Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-02-24

be abused or not Is another question;
but l do say, that It makes you for the
time the complete masters Of the cot
ton world, and that you will have to
be consulted about the price Of your
product. No one will tell you what he
will give, but will anxiously inquire
what you will take for your cotton.
Il say further fellow citizens, that
conditions which force whole people
to attempt the organization Of trust,
which, like every other trust, has for
Its object the overturning Of the nat
ural law Of supply and demand, brands
as something false and wrong the po-
litical and industrial conditions under
which It occurs. It presents prob
lem that cries out for solution along
reasonable, natural lines. The states
man who denies 1t is a fraud, the po-
litical economist who shirks 1t Is a
hypocrite. and the Christian who pass
es it by Is traitor to his God and
country. As to whether such gigan-
tic trust with It's millions Of members,
Il
interests. constitute problems too deep
for me. There Is no other solution Of
fered for the Immediate situation. and
II is your duty and my duty to stand
by the New Orleans convention, and
organize every county and precinct In
the state. Texas and other states are
thoroughly organized, and South Car
olina will be there when the long roll
sounds, or prove false to all Of her
traditions. l thought and said at the
convention that the permanent solu-
ton of the cotton problem would come
| from wider markets for cotton goods.
No intelligent and concerted action has
ever been made on a large scale In
this direction.
Among the 400.000,000 people Of
China we can find ready market at
reasonable prices for all the surplus
cotton the world can produce. 1t has
been figured out that the world can
use 100000 bales Of cotton.
There is another thing that is being
done on a constantly increasing scale,
the Chinese are importing yarns from
this country and weaving It into cloth
on their hand looms, like those our
great-grandmothers used back in slav-
cry days. What a field there is here
among these people. rich with the
stored UP wealth Of centuries. The
cotton plant in China Is little stunt
ed thing, with almost no staple; they
can raise too many other crops OF
greater value for them to make cot
ton. Sell them our cotton goods direct
and bring back their camphor, hemp,
spices and teas. I derived most Of my
information about China from Minister
Wu, and he said the south would find
It's salvation In the China markets,
and he should certainly know
Mr.. McLaurin called attention to the
fact that while the merchant fixes the
price on his wares and refuses to sell
until he gets a price satisfactory, the
cotton farmer must take whatever
price Is offered. He Is the only class
in the world offering commodity for
sale who has absolutely nothing to do
with the fixing of the price Of that
commodity. In 1898 when there was q
surplus crop, one firm opened new
market in China and disposed Of $780,
moo. 900 worth Of manufactured goods.
He had been a member Of the commit
tee to visit the president and to appeal
to congress. He had seen the president
Monday and had received assurance
that Mr.. Roosevelt would give the
weight Of his Office to promoting the
interests Of the greatest industry in the
world. He declared that the represen-
tatives at Washington get far away
from the people sometimes until the
people spank them and teach them
better manners. This being taken as
a philosophical and good natured ac-
acknowledgement Of his own political er-
rors, was greeted with laughter and
applause For the reason that the rep
resentatives get so far away, he ar
gued. they should be admonished by
just such an organization as this.
| The Tariff Question.
In conclusion Mr.. McLaurin spoke as
follows in reference to tariff revision:
why should the wheat farmer use
free twine to wrap his protected wheat
while the cotton farmer uses protected
bagging to wrap his free cotton" He
showed how the south Is 6'ecriminated
against In the tariff. Eastern monopo-
lists have schemed cunningly to plum
der the south. Ninety per cent Of the
imports which are admitted to compe-
tition In this country are competing
with products Of the south.
Let us demand that in the coming
revision of the tariff our representa-
tives see that the south gets her share
Of all that is going, that we are recog-
nized as an integral part Of this union,
ready to share its burdens and II need
be fight its battles, but demanding in
return full share of all the benefits
of national life.
Let us organize but keep our or
ganization out OF politics. Let the
watchword be measures not men," I
have no confidence in help coming
from any political party now In exist
ence. until we are strong enough to
force it from any party that may hap
pen to be in power. A man never
gets justice until he Is strong enough
to force 1t with a big stick
"The great questions with which we
are confronted have no place in the
little cabals, factions and caucuses of
political parties, for there petty jeal-
ousies and selfish ambition ever out
weigh the country's good.
I'm conclusion, fellow citizens,
give you this sentiment, God bless
South Carolina; II she Is right l am
with her; IL she Is wrong, bone Of my
bone. flesh Of my flesh, God bless her
still, I am with her."
REINDEER IN ALAsKA.-That scheme
for importing reindeer into Alaska
from Siberia. which met with criticism
and even with ridicule when first sug-
gested few years ago by Sheldon
Jackson, is now proving the salvation
| ~ tba AIo skan Eanuimaux