The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-05-29
M'LAIRlN SPEAKS.
TContinue6 from page l.

,rzd ,esscr, lived but = few shcr; weeks.
Governor Ellerbe rendered me the nom
ius lion. I Irealjzed the radical nature
of some Of my utterances acd votes, aud
while could not foresee " 1st has hsp,
pcred, knew my "a urs we'll eDops n
to :eel certain that having once eoLlstad
ia ;he fight eoulo pever ;u7n tscs
while life lasted, l, therefore, refused
10 accept the appointment at the han6s
of Governor Ei!eroe unless he would
guarantee that the Executive Commit
tee would order primary and permit
the people to pass uron the issues
which I had raised.
CAMPAIGN OF 1897.
It is unnecessary fer NE to refer to that
bitter fight. You all remember The meeting
in Greenville, where was iosulted, buIIled
and baited like some wild beast, 1t was
sample of some Of The rest. For myself l
an willing TO Let ihe dead past bury It's
dead" have no i'll feeling towards any
one On account Of it. spoke, believe, II
every county in the State outside Of my Con-
eressional District except three. advocated
nv views not only on the !arif but on what
considered the real line Of policy to be
pursued By Southern Representatives. I
carried about eighty per cent. Of the vote
csst and every county except three, which
were lost from local considerations by small
margins l wish l had time to recount TO
the people what the rice schedule, which |
got into that bill, has done for the rice plan
ters on tie coasts Of South Carolina, the
waste places it has redeemed, the thousands
of dollars it has brought into This State
What the duty On pine has done for the lun-
Der interests, which were being sacrificed 10
the white pine imported free cf dCty from
Canada The North, which is almost bare Of
timber, instead Of going to Canada, ba, been
forced to 60 South, and that has put lhous-
ards of dollars into this State. There is no
telling what an arrangement Of the schedule
on cotton goods s. as to prevent discrimina'
ton sgairst coarse fairies, has meant TO the
cotton mills Of the South.
COTTON PLANTERS SACRIFICED TO a SENTIMENT.
This is not the place to explain what the
retention Of the home market means when
mSnU1SCSNTcE ESSA5 . 4OIC!SA OONLSS. I "IAA
refer, however, to the duty on raw cotton,
which I advocated at the time o Cott-n, corn
and whest are our great exports. Now
want to ask any man Of reason, why it is
that duty Of twenty-five cents per bushel
is put on wheat, and fifteen cents per bushel
on corn, while nothing is put upon cotton?
The three stand exactly upon the
same basis. 1t is this, Northern Rep
resentst;ves protect corn and whest against
impcrtstions from Canada andelsewhere,
while cotton has been sacrificed 10
mere sentiment I think that I an the
fret Representative in Congress to point out
the danger to the cotton p anters arising
from the importation Of Egpy tian cotton.
Ten years ago there were no importstions to
speak of. The year I made this speech
there was in round numbers hfty-siI millions
Of pounds and last year there was almost
seventy millions, an increase Of nearly twen-
ty per cent. Since then two mills have been
built in South Carolina lin one Of which lam
interested) using nothing but Egyptian cot
ton. Now contend, if the cotton farmers
were protected like the wheataud corn plan
ters, we could produce any kind of cotton
that is needed. South Csrolins, is the home
Of the cotton plant. No cotton comes
into competition with our Sea Island
cotton, and common sense tells me,
that we can develop any grade needed
between that and the short staple. Ten
yesrs ago the ssAllen long staple was
planted all over upper South Carolina, and
know of some men who bought gins especial
ly adapted to this cotton, but they had to
throw them away Egyptian cotton has
driven them out Of the business. The red
hills Of this up country are the verl place
where this cotton should be grown, but h "
can we develop it in competition with the
cheap labor of Egypt? What are edoiDg
now, eting and passing resolutions to re-
duce the screage while English engineers are
constructing dams in the valley Of the Nile,
which within TWO years will add one million
and one half baies or one eighth tc the cotton
crop; while we are reducing the acreage here
our competitors are increasing it, and We
sre to furnish the market for the increase.
say, away with the impractical statesman
ship which vii, sacrifice the cotton planters
ofSouth Carolina to those Of Egypt. After
/ was elected to the Senate attempted to
pursue the same lipein everything, but was
very Ill for long time after my campaign,
confined to my bed at one time for seven
weeks. TAese terrible camraisns Of ours IN
the heat Of summer, making speeches day
after dsy, sitting for four or FIVE hours, your
clothes wet with perspiratioD, in the sun,
and one-half the time withort dinner, there
are but few men who have gJne throug n with
itand not had their health impaired. have
no doubt but that it shortened the days Of the
gallant Earle and even rugged John lrby.
THE TREATY WITH SPAIN.
While was in It's physical aaS, mental
condition, the war with Spain came on and l
had to grapple with these new questions. l
was sick, heart, body and soul. All that l
wanted was peace and to be let alone, The
cruel tsunts and sneers of''Republican aud
traitor hurt me then, while can laugh at
them now. made up my mind not to create
any iurther issues, but tauely fall in and
follow the lead of Jones, Tillman, Pettigrew
& Co., and then to quietly retire at the end
of my term. My intimate friends know that
this was my intention. When they con-
cluded to defeat the treaty, could not see
what great harm could come to the country
from forcing the Republicans 10 call an extra
session. Il would only postpone matters
by one month. At the request Of some OF
the Democratic leaders, Imsdea speech, not
against the treaty but against Imperialism,
which speech was at the time, and with the
lights before me, my opinion. I had not
drawn the distinction between Expansion and
Imperialism, and fully intended to vote
against the ratification ofthe treaty, was
30 tired of being abused end accused Of dis,
loyalty to ny party. At that time, how
ever, I contended in private that the
rejection Of the treaty was unwise
even FROM party standpoint. had
then, as have now, very little confidence 10
the political ssgacity Of Senator James K.
Jones, and believed that Senator German
was at heart an Expansionist, because he
voted for the acquisition ofthe Hawaiian
Islands, and suspected him Of sn ambition
after Mr.. Bryan advised the ratification Of
the treaty, to defeat it and thus supplant