The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-02-10
Repeal the Lien Law.

often during the last twenty wears re-
peated the arguments pointing the
conclusion that Its retention on the
statute books Is an obstacle to the
prosperity OF the farming industry
that their further emphasis scarcely
seems necessary. Nevertheless. a re-
view of the case may be pardoned.
The law Is looked upon with friend
ly regard by three or four classes. The
first and largest OF these Is the farm
er who has failed to establish credit
Of his own. II he be deprived Of the
privilege Of pledging his growing or
implanted crop to the merchant, he
must ask accommodation or endorse
ment of his landlord or must work for
wages or on shares. Under the lien
law he II absolutely In the hands of
the "lien merchant" Many of the
lien merchants are honest men; others
use their absolute power over the
lienor to exact usurious and 'extortion-
ate interest: all Of them must demand
interest and profits commensurate
with the great hazard of the security
"a crop depending on the seasons
and on the industry. health, economy
and thrift OF the Menor and his fami-
Iy Every Menor must necessarily pay
much larger interest and profits than
does the farmer who buys for cash or
who has credit at the bank.
The improvident OF unfortunate
farmer must fall into the power of the
landlord. II the law be repealed: 9TH
erwise. he must remain at the mercy
Of the merchant. In our opinion, 1t
would be generally more to his ad-
vantage to be dependent on the land
lord. who Is closer to him, who is, in
most cases. his neighbor. and who is
most familiar with his necessities.
Friendly to the retention of the law
In the second place Is the lien mer-
chant, or small money lender. This
class. we believe. has steadily decreas-
ed In numbers proportionate to the
increasing numbers OF prosperous
farmers during recent years.
A third class favorable to the law
and opposed to repeal is the non-resl-
dent landowner. Mr.. A. of Charles
ton, owns 200 acres of land in Ian
caster. which he leases to a negro.
His rent lien has priority over all 9TH
er claims. His tenant finds a mer-
chant who is willing to advance him
on crop lien. The Charleston man
derives average returns Of six per cent
on his investment. and. In spite of the
fact that the soil Is ignorantly culti-
waited. and. perhaps allowed to wash
away" the Inevitable increase in land
values consequent upon the increase
OF population covers loss from deterio-
ration. The nonresident landowner
remains satisfied. This class includes
numbers Of "Court House lawyers"
gentlemen in small towns. whose
sporting instincts impel them to spec
ulate at the land auction sales on
salesdays and who. coming to own
would be greatly embarrassed IL they
were forced to waive their rent liens
and endorse for their tenants. We risk
the opinion that the repeal of the law
has been more than once prevented by
the votes of lawyers In the State SEN
| ate. who either own farms which they
do not personally cultivate or who
represent as agents landowners In
Charleston and In other cities. This
we remark without having any In
dividual In mind, and with the further
suggestion that the interest of the
nonresident landowner should be of
secondary consideration. The agricul-
tural fate of country turns upon the
farmer who lives on the land and tills
1T.
In South Carolina there are. of
course. thousands of "lien farmers"
and the lien law undoubtedly makes
them temporarily and partially in
dependent. The merchant cannot pre-.
vent them from taking day or a
week OF In the midst of hoeing or
harvest time. but the great preponder-
ance Of these people are negroes who
ought to have guardian and who are
incompetent to manage their own in
dustrial affairs.
Finally. the farmers who dwell on
their own lands ought to be armed
with every legal facility TO control the
negro labor supply in tb' South. The
whole subject is inferentially covered
in an article by Alfred Holt in his
recent book relating experiences IN