The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-08-21
From The Anderson Daily Mail.
LATIMER FOR THEU. 5. SENATE
4 Partial Record Of What He Has Ac.
cOmplished i'm Congress.

The Third Congressional Distric. and
Anderson county in particular, presents a
candidate for the United States Senate III
the person of Congressman A. Z. Latlmer
who has special fitness for the place as
shown by his past record. And what IS
that record? A poor boy left by the for
tunes of war without the means of secur-
ing an education beyond that afforded by
the old field school, he started life with
the only legacy left him-that of the plow
handles. He has tried the field and the
furrow in all its varying phases, and IS
and has been successful farmer, and
more thoroughly understands the needs,
and is in more thorough sympathy with
the agricultural population than any
other man in the field. And this not IN
antagOnism to the other varied interests
of the State, but as lying at the basis OF
all true prosperity, realizing that these
interests are corollaries growing out OF
the agricultural interests Of the State,
and that as agriculture is prosperous the
others will.necessarily share in 1t, ana that
no country and no other interests can
prosper when agriculture is depressed.
Mr.. Latimer has brought to the public
service the same zeal and energy, the
same honesty and square dealing, the
same practical business sense that has
guided through life in his private business,
and that he has made a success of it.
Look at the record of his ten years IN
congress in results brought to people OF
the Third district 1t is not eXaggeratlon
to say that he has secured more In ten
wears than all the other congressman
who have represented the district since
the war, and this is not said to disparage
them but as a simple statement OF truth.
He went into congress new and untrled
man, fresh from the fields, sent there by
the farmers, inexperienced in legislation
and not skilled in the graces of oratory,
and it was not long until this farmer
representative had something tangible to
show. The railroads in the State In the
hands of receivers in the Federal courts
had for years failed to pay their taxes due
! the State, and he at once set IN motion
the necessary legal machinery to make
them pay their taxes just as the farmers
have to do. He came to the relief Of the
State, and it is within the knowledge of
all how the sheriffs Of some of the coun-
ties were imprisoned for attempting to
collect these back taxes. But he was at
len 9Th successful and the railroads were
made to pay $685. 900 into the State treas
urv. Soon after his entrance into con-
| gress he took up the matter of securing
the claim of Newberry college for $15, ,0OO
for injury to their building by the occu.
pancy of the Federal troops. This bill
had been pending for years, and its
friends had almost despaired of ever get,
ting it passed, but Latimer succeeded
where others had failed, and the college
got the money. He has been instrument
| tai in increasing the number OF seed
packages from 5000 to $4,000 in each dis
trict, and thousands of farmers today
testify that the seeds are the best they
ever had; and thousands upon thousands
of farm bulletins are distributed giving
the results of the work of the department
of agriculture.
But passing over some other matters
the greatest good that he has secured to
the people of his district is the establish
ment of the rural free delivery Of the
mails to the homes of the people. he
has never claimed to be the originator OF
the system, but only to be one of the
first men to perceive the great benefit
there is in it and to give it a practical
application, and today there are 80 routes
in operation in his district at salary OF
$500 per carrier, brin nging $54 900 annual,
| " into the district and comforting vastly
improved mail facilities upon the people
He has introduced bill, which is now
pending, providing for 100000 acres OF
the public domain to be set apart for the
public schools of South Carolina. He
has now a corps of surveyors in the State
instructed by the agricultural department
to make q soil survey of 1000 square miles
of territory to ascertain the constituent
elements of the soil with reference to It's
adaptability to the production of crops
He has also introduced an amendment tt
the agricultural bill appropriating $3.50,
600 for experiments in road making
These matters are referred to to show the
practical lines along which he has been
working.
These are but portion of the benefits
this farmer representative has secured
for his people, and he comes now asking
you to give him a wider field for the dis
play of his usefulness.