The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1897-12-08
WHY PROTECTION.

this issue under the caption oi
.The Tariff Issue" wherein the An
derson Peoples Advocate taxes the
Dispatch to task for expressing the
opinion that tariff on raw cotton
would advance the piice Of that
staple, and the belief that but little
Southern cotton finds its way to
Northern mills and still less to Euro
pean markets in comparison to what
has been used and exported.
For holding to the principle OF pro
lection Of American industry and
American labor, our esteemed An
derson contemporary twits the Dis
patch with having ''imbibed some o'
the Republican virus of high protec-
tion," and iu doing so displays an 'S-
norance OF the subject so dense that
we have grave doubts whether even
the searchlghs OF wisdom and reason
can penetrate Republicanism, friend.
was born amid the splashes OF the
tea chests as they sank beneath th'
waves of Boston bay: it was baptised
in a baptism of the blood of patriots
at the battle of Lexington; for th'
preservation Of its principles the
Puritans of Massachusetts, and tho
Hucenots of South Carolina trod the
SHOWS of Valley Forge barefootec
and endured terrible privations IL
the morasses of cypress swamps un-
co nplainingly. Yorktown witnesse
the glorious and complete vindicatltn
of the iustness Of its principles.
jefferson, and his contemporaries,
breathed upon it spirit of popu-
larity and reverence that will endure
as long as the people are true to
themselves. Democracy is but the
Legitimate ff,priDg OF Republicanlsm
and hence becomes the mudsill upon
which is reared the magnificent
structure of our republican form OF
government and the parent is the
keystone in the arch of liberty which
spans this country giving to tie peo
pie freedom Ct speech, freedom OF
thought and freedom of press. This
is the kind CT Republican virus
that the Dispatch has ''imbided and
for having done so it has no apollo
gies to offer. The doctrine of pro
lection is one of the time hopored
principles Of Democracy and is no
child of the Republican party as we
know it to day. This Black Repub-
lican party has, like Hampton said
about Independents, simply ''stole the
livery of heaven to serve the devil
in,' and the Dispatch is only trying
to rescue the child from the robber
band and place it safely within its
fathers house where it rightly be-
longs.
It has been said by some sage who
was trying to lose those who differed
with him in the intricate mazes OF
a geometrical problem, that Figures
wont lie," which is, no doubt true;
but then it is equally true that the
hand which writes the figures is Of
ten guided by a brain deep in chi
canery and duplicity which makes
figures practically amount t. 5 cents
cotton for the poor farmers and 10
cents for the rich gamblers Of Wall
and Lombard streets who speculate
in futures and gamble upon the pro-
duct of labor Therefore our es-
teemed contemporary must really
pardon us if we question the relia,
bility of the authorities on cotton
statistics quoted by it. Evidently
Shepperson is on the bear side of
the market to whose interest it is to
extravageDtly exaggerate the large
ness Of the cotton crop and by the
cry of over production DllDg the
price of the staple down almos;
to the cost Of production. It is a
known fact that the cotton crop which
has just been gathered fell short
several million bales from the figures
estimated in the spring, yet these
figures were used as a basis in fixing
the pre-. Not only was this the case
with the last crop but it was only a
repetition Of the system of gambling
practiced by the operators fer years. |
Roddey, who is bull, says, ''supply |
and demand for spot cotton does not |
fix the price, but supply and demand |
for futures establishes the price"
that is cotton which has existence
only for gambling purposes, the
amount of which is limited at cotton |
plan ting time to the number Of bales
estimated by such authorities as
those given by the Advocate. Again |
Mr.. Roddy says that Large European |