The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-03-12

anu Ied'e Tue IiNeE DeuS SO uHpfoata- E
be that nobody will be able to work
them hereafter and the land mines will
be freed forever of the competition Of
river rock. In that case the State viii
have exchanged what promised to be q.
permanent source of large. and steady
income for two or three years Of IN.
crease in ter receipts from royalties.
1t looks much like fight between
the land and river phosphate miners
with the governor throwing all ths
power Of the State on the side of the I
land companies, with which the State
has nothing 70 do and from which she
does not get a dollar Of royalty, against
the river companies, which have been !.
paying her from S150,OO0 to S225, coca
year. 5s
Attorneys, friends and representa-
tives Of the land companies have done
the writing for the newspapers and the
work in the legislature against the
Coosaw company. We see it stated
that attorneys Of the land companies
attended and advised the phosphate
com mission when it went to take pos
session Of the territory claimed by the
Coosaw company: and it is broadly
hinted that those same land companies
are backing the new concerns which
have applied for river license.
1t is the plain interest of the land
companies to have the river beds SO
picked over that they will be made
worthless in the future. That would =
leave the land mines a monopoly and
make their possessions far more va]u-
able than they now are. We -dosnot
believe these land miners are working
for patriotism or because they haze
suddenly developed such love for the !
people and the State as to make them
spend money and labor to open up
river mines and increase competition
in their business for the sake of the
people.
IfGovernor Tillman had intended to
relieve the farmers and break down
monoplies his best plan would have
been to abolish the royalty entirely. 1t
costs about the same to mine ton Of
rock from land or water. The water
companies have been paying the State
royalty of q dollar ton on their rock
and selling at the same price as the
land companies. That dollar the water
companies pay: is added by the land
companies to their prices and means
that much more clear profit for them.
If the royalty can be raised to S2.59a
ton prices will be raised in proportion
on land and water rock and as the land
companies do not have to pay it the in-
crease will be that muci4 in
their profits. The land companies must
gain any way-whether prices are
raised or river competitors are driven
out or the river beds are ruined. .2i
The farmer pays the phosphates roy
atty. It is the one tax nobody shares
with him. He pays it in the higher
! price of his fertilizer in which the phos-
| phate rock is used. Added royalty on
phosphate rock is simply a round
| about, indirect method of adding to tie
farmers taxes while fooling him into
the belief that he is being helped. ALI
classes get the good Of big royalty pay
| nents N lessened taxation, but the
farmers alone pay them.
The Coosaw company has made much
money, even when burdened with the
dollar ton royalty. The land compa-
nies have not paid that royalty but
they have added it in their prices be-
cause they knew the river companies
could not underseli them and have
cleared enormous profits:
Governor Tillman may beinnocently
allowing the land companies to make
a fool Of him for their advantage or he
may be their willing tool for purposes
of his own. We cannot see inside Of
him and DO not know. After consid-
ering the statements, the facts and
figures from both sides-apd for long
time only the side against the Coosaw
company was heard-we can not es-5
cape the opinion that he is doing one:
of the two things: We cannot avoid
the conclusion that the legislature Of
1876 made fair, sensible trade when
it granted the Coosaw company theex-
elusive right to mine in seven miles of.
river at dollar ton and that the rash
meddling now being done after four.
teen years is the result of oficious and
bull-headed foolishness or of walking
the State into plain trap, or is evi-
dence that-to use Governor Thman's
favorite campaign expression-''some-
| thing is rotten in the State of Den
| mark