The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-07-18
CONGRESSMAN LATIMER'S RECORD.

has Latimer dOne?"
To meet and answer that question
and put his friends by way of remem-
brance in fresh possession of his re-
cord, it is proposed here to give short
resume Of his work, not i'll any spirit
or words of fulsome adulation, but to
give simple recital of the facts in
simple justice to the man and his re-
cord. What has he done7 And first
and foremost let it be said that he went
to Congress blackiisted by his defeated
opponent, who put the stigma Of pop
ulism upon him and upon the Demo-
cratic voters Of the Third District who
had sent him there and who set him
self up as the constituted repre-
sentative of the Third District SO far
as the patronage at the disposal of the
cleveland administration was concern
ed. He has Outlived this and come to
Congressman from the Third District
who has brought tangible results to his
constituents that can be counted in
hard cash and practical benefits. Others
had tried to secure for Newberry Col
!ege it's just claim for damages due
from the Federal Government, but it
remained for Latimer to secure the
money, the actual cash, and this he
dId Dy hard end persistent work with
committees of Congress. 1t will be
remembered by everybody that the
South Carolina Railroad had been for
years in the hands of q Receiver ap-
pointed by Federal Judge and it had
perslstentiy refused to pay the taxes
!, due the State on it's property. Gov.
Illiman undertook to collect this tax
by having the sheriffs levy ON the prop
by Judge Simonton. Thereupon Don Lati- %
mer introduced and succeeded in get
ting passed through Congress bill for
relief requiring corporations in the
hands OF Receivers to pay their taxes
to the State just the same rs the far
mer or the business man does. The
result OF this act was that $685. 900 Of
past due taxes were paid into the State
Treasury by the S. G. Railroad. A
snug little sum truly.
thut tue system of free rural mail de-
livery. was originated and engrafted
upon the postal system cf the govern
ment and Is destined to permeate in
the futnre every section of the country,
bringing to the denizens of the rural
districts the same postal facilities en-
joyed by the people in the towns and
cities. The matter was agitated by
I'm IN his first term in Congress. Out
OF twenty -one routes secured for the
entire State last year he secured ten of
them for his District, thus bringing
"a LOCO in cash into the District, and he
has aided in having appropriation for
this service increased from 100000
last year to 81, ,750,0 900 this year. and
mas the promise of complete service
In Pickens and Oconee counties south
of the Southern Railway and in Ander-
soE earrars a5a ssch ean as aSo S6 s;ty t
the ten already secured. These are
actual, tangible yesults in dollars and
cents. It is the intention to increase
this. service in the next five years to
one hundred and fifty carriers, bringing
into the district 9175, 900 besides the
benefit of the free delivery of mail to
the farmers almost ut their doors.
He has secured an increase of the
agricultural appropriation bill for farm
against the unanimous report OF the
committee, and he made fight on the
floor of the House for it and secured it
by adding S65, 600 to the bill. He has
succeeded in passing the bill through
the House, moving the Dry Dock from
Port Royal to Charleston, and has
champiOned the bill to build q SOL
dier's Home at or near Charleston, and
the editor Of the Ne,vs and Courier
ton. by stating that if Latimer's aid
could be secured for the Dry Dock, the
Soldier's Home and the Exposition
these bills could be passed through the
HOnse,. thus showing the estimate in
which his influence is held in Congress.
Among many other practical meas
ures which he now has on the calendar
OF the House is one requiring that the
money now used in buying seeds be
given direct to. the experimental sta
tlons to be used IN growing and testing
seeds for distribution among the farm
ers,. thus acclimating them and testing
their value before they are sent out.
He s!s0 found that the thirteen orig
inal States, the States which founded
the Union, had never secured any of
the public lands for public school pur-
poses while oil the new States had Two
sections in each township (1280 acres)
now pending hill'tO equa1ize the older
States in this matter. This would give
South Carodna public lands worth 91,-
50O, 600 to be invested in Government |
bonds for the benefit of her school |
fund. It is true this bill has not vet !
passed, bnt 1t is greatly to Latimer's :
credit that he alone of all the Congress-
men we have had there in the last cen
tury thought of such q thing.
Butt1e mOststupendousu undertaking |
ne has before Congress is the one to
reduce letter postage to one cent, es-
tablish free rural delivery all over the
United States to the people, to vine |
out the, deficit of $4,000, 900 and leave
2 surplus in the Treasury. He has
this measure we'll in hand aud has ono
hundred and fifty members pledged to
vote for it.
This is but a small epitomo of what
u, has done and is trying to do, and
any man who Visits Washington will
Se both surprised and gratifled TO find
me !, reputation this Congressman has
here for he.:. -, Pea os5teon6, ana indus
;rions work and work in the interest
II his constituents. IL is not the man
gho makes fine forensic displays on the |
ioor Of the House that counts Tor some
hing. but tho man who gets practical
'es9its IN benefits 70 his people, and
CrrrzEN.