The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-04-05

oOOICSS ou0 JiOOP4O O4 OHHAtOA SOooo ~
on the issues of the day.
1t was here that the memorable
campaign of 1897 opened, and some
of you remember when the town bell
pealed out the hour, how John Irby
dramatically turned and pointing his
finger at me, said, "Yonder bell has
just tolled the death knell OF John
e. McLaurin,'' and none present will
ever forget the scene that followed
wheE I replied, Hark from the
tomb doleful sound. -
Well, I didn't die just then, bat
the old bell has since rung out dirge
for myself and many others. 1t is
pretty hard On the corpse, but am
bound to admit that as general pro-
position funerals are a good thing.
especially political, funerals. You
can't have too many of them in South
Carolina. "Oh death where is thy
sting, OF grave where is thy victory, .
was not written for any politician
that I ever knew, nor is there any
hope held out to him Of resurrection
and life everlasting beyond the grave.
Fortunate is the man who can look
back to the past without bitterness
and vain regrets, and feel that in
spite of self, he has struck some
blow for truth, done something for
country, and planted some seed that
must bear good fruit. He can console
himself with the thought that un-
sound seed do not live long anyway
and that he is always sure to harvest
thas crop. Popular applause is cheap,
it is the property of any demagogre,
big or little, who can successfully
pander to the passing whim or cap
rice, but to tie man who has no
higher aim it brings It's own punish
ment, for it is as uncertain as the soft
south wind signing in the pine tops,
changed in moment into hurri-
canes blast.
LOOK THE TRUTH IN THE FACE.
It is, a pleasure to me to address a
strictly non political body OF my fell
low citizens.
It is good thing for man or peo-
rle to look the truth squarely in the
face, see things as they are, not as
pictured by vanity, ambition or q
disordered Imagination.
w
organization. Every business in the
United States is organized, except
the cotton planter, and now in self
defense, We are being forced TO act in
concert.
Here Mr.. McLaurin went over the
ground covered in his speech in New
Orleans, and drew an analogy between
wheat and cotton.
ssSTAND PAT.n
/ dc not believe there is any over
production, if there were proper
methods OF tribution. The balance
sof the world is a consumer of our raw
cotton and is. therefore combined to
get orr product as cheap as possible.
You can only meet organization with
organization. All other industries
through combination fix the price of
their products.
When I bring my product cotton
into town to sell, / do not tell the
buyer what I will take as all these
other industries do me. I humbly ask
what will you give me for my cot
toms
The: buyer says "wait until Liver
pool comes iu,'' then he says I will
give you six cents or whatever some
man in Liverpool says is the price.
Gentlemen, do what all the others
do; put your cotton in warehouse
don't ask anybody what they will
give, but tell the world what you will
take. It is in your own hands. All
you have to do is to "stand pat. -
Fellow citizens, let us stand pat;'
with tbs action Of the New Orleans
Con1sntion. "Stand pat.
Let it be understood that from
now henceforth and forever we, the
producers of the material that clothes
the world, intend to have a voice in
fixing the price of the products Of our
labor.
FOREIGN TRADE.
I have said before and say again
that the only permanent solution OF
the cotton problem lies in the exten-
sion of present and the creation of
new markets for COTTON cloth. There
is room in this world for larger
crop than has yet been produced We
are exporting too much raw and too
little manufactured cotton.
We control the raw cotton, my
friends, but we do not control the
worlds trade in cotton goods. The
United States must control the cotton
trade of the world; nothing short OF
that will give you fair price for the
products of your labor.
The export trade in cotton goods is
showing a steady increase; because OF
the great demand from China, it has
been the greatest in its history fol
the past seven months, but it is not
because of any special effort on our
part. The truth is that we were on
the very edge of a cotton famine, and
the demand for goods is so great that
Europe is unable to supply its custom
ers, aud the overflow has come to
the United States.
For seven months, ending in Jan
uary. 1908, our exports were about %
million dollars against 1919 million
for the same period in 1904 This is
good, but it didn't come from the
right Gauss. 1t only came because it
could not 90 anywhere else. The
right policy is to put the whole cotton
trade on a stable basis. We do not
4