The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-05-30

"hcat are our great exports. Now
"a,iI 10 ask any man Of reason, why il
Is mat a duty of twenty-five cents be,
:. eushcl IS put on wheat, and fifteen
cents per bushel on corn, while nothino
q Is put upon cotton? The three stand
: exactly upon the same basis. r. is
II this: Northern Representatives nro
8 tect corn and wheat against imnorto.
It. tons from Canada and elsewhere
\ cotton has been sacrificed to n more
1 sentiment. think that l am the first
Representative IN Congress to point
out the danger to the cotton planters
arising from the importation OF Eyyp
tian cotton. Ten years ago there were
no lmportations to speak Of. The yea,
l made this speech there was in roun(
numbers flfty-six millions of pounds
and last year there was almost seventy
millions, an increase ofGnearly twenty
per cent. Since then two mills iiiivt
been built in South Carolina Gin one OF
winch l. am interestcd) using nothing
but Egyptian cotton. Now | contend
II The cotton farmers were protected
llko the wheat and corn planters, we
could produce any kind Of cotton that
IS needed. South Carolina 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
years ago the "Allcn long staple" was
planted all over upper South Carolina.
ana L know OF some men who bought
gns especially adapted to this cotton.
put they had to throw them away.
Egyptian cotton has driven them out
OF the business. The red hills of this
up-country arc the very place where
this cotton should be grown, bit how
can we develop il in competition with
the cheap labor of Egypt What are
we dong now, meeting and passing
resolutions to cducc the acreage, while
English engineers are constructive
dams in the valley of the Nile, which |
within two years will add one million |
ana onc-half bales or onc-cighth to the |
cotton crop d; while we are reducing
lhc acreage here our competitors are |
increasing IT, and VIC are to furnish
inc market for the increase. say,
away with the Impractical statesman
snip which will sacrifice the cotton
planters Of South Carolina to those of |
Egypt. After | was elected To the
Senate attempted to pursue the same
line III everything, but was very i'll
for long time after my campairn.
confined to my bed at one time for
seven weeks. These terrible cam
palgns OF ours in the heat of summer.
making speeches day after day, sitting
lor i"ar or five hours, your clothes wet
with pcrspiration, in the sun, and one
half the time without dinner, thelo are
but lew men who have gone through |
with IL and not had their health im-
pared. | have no doubt but that !
1t shortened the days Of the gallant
Earle and even rugged John Irby.
THE TREATY WITH SPAIN.
While | was in this physical and
mental condition, the war with Spain |
came Oh and had to grapple with
these new questions. was sick, heart,
body and soul. All that | wanted was
peace and to be let alone. The cruel
taunts and smccrs Of "Rcpubiican and
traitor" hurt me then, while can
laugh at them now. made up my
mind not to create any further issues
but tamcly fall in and follow the lead
of Jones, Tillman, Pettigrew S Co.,
and then to quietly retire at the end of
my term. My intimate friends know
thai this was my intention. When
they concluded to defeat the treaty. I
could not see what great harm could
come to the country from forcing the
Republicans to call an extra session.
1t would only postpone matters by one
month. At the request of some of the
Democratic leaders, [ made speech
not against the treaty but against In
pcrialism, which speech was at the
time, and with the lights before me,
my opinion. | had not drawn the dis
Junction between Expansion and Impe-
rialsm, and | fully intended to vote
against the ratification of the treaty, [
was 80 tired of being abused and ac-
cuscd of disloyalty to my party. At
That time, however, | cOntcndcd in
private that the rejection of the treaty
was unwsc even from party stani-
point. ] had then, rs have now, very
little confidence in the political sagaclty
of Senator James Is. Jones, and be-
licvcd that Senator German was at heart
an EXpansionist, because he voted for
the acquisition of the Hawaiian Is
lanuS, ana suspected him of an ambi-
ton after Mr.. Bryan advised the rati-
lcation of the treaty, to defeat it and
thus supplant him in the leadership.
Not that objected to this, for German
is a conservative man, and might have
been elected President the last time.
could he have commanded the nomina.
ton. However, on Sunday afternoon,
the day before the treaty was to be
voted upon, the news was flashed over
the wires that our troops had been fred
upon by The very people whom we had
freed from the tyranny of Spanish op-
preston. This presented an entirely
new situation, and bcfolc | had tin.
'shed reading the "cxlra" the cores
pondcnLs OF the New York sun and /
think of the World, called at IN, house
before | had CONSULTED with any human
being, and expressed Tins opinion, as
the files Of the newspapers will show.
One month of delay might mean Sc
riOus consequences to the people of
, the United States.
Il