The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-04-05
TOM WATsoN's WILD BILLS.
The Congressional Record Of the McDufie
Late Statesman Epitomized.

The Congressional Record of the McDufie,
Late Statesman Epitomized.
In the course of a lengthy article on
idioyncrasies of legislation in the last
congress, a writer in the New York
World sizes up the record of the Hon.
Tom Watson, of Georgia, as an erratic
legislator. he says:
While Mr.. Miller, of Wisconsin, and
Mr.. Butler, of Iowa, were thus carving
out inches in the temple of fame,
young man, undisturbed by their
triumphs, unenvious of plaudits that
greeted them, pondered long and deep
ly over the unhappiness of the people
in general, the citizens of McDufie
County, Ga, in particular. Thomas
E. Watson was born in Georgia nearly
thirty-seven years ago. When he was
not farming he practiced law, and
vice versa. The combination gave Mr..
Watson what is termed in politics a
strong pull, and be soon became the
idol of Thomson, McDufie County.
Thomson, which is famous for the
absence of the p, as we'll as for the
citizenship of Mr.. Watson, is pros
| porous settlement Of 500 souls, and lies
few miles the northwest of Augusta.
In 1890 Mr.. Watson was elected to
congress by a majority so absurdly
large that his republican opponent
may be said not to have run at all.
Everybody was for Watson-at least
that is the way it looked, and Thom-
| son was honored as never before. In
return for this outspoken expression of
Caucasian sympathy and inferential
evidence of negro approval, Mr.. Wat
son felt that he had special mission.
He might be described as populist,
with occasional democratic tendencies.
During the first session Of the congress
he made himself felt sporadically and
heard more frequently, but it was not
until after the Christmas holidays in
the current year that he came forward
as an electric reformer.
On the 9th day of January, Mr.. Wat
son launched bill of fifteen pages and
many particulars. This bill created
the Office of National Inspector of grain
and cotton, at salary of $4,000 per
anrurn, who, in turn, appointed coun-
| ty inspectors, who were to receive at
| convenient warehouses deposits Of cot
ton and grain and give certificates of
deposit. Then it became the duty Of
the postmaster of the nearest money
order office to issue to the holder of the
certificate a postofice money order to
orders for two-thirds of the certified
value of the produce mentioned in the
certificate.
The postmaster was required to sur
render the certificate to the depositcr
or bis legal representative at any time
upon the payment of the amount OF
the money order and 4 per cent. in
terest thereon from the time issued.
! The postmaster-general's duty was to
make an official statement to the Sec
retary of the treasury each week OF The
sums required to meet the money Or
ders, and it was the duty of the secre-
tary of the treasury to cause to be printed
and issued treasury notes of the United
| States in denominations from one to
twenty, in the form and material OF the
national currency and in such sums as
may be required by the postmaster
general to meet the money orders, the
notes to be legal tender for all debts,
and the sum total of postoffice money
orders at no time to exceed 500, 1000
in excess of the sums paid in on ac-
count of same by persons redeeming
their certificates.
After this mighty effort Mr.. Watson
was properly entitled to a rest and to
congratulations from Thomson. Ac-
cordingly he rested. But on the I'd
day of February he launched another
thunderbolt, bill to provide for an in
crease of national currency, to provide
a method for the distribution of same
by homestead land loans, and to pro-
vide for the repayment of the loans.
In many respects this bill was like the
other, and permitted the government
to lend money to homestead land
owners, two-thirds of the appraised
value, at I per cent. interest.
On the 14th day of February, Mr..
Miller projected his philanthropic
schemes, and six days later the states
man from Thomson presented the last
of trio of interesting bills. This bill
provided for the establishment, under
certain conditions, of sub-treasury in
every county in the United States. 1t
provided, furthermore, that any owner
of cotton, wheat, corn, oats or tobacco
may deposit the same in the suo-treas-
ury nearest the point of its production,
and receive therefor treasury notes
equal at the date of deposit to 50 per
eentum Of the net value Of the pro-
ducts at the market price, the price to
be determined by the manager OF the
sub-treasury, under rules and regula-
tions prescribed by the secretary OF the
treasury, based upon the price current
in the leading cotton, tobacco or grain
markets of the lifted States.