The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-03-01
POWER OF THE SOUTH.
Senator McLaurin 10 Convention.

trifed the Cotton rover convention Vester-
day. His speech might not stand a Demo
cratic microscopic examination without
showing something distas.eful 10 the parry
which favors tariff for revenue only, out
whatever arguments he MADE IN iavor o. p[1-
i've manner In which the subject was present.
ed. MI. McLaurin quite captured the con-
yention, and for the 40 minutes OF his speech
were ont bursts of applause. While he was
given a flattering reception when nrst oalIeo
upon for a speech, yet the applause AT Jus con-
clusion was very much more efnonstla aarm.
ers of Kansas and Nebraska were burning
grain TO reduce a surplus, as We nave heara
recently of burning cotton IN georgia anu
Texas. For the few years past Tie crops I'D
the West have been the largest on, record ahu
vet wheat is today selling at nearly Stu, tne
equivalent Of IL l-2 cent cotton, Whlle oa!s.
corn. barley, rye and all T Isnsr is q s,rikine
naiogy between wheat and cotton; they are
the two great agricultural export crops ou tns
United States; more and more, tne clViiiZsa
world is looking to our country LOT io2o L
1T is Interesting and instructive In this
crisis to find out why 1t Is that tne "nea.
farmer has been able for the past year 10 notG
prices 40 high above the European party. !
haven't made the comparison IN some Time
but not long ago did and while Inc euro
pean farmers were getting a0out s on otp e. n u
bushel. Right across the ooroer IN Chuaua'
wheat was selling for much less than 1t was
in Michigan. The wheat farmers know tnal
sooner or later European supplies will ne ex-
hausted audthey must draw on the Unlleo
States, Making due allowance for war. which
always makes provisions higher, Woulu no'
answer the question. Tor that Wouio mesn
that European prices snould oe nleueF ludp
in the United States. mn
ga shortage In the American crop ofI5.OOu
900 bushels from last year Ia not sutlcient ex'
PLANTATION. The great competitor OF COTTON j.
wool. and trade Journals speak Of the almost
complete failure of the wool crop OF Austria
liza, and it seems to me that uncer tne orai1
nary laws Of supPly and demand tnls s1on,o
be a factor in fixing the Intrinsic value OF COL
ton, but we fail to see Its effect.
mature has given the cotton planter o
great advantage over the wheat grower
monopoly in the production of cotton. wheat
is produced all over the world, from the Arc
tic to lower temperate zones.
There is but one answer TO the proo,eH tns
wheat farmer Ia organized and has learned
the lesson Of how to manage his aHalrs on the
business principles that govern the other In
dustries of the world.
THE LILA OF "ovERPRoDUCTIoN.'
IA few years ago they were singing him 10
sleep with that same old song "oVerprouuc-
tion," coined by selfish greed to ENABLE the
privileged few TO rob the many. he was
pointed, as you are, to the laws OF supply and
demapd-another law of God that has beer,
prostituted and made to turn the products o.
honest labor into the Golfers OF those VINO
toll not, neither do they SPIN -
these d%octrinaires, away with your deVlIs
gospel of greed; we do not believe II. every
grain OF our wheat is consumed eacn sear'
and yet we hear Of famine In lrelana, Eng
land. India and Russia the wall OF the bun
cry poor Of New York, Liverpool ana frrls
reaches our ears. There are bread rlots else
where wh,ls we seo burn e, corn fbe apa is see ali a S Iie' for oG
YOU tell these millions that they starVe pe.
cause there is no bread, while you tell a. ina,
we starve because OF its very abundance.
farmers today. AS, Tom Watson said al New
Orleans: III we make no crop, IT is ruin; II
we make a crop, 1t Is ruin too IL is tne aes.
ii. fellow citizen. not God, who prom1,sa.e n
the creed, You can and you cant, you VII,
and you won't, you are damned lfyouo 40 ano
you are damned II you DON'T
WHAT WHEAT ARMER DID.
"what did the wheat farmers do? They
frat Organized. They built warehouses all
over the west, When the farmers can store
their wheat they get a certificate 1or THIS, ana
they can 20 to any bank ana draw Lnelr mon
ey on it whenever 1t Is needed. He neednl
force his wheat on the market until tne price
is an inducement. The trade Journals told us
year and a half ago that the farmers mac
passed the word around hat they wanteo
and intended to have u per DT sin ID i erori ne Of
the spectators more than a year ago wheat
wentSl q bushel. For q few weeks toey
forced the price under SO cents; ont tne iaf ~
alentin cotton would be IL IL cents a pound.
Even in the far off Argentine they nave Ia
ken the cue, and fixed upon " cents as tne
price they demand for wheat, anu a. et Eve
shipping point there Is q warehouse wnere
wheat IS stored until 1t brings the price. Eel
low citizens. cotton is the only product where
the price Ia fixed by the purchaser. ana me
man who makes the article has no voice In II.
You haul q load OF cotton into town, you go 10
a buyer; he says, Wait Till Liverpool comes
in.' In a few minutes 1t is chaiked up on Inc
blackboard, and You are toio wnas you o s,a v usi
on some merchants shelf until l pald nit
price for 1t. He told me what he would t.ke
and I either had 10 pay his price or go Will
"The coal trust, the meat trust, all fix the
price Of their products, and they Keep them
. until they get that price. You may starSe,
: you may freeze, you may 60 NAKED, put you
must pay their price or go wltnout.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
"A that the New Orleans plan means ia
that we. the producers OF tne ma mst hanneto or
and forever to have q vote In n&lng the price
OF the products of our labor. (Cheers.) TO
talk about the law Of supply and demand 10
the planter Is under present condltlons an 10
suit to bis intelligence. Only q year ago cot,
ton that had been sold for ana
exported to Europe was borrowed. reimport-
ed INTO tllB country anu uhlpc VI - At
ket, used again and again., until Suliy was
broken and prices given q blow from which
they have never recovered; WIKI,
THE laws OF supply and aemano: ~n ,ha
laws of supply and demand when the govern
ment itself d~iscriminates against, your pro
duct, when the wheat farmer 10 given 70 Genus
q bushel protection against woest ron Zap.
ada and the Argentine and cotton can De
brought here free Of duty and used TO depress
the price OF your product? Cotton Is the only
mt nrnfQnI6d WnpQI
gets Is, corn Is, barley. oats, rye and every
thing else have thrown around IL the FOSTER
ing care of the government, while cotton Is
left TO shift for itself, and II is our aout. 1--we
bad had q duty of 5 cents a pound on cotton
Imports, Sully, Brown aud Hayne could nave
held the market until 1t would have declined
materially under the influence ola large crop
and this crop would have averaged you III
The laws OF supply".and demand. indeed
How much good are they to you when the sg.
collecting accurate statistics on acreage and
conditions and before you ever get q chance
to market q bale the whole consuming word
known 70 almost a pound what you vii
after the December report; In a few hours
cotton was below the cost OF production.
Wherever they can benefit them the law
OF supply and demand are absolutely denied
the cotton farmer, while others glory in their
beniicence. Fellow citizens, the New Or
leans convention calls upon you TO organize
'Oh you can't get the farmers to unite. the
thing will fall To these l reply the farmers
OF the West are organized. they control the
situation, and the Southern cotton planter,
In patriotism, intelligence, patient endur-
ance, selfcontrol and courage, is the peer OF
any man, anywhere in this Wild world.
(Cheers)
A COTTON MONOPOLY.
"Will you seize the opportunity or will you
trample underfoot the az advantages given you
by God and nature! Let US begin, let Us or