Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-09-02
eEaERaL BUTLER ON COTTON.
The Farmer Senator Defends the Be!l Opera
tors from Secretary Wilson'S Attack.

tors from Secretary Wilson'S Attack.
Gen. M. G. Butler, for a number
of years United States Senator from
South Carolina and major general
during the Spanish war by appoint
ment Of President Mckinley, is al
the Waldorf-Astoria and will be in
the city for several days. He goes
from bere to Newport on the invita-.
tion of his cousin, Perry Belmont.
Gen. Butler has been engaged in
cotton planting ever since he came
of age and has owned his plantations
for 30 years. Since his retirement
from the United States Senate he
has devoted particular attention to
the subject of cotton growing and il
regarded as one of the most progress.
sive and best informed men in the
South regarding cotton.
A reporter asked Gen. Butler yes.
terday if he had seen a statement
from Secretary Wilson, of the agri-
cultural department., concerning the
advance in the price of cotton and
containing some severe criticisms
upon the men who lately have been
operating in the cotton market. The
secretary of agriculture did not hesi-
tate to characterize them as gam
blers, and to severely criticise them
as such.
eyes, l have seen what is said to
have been, the expression of Secre.
tary Wilson," said Gen. Butler, "and
! must think that he spoke without
correct information. Indeed / am
bound to say that he seemed not to
know what he was talking about.
The gentlemen to whom he refers as
gamblers, Messrs. Brown and Hayne,
are not only among the most reputa.
BILE business men in the country, but
are gentlemen of the highest charac.
ter. One of them, Mr.. Hayne, is
froiu my own State, and | think he
will stand fair comparison, as will
Mr.. Brown, from Mississippi, with
Secretary Wilson or anybody in Off
cial or business life. l must say
was surprised at what appeared to
me to be very reckless charge, one
which was not justified by the facts.
The fact is that Messrs. Brown
and Hayne have done more for the
producers of cotton, the farmers, in
few months than the department
of agriculture has done in 10 years.
| was some what surprised at Score
tary Wilson, for he did not appear TO
get into frenzy of indignation when
certain other gentlemen in the West
were making corner on wheat and
corn, which enhanced the value of
these two commodities, and from
which the farmers got the benefit.
"The secretary seems to be par
ticularly concerned about the opera
tors and the cotton mills that the
cotton mills have had to shut down
and put out of employment large
number of employees, and that there
fore it's great wrong upon the cot
ton mills. Now, in regard to that,
Messrs. Brown and Hayne simply
bought cotton from the bears in the
cotton market and required them TO
deliver the cotton, and, of course,
the prices went up.
ga rule the managers of the
cotton mills all over the country are
bears and sympathize with the bear
operators. Very naturally, their in
terest is to lower the price of the
raw material, and they needed the
representations made by the bear
operators, exaggerated the last crop
of cotton and failed to provide them
selves with the raw material to keep
their mills going. That is all there
is in that"
"Can you say anything with refer
ence to the profits in manufacturing
cotton cloth from the raw cotton ?''
"Well, only in very general way.
A friend of mine who is largely in
terested in the manufacture of cotton
in the South gave me some statistics at
one time of the profits from say a
pound Of raw cotton converted into
the finished product, and I am told
that in many instances that profit has
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