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

Ane fertfl1Her 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.
jority reported substitute bill to the
effect that if the company does not
comply with all the laws of the State
by May 1st, 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withdrawn.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 il 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 that since the Virginia Carolina
company secured control of the ferti
lizer business in the State the price has
gone up SO 10 S3 per ton. In other
words, the trust is wringing out of the
pockets over half 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 q
stop to this robbery now.
The attorney general, at the direc.
tiOp of the Legislature, has made an
investigation of the workings of the
concern, and In 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that the privilege be withdrawn from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 intimated
that he felt slighted because he had not
been consulted before their introduc-
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. "As for myself, -
explained Senator Graydon emphati-
cally, /" am not in the habit of con-
sulting the attorney general or any
body else when get ready to intro
duce bill"
AS to the cry that If this thing is
done it will drive capital from the
State, he would say that if capital is to
come here and Oppress and rob our
people it should be driven away. He
cited instances showing that as soon
as this company got control of the cot
ton oil mills the price of seed and hulls
was increased without 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 18 or 10 cents
to 81 cents 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 goina
to come down here and pay more for q
thing than it is worth. The fact that
the company paid such price for the
plants it now controls shows that it die
not come here to do legitimate bust
ness, and its history will show that by
extortionate prices it has gotten bacl
many times over the money it invested
| This company did not bring any
new taxable property into the State
for all the different plants were In OK
istence and paying taxes before tn,
company came here. And if we driy,
the company Cut of the State the Stat,
will not lose any property, because al
these fertilizer plants and oil mill
will remain here and will continue t,
be run by other parties, by separate
concerns. Senator Graydon said tina
he was not an enemy of any legitimat
corporation, but he was opposed to al
lowing any concern, whether foreigi
or domestic, TO come here and yiolat
the laws of the State as This compan
has done. The State has the right 4
know the conditions under which an
concern may do business in this Sta.e
and he thought it not unreasonable +
ask that this concern should agree I
be bound by the decisions of tho Stat
courts. He thought it would be an in
suit to the State courts If the Virginie
Carolina should refuse TO accept thi
condition. AL! that he asked was this
the concern should comply with tb
same laws that domestic corporation
have to conform TO. Is this unreasor
able9 LIS this unfair? Is it unjust 1
make the Virginia Carolina eompan
conform to the same laws that citizes
of South Carolina have to live under
Senator May field said that when 1t
recalled That In some sections of IL
state the farms have produced less,
lumber of bales Of cotton than tons
! fartilizar cnaeuo.od ,o.so ..tn.. 80. ,