The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-02-28

had slipped up and omitted to put III
the clause for the repeal, as he sup
posed or guessed at. In consequence,
the bill was amended so as to put i'll
the repeating clause. In that way we
had two repeating clauses in the same
bill, and this morning tho Senator from
Missouri modestly suggested that he
did not think two repeating clauses
ought to be in the same bill, and by n
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 low any of these bridge acts
to be make irrevocablc; so Congress
can at any time repeal any bridge act
and thus make the bridge an unlawful
structure, and force the owners to pull
il down.
Here, however, these favoritcs, ship
owners, are to be protected and made
secure by an irreyocable contract in-
tended to secure to them this most cx-
travagant bounty through the long
years named in the bill.
Nuw, 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
III 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
lv 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have if their bridge acts were repealed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 benc-
iclaries under this bill, if 1t passes,
arc To be declared prime favoritcs of
the Dation--far more dear than even
the transcontimcntal 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 convert,
distinguished himself over all his as
sociatcs in advocating the passage Of
thisss bill.
South Carolina has never been
famous for the graceful ease with
which she surrendcrs her rights or her
opinions or the ground on which she
had taken her stand. | call General
jackson to prove that South Carolina
maintained her rights, as she claimed
them, with Il iirmncss amounting to
obstinacy. Calhoun may testify tha.
her opinions were never surrendered
by lis State in his day ani generation.
And let Elliott, on the ruins of Fort
Sumter (whOse modesty and brave en-
durancc will f. rcver honor South Caro-
lina), and let the patriot soldiers, the
" Palmetto Regiment (thc equal, if
not superior, of any other regiment
th It ever fought for the United Statcs),
marching "thc road 10 death as to a
festival " under General Sc0tt-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
this blil law, because that party de-
clarcd such measures repugnant to the
Constitution, and declared for '' fair
play" for equal rights to all and special
privileges to none.
The junior Senator from South Caro-
lima in advocating this bill gave as a
beautiful and interesting picture Of the
improved and still improving condition
Of the South in certain industries, and
we all rejoice that these industries are
prosperous and multiplying. The
farmers and their business are not SO
fortunate, for though not as miscrably
cncumbcred as they have been, .he
mortgage curse is still upon them, anil
The tax curse is growing from bad to
worsc-cspecially the Federal taxation
which has been growing larger and
largcr-for the plain purpose of en-
abing the Congress to pass measures
like this, which gives 100000 each
year for twenty-five years, amounting
in the aggregate TO 1926, 100000, to
corporations and other shlpOwncrs.
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 Ivy this mon
strous extravaganza. The only right
to enact this bill is the fact stated by
the wise man, I" The lich lulelh over
the poor"
1t has been fashion of some thirty
years standing, when a statesman in
our part of the world has made up his
mlnd 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
dustlies and mankind generally should
be taxed for the protection and
support of these most important in
dustrics, 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
nounccs that he has abandoned all his
provincial prcjud;ccs and become a
broad-mindcd American, and intends
thereafter to follow the broad way of
fat CSmaD