Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-07-18
Hon. A. c. La.Imer's Record In Conaress.

Now Chat the campaign is upon us II
is the fashion Of scG,o people who ar,
opposed to Latimer to ask tho question
"What has Latimer done ?"
To meet and answer that question and
put his friends, by way of romom brance,
in fresh possession of his record, it Is
here proposed to give a short resume OF
his work, not In any spirit or words OF
fulsome adulation, but to give simple
recital of tho facts in simple Justice To
the man and his record. What has he
done
And first and foremost lot it be said
that ho won't to Congress blacklisted by
his defeated opponent, who put the
stigma Of Populism upon him and upon
the Democratic voters Of the Third Dis.
trict who sent him thero and who set him,
solf up as tho olf-constituted representa-
tive of the Third District so far rs tho pa.
troDago Mt tho disposal of tho Cleveland
administration was concerned. IIe has
outlived this and como to SEQ himself
rocognizid as tho only Congressman from
tho Third District who has brought tan
gible results to his constituents that can
DO counted in hard cash and practical
benefits. Others had tried to secure for
Nowborry College its just claim for
damages duo from the Federal Govern
mcnt, but it remained for Latimer to
secure the money, tho actual cash. and
this ho did by hard and persistent work
with tho individual mombers and with
tho committees of Congress.
1t will be remembered by cyerybodv v
that tho South Carolina Railroad had
bccn for years in tho hands of receiver
appointed by Federal Judge and it had
pcrsistently refused to pay tho taxes duo
tho State on its property. Gov. Tillman
undertook to collect this tax by having
the Shcritfs lovy on tho property. They
were arrested and fined by Judge Simon
ton. Theroupon I.atimor introduced
Congress bill for relief, recurring cor.
porations in tho hands of receivers to
pay their taxes to tho State lust tho
Same rs the farmer or business man does.
The result of this act was that S2OS. 600
of past duo taxes were paid into tho
State Treasury by the South Carolina
Railroad. snug little sum, truly.
1t is largely duo to Latimcrs efforts
that tho system Of free rural mail dcliy.
cry was originated and ongraftcd upon
the postal system of the government and
Is destined to permeato in the future
every section of tho country, bringing to
tho citizens Of rural districts the Same
postal facilities enjoyed by people in
the towns and cities. The matter was
agitatcd by him in his first torn in Con
grcss. Out of twonty-onc routes Sc
cured for the entire State last year he
secured ten of thom for his district,
thus bringing $1,000 in cash to the
district, and ho has aided in having the
appropriation for this service Increased
from S30O, 200 last year to 81, ,75O, 900 this
year, and has tho promise of a complete
service in Pickons and Oconce counties
south of tho Southern Railway and in
Anderson county. This means about
sixty carriers at q salary of 5000 each, or
$4,000, with tho last ten already
secured. These are actual, tangible
results in dollars and cents. 1t is the in
tentlon to increase this servivo in the
next 1.-Two years to ono hundred and fifty
carriers bringing into tho district STD
goo besides tho benefit of the free deliv-
cry OF mail to the farmers almost at
their doors.
Iic has secured an increase of the
agricultural appropriation bill for farm
bulletins and for seeds for the farmers
against tho unanimous report of the
committees, and he made a fight on the
floor of the House for it and secured il
by adding 500, 600 to the bill.
lie has succeeded in passing tho bill
through the House, moving tho Dry
Dock from Port Royal to Charleston,
and has champoncd the bin to build a
soldiers home at or near Charleston,
and the editor Of the Charleston News
and Courier openly compimented him
IN Washington by stating that if Lati-
mcr's aid could DO secured for tho Dry
Dock, Soldiers Home and the Exposi-
ton these bills could be passed through
tho House, thus showing the estimate i'm
which his influence is held in Congress.
Among many other practical measures
winch he now has Oh the calendar Of the
House is one requiring that the money
now used in buying seeds be given d.
rect to the experimental stations to be
used in growing and testing seeds for
distribution among the farmers, thus
acclimating them and testing their value
before they are sent out.
He also found that tho thirteen origi-
nal States, the States which founded the
Union, had never secured any of the
public lands for public school purposes,
while all tho new States had two sections
in each township Q,2S0 acrcs) set apart
for this purpose, and he has now pending
bill to cqualiZe the older States in this
matter. This would give South Carolina
public lands worth 81 ,5C0,0OO to bo in
vested in Government Bonds for the
benefit of her school fund. 1t is true
this bill las not yet passed, but it. is
greatly to latimcr'S credit that he alone
OF all the Congressman we have had
there in :hc last century thought of such
thing.
But the most stupendous undertaking
he has before Congress is the ono To re-
dnce letter postage to one cent, establish
free rural delivery all over the United
States to the people, wipe out tho deficit
OF S6,OW,0W and leave Il surplus in the
Treasury. He has this measure well in
hand and has one hundred and fifty
members pledged to vote for it.
This is but a small epitomc of what he
has dono and is trying to do, and any
man who visits Washington will be both
surprised and gratilcd to find the rcpu-
tation this Congressman has there for
hard, persistent and industrious work
and work in the interest Of his constitu-
ents. 1t is not the man who makes fine
forensic displays on the floor of the
House that counts for something, but tho
man who gets practical results in benefits
to his people, and such man is a. G.
LaIlmcr. ID. II. Il.