The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-11-01
VHATTHEY WANT,
Some of Our manufacturers Tor
the open Door" Policy.
A LETTER FROM McLAUR!N.
The Growing interest Ct tie
Southern States in the f!ade
Across the Pacific
Ocean.

Ocean.
The following corres:ondeucc.5S rub
lished BY request OF Senator NcLaur-
in:
sspsrtanburg, S. G., September 30
1899. Hon, B. R TilIman, Hon; j." n
L. McLaurin, Hen William E!;iols.
Hon. Stanyarre Wilson. Hor. W. :;
Talbers, Hon. A. c. Latiimer. Hon.
Thomas j. Strait, Hon. james Moron.
Hon. j. William keS-Dear e;!>:
We ask your consideration Of tie i@:-
lowing: South Carolina IS pow th.:
foremost state in The south IN the t@i
ton manufacturing bu7ines, not ely j.
spindles, looms and number OF han1s
employed, but also in amount Of coTto"
consumed She is ueariy, and octo,e
the expiration of twelve months WII
be next to Massachusetts In number 81
spinGles-the second state in the unio"
in the conversion cf raw material into
finished products, The mills OF tGe
state, on basis of 1000. 000 bales per
year, consume about one-thlrd OF the
entire cotton crop Of the state, ard II
present ratio in the increase Of splnd.eS
cntinues, it will not be many years be-
fore the requirements Of the mills Will
reach the total cotton crop.
''The business Of cotton manutactur-
ing is the paramount manufacturing IN
tersst of the state. Next to agricul-
ture it is the principal employment OF
our people. It returns wages directly
to very large percentage Of our poru-
lation, and indirectly it is the support
Of many thousands more, a large
number Of the mills in this state are
making goods for the China or eastern
trade. If by any chance this demand
should be cut of, the mills would be
compelled to shut down, or to get into
direct. competition with the other mills
which are making goods for home con-
samntion. You can see at once what
she Importance Of the China trade is TO
Us; it is everything. The prosperity Of
the cotton mill business Of South Caro-
lima depends, in our opinion, upon the
China trade. We believe that the ex-
pansion of this trade is the hope OF the
cotton uall industry in the south.
According to the best Of our lnfor-
nation, the question Of the continuance
Of this trade is question Of policy on
the part Of our government. Statistics
show that 80 per cent of all the cotton
goods exported from the United States
60 China find a distributing market at
the three northern treaty ports Of New
chwaag, Chefoo and Tientsin. The
first named is the treaty port Of the
great province of Manchuria, already
recognized, in the railroad and mining
enterprises as an exclusive sphere OF
Russian enterprise. The second is the
treaty port of the province OF Shan
tuns, in which Germany claims exclu-
sive privileges similar to those conced-
ed to Russia in Manchuria. The third
is the treaty port of the metropolitan
province of Chill and is the maritime
gate Of Peking. All three are situated
within a comparatively narrow area;
but through them is done most Of the
foreign trade Of north China. 1t only
requires one step forward in the exten.
sion Of the authority Of Russia and
Germany 70 destroy the terms Of equal
ity on which the commercial nations OF
the world participate in the advantages
Of Nevchwang and Chefoo, and the
movement on Peking which is general
ly assumed to be part Of the policy OF
Russia, would necessarily threaten the
commercial interests which center a.
Tientsin.
Sup to this time We are Informed
that pressure brought by the govern:
aents Of Great Britain and the United
States has led Russia to declareits pur.
pose to admit the merchandise Of other
nations into Manchuris on terms o4
equality with its own, but it is impos'
sible to say how soon that policy may
be changed. 1t is alleged that in the
importation of railroad and other mate
nal Russia entirely disregardS the I'M
perial Chinese customs Of NewchHaag
regarding the port as Il it were a}TeaG;
in a Russian possession; AID 1t ray ot
that Russia, for the protection & i:
own trade, may see fit to carry tbi dis
elimination to the point Of imposing
her own custom duties on American
cotton goods. In such an evest, oul
trade with Manchuris would be serious
.iy handicapped, and might, concel7a
bly,, cease to exist, as did our trade IN
der like circumstances, with Madagas
car.
1.-The effect of this would be afar
reaching one to the cotton mill indus
try in the south; up to this time, the
federal government has shown dispo
sition to insist on the maintenance 0!
its treaty rights with the Chinese EN-
pire, whenever there seemed any dan
ger Of their positive infringement, bu
aswe have indicated, the process Q!
substituting fer the authority Of the
Chinese government the Jurisdiction o.
foreign power, IS gradual and lnsld
ious one, and its completion woulc
mark the disappearance of all pre-e1ist
ing treaties. We are, therefore, led tc
believe that equality Of commercial op:
portunity in China can be maintained
only by decided stand IN the Interest
Of their trade on the part Of the na,
tious who have most to lose by the ere,
alton Of spheres of exclusive CONNER.
cial influence, and that any effective as
sertioR Of treaty rights must involve the
stability of conditions now existing.
when you consider the vital inter
est of your constituency in this Ques.
tion, we feel certain that you will deaI
with it in the way best fitted to bring
about a satisfactory solution. In oul
opinion, this can be most easily reached
by supporting any line of policy Of the
federal government based upon the
strict observance of our treaty rights in