The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-01-09
THAT LIEN Law.

The Legislature will be memor.
ialized to repeal the lien law and
it will also be urged to create
legislation which will put IDEAL.
incs in cotton futures" out OF
business. With regard to the
repeal of the lien law, there IS
such diversity of opinion that
we are yet to see where any
good will be accomplished by us
repeal. unless the Legislature can
also make mortgages on growing
crops invalid. In our oplnlon'
US long as, a man can give a a
mortgage of his crop after it
has made its appearance on the
soil, and this We are told the leg
stature cannot prohibit, we do
not see what good it will do to
make invalid a mortgage given
before the crop is planted. We
can see how it might work a
hardship upon the tenant class
to secure supplies before the
crop is planted, by making it
difficult for a large portion OF
that class to secure the neces-
saries of life, and hampering
this class by making it difficult
to secure advances, will it not
have a tendency to drive them
from the farms and into the cot.
ton mills, saw mills, and turpen
tine fields?
Those clamoring for the repeal
OF the len law have al idea 1t
will improve our labor condl.
tons; we are afraid it will not
have this effect, but on the con-
trary, if those who cannot obtain
credit on open account, and have
no real or personal property to
give as collateral, finding them,
selves without the means to con-
time farming on their own &C
count, will give up the farms
and seek other means Of livell-
hood. Should this be the result
of repeating the lien law it will
luake.our land owners land-bur-
dened; their lands will not be
rented, and eventually they will
fall off in value It is a recog-
nized business principle that
property values must be based
upon an earning capacity, it is
SO in all kinds Of enterprises, a
lumber plant that is earning
nothing. is valueless, a store OF
a bank that does not put some.
thing on its profit page is a dead
institution, and just so is it with
a farm. If the landowners lands
are deserted, there is no income
and it's value is destroyed We
think this matter Of repeating
law which affords a means to aid
people in conducting their busi'
ness should be very carefully
considered before final action
is taken. It is a popular thing
for politicians to advocate the
repeal of the lien law, and that
is perhaps why we hear such a
demand for it, but panderlng to
public sentiment manufactured
for the unthinking and accepted
by them, is not sound,statesnan,
ship.
There are other things more
detrimental to our farming in.
terests than the lien law, but
these are not mentioned because
they might effect those who
practice them, and operate poll,
tically against the one who calls
attention to them. We refer to
the present system Of labor con.
tract abuse, the system Of entic,
ing tenants from one plantation
to another, the cloaking Of dis
honesty on the part Of the ras.
cally inclined, and many other
practices which is doing untold
harm to the country generally,
and making honest men suffer.
In this article we throw out
what comes to our mind with re-
gard to the demands upon the
general assembly, but we are
free to say, should bill be pre-
sented in the legislature repeal
ing the lien law. and we are
shown that its effect will not be
disappointing and injurious II
the end, we will support it, bu'
we must be convinced first
otherwise we will not have our
self recorded as acceding g to