The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-02-27

Last Saturday a Senator from Nortl
Car. Ina, with
TO see what is not to be seen
found where the Senator from Missouri
had slipped up and omitted to put III
the clause for the repeal, as he sup
posed or guessed nj. In consequence
the bill was amended 80 as to put in
the repeating clause. In that way we
had two repeating clauses in the same
bill, and this morning the Senator from
Missouri nodestly suggested that he
did not think two repeating clauses
ought to be in the same bill, and by a
legislative turn, back the bill now has
but one repeating clause.
These bridges are considered of vast
Importance to commerce in States and
Territories, and TO the United States
as government; but Congress has
manifested an absolute determination
not to allow any of these bridge acts
to be make irrevocable; so Congress
can at any time repeal any bridge act
and thus make the bridge an unlawful
structure, and force the owners TO pull
it down.
Here, however, these favorites, ship
owners, are to be protected and made
secure by an irrevocablc contract in
tended to secure to them this most cx-
travaYant bounty through the long
years named in the bill
Now, suppose the Congress should
deem it wise to repeal this act, and
had reserved the power TO do so, what
would the shipowncrs lose ? Nothing
IN the world but the subsidy. Their
ships would still be their own, to be
used as they chose to use them in any
lawful trade; they would have no cost
ly structures destroyed by the repeal of
the bill, as the bridge owners would
have if their bridge acts were repealed
after the bridges were built.
SO it is made manifest that the bcne-
liclaries under this bill, if 1t passes,
are to be declared prime favorilcs of
the nation-far more dear than even
the transcontimental railroads.
Mr. President, there is something
radically wrong with this bill.
The junior Senator from South |
Carolina, with very marked ability and
with the enthusiastic heat of Il convert. |
himself over all his as
socrates in advocating the passage of
this bill.
South Carolina has never been
famous for the graceful ease with
which she surrcndcrs her rights or her
opinions or the ground on which she |
nad taken her stand. | call General |
Jackson to prove that South Carolina |
maintained her rights, as she claimed
hem, with firmncss amounting to |
obstinacy. Calhoun may testify tha.
her opinions were never surrendered |
BY his State in his day and generation
And let Elliott, on the ruins of Fort
sumter (whose modcsty and brave en-
iurancc will f,rever honor South Caro- |
lna), and let the patriot soldiers, the |
: Palmetto regiment" the equal, if |
not superior, of any other regiment
hat ever fought for the United Statcs),
marching "thc road to death as to a |
festival" " under General Scott-lct all |
say how South Carolina held the
ground on which she had taken her
stand.
But times change and men change
with the times. There was time
when no Democrat could vote to make |
his bill law, because that party de-
clarcd such measures repugnant to the
and decla.nd for " fair
play," for equal rights to all and special
privileges to none.
The junior Senator from South Caro-
Ina i'll advocating this bill gave as a
beautiful and interesting picture Of the |
and still improving condition
Oh the South in certain industries, and |
we all rejoice that these industries are
prosperous and multiplying. The
farmers and their business arc not so
fortunate, for though not as miserably
encumbered as they have been, the
curse is still upon them, au,l
The tax curse ia growing from bad TO
worse-especially the Fed .ral taxation
which has been growing larger and
larger-for the plain purpose of en-
abling the Congress to pass measures
like this, which gives S0,CJO,OOO each
year for twenty-five years, amounting
IN the aggregate to 1925 100000, to
and other shlpowners.
Every dollar of all these millions must
come out Of the pockets of the people.
Yet, so far as l can understand, no
farmer, as such, will be benefited to
the amount of one cent by this mon
strous extravaganza. The only right
to enact this bill is the fact stated by
the wise man, "Thc rich ruleth over
the poor"
IL has been a fashion of some thirty
years standing, when statesman in
our part of the world has made up his
mind to turn his back on his party and
his people he begins by praising trade
and commerce and manufactures as
more important than all other branches
of industry, and this leads TO the con-
clusion, in his mind, that all other in
dustries and mankind generally should
be taxed for the protection " and
support of theso most important in
dustries, as he calls them. Then it is
an easy thing for him to convince him
self that the opinions of the protected
classes are of more value than the
opinions of " All the world and the
rest of mankind" Finally he an
nounces that he has abandoned all his
provincial prejudlces and become a
broad-minded American, and intends
thereafter to follow the broad way of
q statesman.
Mr.. President, if PRESBYTERIAN
pastor should pleach to his congrega-
tion TO the effect that the only safe
ROAD to the promised land went through
baptism by immersion, some elder of