The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-04-07
FROM THE NEWS AND COURIER

from a theOret,c or phllanthropl
standpoint, but simply demanding
equal rights aud full share for NJ.
own section OF the benefits whic!
may sccrue from legislation, whethe
suct. legislation accor6s with my po
litiea creed or not. That I do no
st4nd alone in this demand l quot'
f,om The News and Courier, o
Charleston, S. O., one Of the ables
journals Of the South. 10 answer Il
a correspondent who demanded :
duty on cotton, this journal, unde
GATE of December 81, 1896, says
(Here Mr.. McLaurin quoted the edito
rial in full)
Mr.. Speaker, what this article de
mands for cotton should be demanded
for every industry, agricultural OF
manufacturing, in the South.
NOT a PRoTECToNIST.
I say this not SIS Protectionist
(since I believe in the practical appli
cation of a revenu= tariff but as s
matter of justice and fair play among
all the people, of all the sections O.
our country. At this point I propos;
to give some facts and statistics con
cerning the different sections of The
country with reference to the increase
of wealth, the accumulation Of wealth
and the distribution of capital, anc
wealth. I expect to disclose such ar
unequal distribution in favor Of New
England and the North, as to force in
qniry as to its cause and remedy from
all who love equity and despise favor
itism.
NEW ENGLAND AND ITS ALLIES.
Out of these forty-three States anc
Territories only twelve show an in
crease of property valuation, while
the remaining thirty-one show Amos
uniform decreases.
The total increase for the twelve
States is 1887, ,S00,753.
OF this smount s235, ,Ss3, ,4S2 come!
from New York alone. Seventy pei
cent. it is seen comes from New Yors
and 70 per cent. of the balance come:
from Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania
The total increase in the remaining
nine States is $50, S22. .092.
The thirty one States and Territcrie:
show falling off. This decrease II
property valuation amounts to thf
enormous sum of $500, 1S5, ,795. It il
widespread, there being no such radi
cal decrease as New York shows in op
position. New Hampshire and Yer
mont show decrease, but taken SIS s
whole the entire New England anc
Middle Atlantic States show a net IN
crease in property valuation for taxa
ton of 1912, 10, ,555. Only two OF ths
Western and Middle States show an
increase, and the net decrease from
that vast territory foots up 1919.
7S5. In the twelve Southern State:
given, four, North and South Carolina
Florida and Louisiana, show small
increase. I am at loss to account
for such an increase, unless it be from
the same cause as in South Carolina.
where a reassessment of railroad and
bank properties was effected which
materially y increased the taxable yalua
ton of the State.
But with this increase the net loss
for that section is $50, ,2S4, $50. Bear
in mind that the year 1S94ls compared
with the panic ysar of 1898. These
figures are startling. It IS story OF
s stupendous losses the people have sus'
tanned and of the extraordinary gains
that have been made by the money
and manufacturing centres OF the East
at the expense of the other sections.
1t is story of increasing poverty
and disaster on the one hand and in
creasing power and wealth on the
other. AS I understand it this i'm
mense sum refers to the loss iu proper
ty values usually listed for taxation.
It does not refer to or include the de
probation of the products OF labor,
the depression in business and us
losses, or the enforced idleness or
waste of labor efforts. Such losses
cannot be approximated much less be
given in detail.
Such a statement as this ought to re.
veal quits clearly that vast difference
of conditions and degrees OF prosperi'
ty exists among the people Of this
county.
THE SECTIONS COMPARED.
In order to sustain my contention
that the East is and has been pilling
up vast accumulations of wealth while
the great producing sections Of the
nation barely holds their own, ! will
give some comparative statements
taken from the census reports OF 1880
and 1890.
If the figures just gwen are surpris
ing these will be found more so. In
fact, to analyze them carefully is to
discover the most monstrous system OF
exchange brigandage of this or any
other country. It is enough to con.
vince any right-minded man that this
system must be changed, and that al
once. if we would preserve our free
Institutions or national integrity.
I shall quote, to some extent, from
synopsis of the census bulletins by Mr..
s. S King, found il his book entitled
"Bond-holders and Bread Winners.
| will begin with the States ofIndiaua,
Illinois Iowa, Nebraska, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and
North Carolina. These nine States
&re those upon which the country de-
pends for the production of wheat,
corn, and other cereals, meat, dairy
products, sugar, cotton, tobacco, rice
and almost everything that the agri'
cultural portion of our country pro-
duce.
With these I will compare the
States of Maine, New Hampshire, Yer
mont, Massachuse etts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey
and Pennsylvania. In these nine
States is found the great manufactur
ing and money centres Of the nation.
The relative condition Of these two
groups of States should give fair IN
depreciation Of the truth or falsity OF
my position. The first group of States
has 1856, ,040 square miles Of hand,
while the second group Of States has
but l6S, ,665 square miles about 3 to l.
The nop,1lati0n of the first group IS