Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-12-02
B. S. Boggs Is After J. A. Cook.

Newry, December 1.--Editors Courier:
AS Fort Madison is a nice and quiet lit
tie town that stands near the Tugaloo
river, and not only made famous by
being tho burial place of that noble hero
of the Revolutionary War, Ben Cleve
correspondent 'L.," that place has been
made doubly famous by being the home
of the only man in Oconee county ouali-
fled to describe the condition of the pub.
lie roads. If "L," of Tugaloo, will pay
the mill towns of tho county a visit and
make an investigation Of the houses pro-
vided for the operatives to live in, he
may then say that j. A. Cook may ycui-
rectly describe the condition of the pub
lie roads, but when he (Cook) calls the
nice houses of our mill towns "little old
huts around tho MILL" he Cook is woe
| fully incompetent of describing the many
nice cottages found around the cotton
| mills of Oconee and of other mills in
| this State.
l will not pretend to say what kind
of honses Mr.. Cook has for his tenants
to 1.-Two in, but am persuaded to believe
that they are no better than the houses
provided by the owners of our cotton
mills.
Mr.. Cook asks why the mill men do not
pay the farmers the speculators' prices
for cotton, and thus give tho farmer the
advantage of better price If the mill
| men are not doing this to-day, we will
! admit that we know nothing about it.
Now, as to the mill men taking the
white laborers from the country, I will
say, without the fear of successful con-
tradiction, that no mill->man hasaiever
gone out in the country and compelled
any one to come in and work for, him
No, Mr.. Cook, they have come OF their
own free will and because they (most of
themi can make more and have, better
houses to live in, and generally more
and better to eat and wear. Hence they
60 to the cotton mills and win continue
TO DO 80 as long as these conditions exist.
Again, Mr.. Cook, you say that you
have arranged with the merchants, for
yourself and tenants, to make your
papers payable in January. Suppose
every farmer was to do this. Would not
all the cotton then have to be put on the
market at one time, and could not the
mill men combine just the Same, and
wait until then to buy their cotton and
thus force the price down, as you seem
to think they have tried to do this fall,
and hence "rob the farmer of his honest
rightsp" Now is this not correct con-
clnsion? No; you might say the mills
have to buy cotton earlier in the season
and could not wait until January for it.
TO some extent that is true for the pres
ent, but how long would it take the mill
men, II they were disposed to do 80, to
arrange to buy their supply of cotton in
January to run them from January to
Januaryp
SO, Bro. Cook, in conclusion, please
allow me to say that while we all must
admit that tho farmer is the mud sill
upon which rests the financial and COM
mercial prosperity of this country; and
indeed our existence, but at the same
time there are other things that are nee.
essary in making people happy and
prosperous, and they have rights and
interests to be considered asswell as the
farmers. However, we wilI,agree to dis,
agree. b. S. BoGgG