The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-06-05


tor, "the farmers have been taxed go long
for the benefit of other classes and have
seen so much legislation for the aggran-
dizement of corporations and syndicates
that their patience is exhausted, and
finding it impossible for the time being
at least to abolish System which has
oppressed and despoiled the greatest in
dustrial interest of the country, they are
now demanding that that policy which
they have therefore denounced as unjust
and ruineous shall be applied 10 them or
rather part of them for no scheme has
yet been submitted that would operate
alike upon tho formers.
"But no evil can be corrected, no wrong
can be righted by increasing its magnitude
and extending the scope OF its operations
There is but one efectual remedy for III e
evil which undoubtedly exists and that
is to reverse the policy which produced
| ii.
The Senator, after rehearsing the fea.
lures of the sub-treasury plan and noting
the facts that the farmers themselves will
pay more than their fair share of the cost
relating to the ware houses and that the
officers connected with them will be par
tisans of the administration in power,
SAYS
"There are more than 2,4O0 counties in
the United States, but not more than
one-third of them, if that many, produce
and sell annually more than $500, 1000
worth Of corn, oats, cotton and tobacco,
and, therefore, not more than one.third
of them could possibly avail themselves
of this plan, if it were adopted. 1t will
be seen, therefore, at the very outset,
that it is plan to compel the govern.
ment to issue and distribute money for
the benefit of the people living in rich
and productive counties at the expense
of the people living in poorer and lesa
productive ones. Moreover. it is a plan
to enable unscrupulous spectators to
take advantage of farmers pecuniary
necessities and extort exhorbitant prices
for food from the people who reside in
the citieu, towns and villages and from
the people who reside in the country but
do not own these particular agricultural
products.
No farmer will subject himself to the
labor and expense OF transporting his
products to the public ware houses and
to all the other charges which he must
pay for storage, for handling aud for
taking care of them while there when he
has barns and graineries at home unless
he is in debt and needs, the money which
the government is to advance, and if be
is in that unfortunate condition from
what source is he offered to redeem the
products by returning the money aud
paying the warehouse charges? In the
majority of cases he will never be able
to redeem them but will be forced to lose
the remaining twenty per cent. Of the
value of his product, or sell his warehouse
receipts for whatever he eau get for it,
which will be very little, for it must be
remembered that after he gets his crops
warehoused be has remaining an interest
Of only twenty per cent. less the storage,
and this is all he can dispose OF. He
will find the time rapidly reaching when
he must have money to redeem his pro-
ducts or sell his small remaining inter.
ests in them or allow them to be sold at
public auction by the government, and
methinks this will be golden opportu.
nifty for those agents who will swarm all
over the country ready to take warehouse
receipts from embarrassed owners for
merely nominal sums. The receipt is
simply a privilege of redemption like a
pawnbroker's tickeL aud the farmer being
himself unable to redeem will be forced
ultimately to dispose of it at any price
offered. I don't think that any consider
able number OF intelligent people in this
country will unite in asking the govern.
ment to establish system which will
compel them, in a large number of
cases, to sacrifice the products of their
labor"
Senator Carlisle argues at some length
to show that the annual expansion and
contraction of the currency provided for
in the bill would result in absolutely de-
stroying the market upon which farmer
must depend for the sale of his crop, and
that the cotton farmer would be an espe-
cial sufferer.
"No such facilities as this cheme will
afford for controlling the markets for
purely speculative purposes have ever
existed in this or any other country aud
no more perfect system for the oppression
of the people could be devised. The
exact quantities of products on deposit
in the several public warehouses will be
known in every community. That there
will be combinations to purchase and
hold the receipt. it may be accepted,
especially when they can be procured by
the payment of small per cent of the
value of the deposit.
In conclusion, Senator Carlisle says:
IT have thus given you as briefly as the
nature of the subject would permit, some
reasons why think the proposed plan for
the reliefof the farmers would be injurious
instead of beneficial not only to them
but to all the other people jointly. But
it would be uncandid not to say distinct
ly before closing this communication,
that even ifit could be concusively shown
that this or any other similar scheme
would be purely beneficiary to any class
of our people, will still be unalterably
opposed to its adoption, because, in my
opinion, it would be another wide and
dangerous departure from the principles
upon which our political institutions are
founded. It would be, in fact, the long
est step yet taken iu time of peace to-
wards the consolidation of power in the
hands of the Federal Government and
the subjection of the private affairs Of
the people to the supervision and con.
troll of irresponsible authority. You and
are Democrats and as such ne believe
that the government should scrupulously
abstain from all unnecessary interference
with the personal and domestic concerns
of its citizens and confne itself strictly
to the administration of purely public
affairs.
1t is cardinal principle of our politi-
cal faith that the people are best govern
ed when they are the least governed, and
that they are most prosperous and con.
tented when left to the free exercise and
management of their own business, sub.
ject only to such occasional interference
as may be necessary to preserve the peace
and good order ofthe community. These
propositions are fundamental, and we
cannot abandon them without rejecting
the traditions of the party and the dis.
tinctions between constitutional govern.
ment and paternal despotism.