and of the other Southern States
that it may be we'll to reflect very seri.
ously before we give to the proposed
measure our support.
AS I am now serving as your Repre-
sentative in Congress my last term, it
seems to me that am in position to
deal with you in spirit Of the utmost
frankness, and altogether freed from any
possible charge of demagogy in saying,
that I regard the farming interests of the
country as embracing its very bone and
sinew--the msinstay and support of tie
Government itself. These interests are
suffering from over, production, and for
the want ofadequate means to transport
the tremendous surplus Of products to
markets beyond our Own borders.
On account of cheap and fertile lands
in the West and Northwest, the vast tide
Of immigration that has steadily flowed
thither for the last twenty-five years, the
bulky nature Of their products and their
remoteness from the markets of the East
and of the world, the prices realized have
not been remunerative. Besides, the
cost of living and of production has been
greatly increased by an unjust, unneces-
sary and oppressive system of tariff taxa.
tion, resulting in widespread and
almost universal network Of farm mort
cages, given to secure money advanced
by Eastern capitalists. The census of
the present year, if correctly taken, will
be, in this regard, an appalling diaclo.
sure to the shole country. 1t required
buta single good provision crop in the
South, with which we were blessed last
year, to bring about the catastrophe and
along with it this demand for relief to
them mot to u.s. which has found
expression in the proposed sub-treasury
bill.
do not believe that this picture is
over. drawn or exaggerated You may
ask how is it with ourselves? Many
would doubtless answer, bad enough.
In my travels over the district last sum.
mer, which took me once into your own
excellent neighborhood, did not find a
single farmer vho attended to his bust.
ness half rs Sell as be could have done
that was not prospering. | could name
number of them, whom you know as
we'll or better than I do.
To come directly 10 the point: Sup
pose Government ware house should be
erected at Piercetown, what would you
or your neighbors put in? Cotton bales
are we'll nigh the only considerable sur
plus products Of your farms. Nobody
eats cotton; it is too bulky to steal
without almost certain and speedy detec.
ton of the thief; and if you have nc
convenient place for storing it during the
time it is held before marketing, a few
poles laid upon the ground and tempo
rary shed of loose planks willsuffice for
protecting it from the weather tits moi
so with the Western larmers's products
which must be carefully housed and
kept under lock and Key. Besides, what
is the effect of withholding these different
crops from the market? From 1861 tc
1865 the world, by some means or other
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