The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-02-19
vIRGINIA-CAROLINA
CHEMICAL COMPANY
The Fertilizer Company Won the
Fight In the Senate.

The Fertilizer Company Won the
Fight In the Senate.
Senator Graydon,s bill to repeal the
charter of the Virginia Carolina Chem
ical company was taken up. The ju-
dietary had made two reports. The ma
j0rity reported a substitute bill to the
effect that if the company does not
comply with all the laws of the State
by May LIST, and also agree TO abide by
the State courts, then its permission
to do business in the State should be
withdrawn.
Senator Manning moved to strike
out the enacting words, and Senator
Graydon then took the floor to defend
the measure. He said he had intro
duced it without consultation with any
one, and had done so because he be-
lieved the Virginia Carolina company
is the most vicious trust that is op
pressing the people of the state. 1t is
grinding the farmers, and unless the
farm rs are prosperous and contented
we have lost the balance wheel, moth
ing will go right. We talk about our
cotton mills and other industries, but
if the farmers do not prosper nothing
will prosper. He considered this the
most vitality important measure that
will come up at this session. We all
know hat since the Virginia. Carolina
company secured control Of the ferti.
lizer business in the State the price has
gone up 50 TO S3 per ton. In other
words, the trust is wrlnging out of the
pockets over half a million dollars per
year. This has been going on for
three years, and the levy may be in
creased at any time unless we put a
stop to this robbery now.
The attorney general, at the direc-
ton of the Legislature, has made an
investigation of the workings of the
concern, and m a special report to the
General Assembly he recommended
that the privilege be withdrawn from
the company to do business in the
State. And yet before the committee
he said he would not advise the pas
sage Of the resolutions, and minated
that he felt sighted because he had not
been consulted before their introduce
ton. He would not impugn the mo-
tives Of the attorney general in his sud
den change of front, but it certainly
does look strange. Gas for myself"
explained Senator G%raydon emphati-
cally, "I am not in the habit of con-
sulting the attorney general or any
body else when l get ready to intro
duce q bill"
AS to the cry that If this thing is
done it will drive capital from the
State, he would say that il capital is to
come here and Cypress and rob our
people it should be driven away. He
cited instances showing that as soon
as this company got control of the cot
was increased without a corresponding
increase in the price of seed. This
continued until after the meeting of
the Legislature this year, when the
price was run up from Is or 10 cents
to 81 cents a bushel. Some have ar
gued that none of the fertilizer COM
panies had been making money and
that the Virginia. Carolina company
had paid more for them than they
were worth; he said that was too thin.
No New Jersey corporation ID gong
to come down here and pay more for a
thing than it is worth. The fact that
the company paid such a price for the
plants it now controls shows that il did
not come here to do q legitimate bust.
ness, and its history will show that by
extortionate prices it has gotten back
many times over the money it invested.
This company did not bring any
new taxable property into the State,
for all the different plants we're In ex.
istence and paying taxes before the
company came here. And if we drive
the company out Of the State the State
will not lose any property, because all
these fertilizer plants and oil mills
will remain here and will continue ia
be run by other parties, by separate
concerns. Senator Graydon said that
he was not an enemy of any Legitimate
corporation, but he was opposed to al.
lowing any concern, whether foreign
or domestic, to come here and violate
the laws Of the State as this company
has done. The State has the right tc
know the conditions under which an,
concern may do business in this State
and he thought 1T not unreasonable tc
ask that this concern should agree u
be bound by the decisions of tho State
courts. He thought it would be an in
suit to the State courts If the Virginia
Carolina should refuse TO accept thit
condition. AL! that he asked was tina
the concern should comply with tn,
same laws that domestic corporation
have to conform 10. liz this unreason
able3 ls this unfair? Is it unjust h
make the Wrgipia-C Carolina compan,
conform to the same laws that citizen
OF South Carolina have to live under
Senator May field said that when it |
recalled that in some sections of tn
tate the farms have produced a Jesse
lumber OF bales of option than tons Q