The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-01-29
The Lien Law,

The Lower House of the State Legislature
voted to kill the Lien Law by an over.
whelming majority. 1t is said that the Sen
ate will al 30 vote to repeal 1t by majority OF
about five votes. 1t developes from the
meeting OF the Farmers Union in Columbia
that many OF the representative farmers de-;
sire the repeal of the law; and they have ex-
pressed that desire In no uumistakable
terms.
1t is uncertain where the path OF duty
lies, between a representatives. personal
convictions, and the demands OF his constitu-
ents, and when his convictions and the public
demand are In accord there can be no doubt
as to his duty:
What Is said herein, then, is not with the
purpose Of affecting the Views of any repre-
sentative, nor OF changing the policy OF the
Farmers Union. The Farmers Union has
had and will have the heartiest support from
this paper. but the right Is reserved OF free
and independent expression Of opinion.
The repeal OF the Lien Law destroys the
sole basis OF credit Of four -fifths Of the .agri-
Q ,ltural people, while II takes the basis Of
credit from a majority Of the white farmers.
By making tue poor white tenant depend.
ent solely upoa the landlord, the tendency
will be toward prevailing conditions In Eng
tand where the tenant Is virtually bought
and sold with the land. Nor is the prosper
ous landloId greatly benefited thereby.
Where the merchant now hazards his goods
and enables the farmer TO get his rent abso.
lutely without risk, under the changed con-
iitions the farmer must 60 to the bank and
load himself down With debt. with all the
chances of bad crops, and this debt must be
paid before he gets his rent.
The wealthy farmer, whose credit is good
At the bank and atthe stores. will have the
selecting of the best hands, while the middle
class farmer, who can hardly stand alone,
will 60 without hands or get the refuse after
| big guns have loaded up. The still poorer
! white farmer. with his hands tied, stands
shlvering at the gate OF his wealthy neighbor
until that n neighbor has passed the word up to
| the merchant or banker that he will stand
for him. Independence to the small white
farmer is worth more than q paltry amount
OF interest eaved. -
Several cotton States havs no lien law:
South Carolina has. Tt Is asserted thai otir
lands are going to the bow. vows; and Yet
south Carolina produces more cotton IN pro.
portion to It's area than any State In the
Union. and that too, with hundreds Of thoas-
snds OF acres of her land In swamp and mn.
cultivated. And this is true, despite the fact
that there are more cotton mill Operatives
| who have been drawn from the cotton fields
than In any State in the South. More than
$1,000 white people haveleft the farms for the
factories, and none have come In TO take
their places In the fields. AS undesirable az
it may be to have the places filled by negroes
1t is negro or nobody.
| II the Idea is to control the negro, II is an
Idle proposition. We can not Iegislate 10
bis detriment, when his labor is In. such
great demand. 1t is two sided proposition.
While he Is dependent on us for supplies, II
things don't suit him with one land lord
there are plenty OF others anxious for bis
labor. - ...
The people had better pause and think
This State Is doing we'll, and all the talk
about doing better is mere speculation; we
might do worse.