The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-02-19
FAILED TO PASS.
The Senate Kills the Bill to Estab-
lish a Fertilizer Plant.
IT WOULD COST TOO MUCH TO
Succeed in Doing What Its advocates
Thought It Would. Would
Require Five Hundred or
a Million Dollars.

Senator Mayheld's bill to provide for
the manufacture and sale Of fertilizers
by the State was taken up in the Sch
ate Thursday night. The provisions
of the bill have already been published.
Mr.. Tatum's joint resolution to pro-
vide for the appointment of a COM
mission to investigate the scheme was
taken up at the same time, and the
two were considered in connection.
Senator Manning started the ball by
moving to strike out the enacting
words Of the bill. He said he believed
the scheme was wrong in principle,
for he does not believe it proper
function for the State to engage in
business. There could not be no SINH
larity between the State dispenSary
and a State fertilizer plant. AS to
the argument that the State owns the
phosphate beds and has the convicts,
and could therefore engage in the
business more economically than pri-
vate parties. he said the cost Of equip
ping a plant would be about three
hundred. thousand dollarS-eTen a
plant OF limited capacity-and he did
not believe the State could make mon
ey on the investment. a plant Of
this size would turn out about $4,000
tons per year, and as the State con-
suneS about SO0,0 tons per year. the
State plant would have very little ef-
feet in reducing the price to the farm
ers. Another objection is that the
fertilizer business is necessarily a cred
it business. Very few farmers are able
to pay cash for their guanos, and they
would receive no benefit. Take a year
like the one just past, when so many
farmers were unable to pay for their
guanos. Suppose the State had been
selling the fertilizers and had been IN
able OF unwilling TO extend credit, as
the fertilizer companies have done, it
would have meant general bank
ruptcy.
Senator G1ayfeld, the author, de-
Tended the bill. He said he had intro
duced it soley with a view Of benefit
ing the farmers. It is stipulated in
the bill that fertilizers should be sold
at a profit OF not more than 10 cents
per ton. The amount Of fertilizers
used in this State each year reaches
500. 900 tons, which range in cost from
ten dollars to twenty two dollars per
ton. You can't buy acid for less than
ten dollars per ton and any ammonlat-
ed fertilizer costs sixteen dollars per
ton. He says he has been assured that
the net cost Of acid phosphate to the
manufacturer is only six dollars and
thirty eightc cents per ton. This leaves
a profit Of three dollars and sixty two
cents on each ton. These are the fig
ures OF expert manufacturers, as to
the cost with free labor and buying
the phosphate rock. He said he esti-
mated that the State by owning the
rock and the labor. could produce acids
at a cost Of four dollars seventy cents
per ton, and leave profit to the State.
In the same way he said he estimated
that the State could produce ammon-
lated fertilizers at a cost Of about
twelve dollars per ton against sixteen
dollars to twenty two dollars charged
by the manufacturers. If the State
engages in this business twill demon
strate how cheaply fertilizers can be
produced, prices will be lowered, and
we viii be no longer in the hands Of
the fertilizer trust. He argued that
the convicts should be put to work III
the interests of the farmers of the
State. rather than be worked in COM
petition with them. He thought the
scheme was opposed because it was a
new one-a novel one. There is no
constitutional inhibition against work
ing the convicts in this way, and the
only question is one Of policy. Shall
this thing be done in the interest OF
the farmers? They surely need help
need relief. One advantage that would
be derived from this plan would be
that the farmers would get pure ferti-
lizers. for the State would not turn out
impure goods. Yet we all know that
thousands OF tons OF impure, worth
less fertilizers are sold in this State
every year, the examinations OF our
inspectors to the contrary notwith-
standing. BY this plan we woIld save
to the farmer from one million i've
thousand dollars to one mil
lion seven hundred fifty thousand dol
lars every year-enough in three years
to wipe out the State debt.
Senator Henderson said there was a
widespread dissatisfaction in the State
over the fertilizer business, and re-
lief is demanded. The question be-
fore US is whether we are now ready
to go into the business, or to appoint a
to make an Investigation
and report at the next session. lie
thought the bill should not be passed
now. but that the committee should
be appointed.
Senator Talbrd opposed the bill.
he is from Beaufort. in which county
most of the phosphate rock is dredged.
He said the cost Of engaging in the
business would be far greater than IS
imagined. Besides the costly machin-
cry that will be necessary in dredging
the rock, the greater part Of the work
in manipulating the phosphate rock is
done by skilled labor, and the peniten-
tiary cannot furnish skilled labor. He
thought the cost Of engaging in the
business would be between tive hun
dred thousand dollars and one million
dollars, with the probabilities in favor
OF the latter.
Senator Graydon also opposed the
bill. because he believed the plan i'm
practicable. There is no doubt that
the farming interest is depressed, and
that they need help. 1t is also true
, of yr-f,.t n LOGS nart iii-