The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-07-20
The POLITICAL POT.
Capt. Shaw Makes a Few Suggestions to
Lawmakers.
LowndeSvillc, S. c., June 80, 1910.

Lowndesville, S. c., June 80, 1910.
Editors Press and Banner:
The time is near at hand when the peo-
pie will choose their lawmakers to guide
| the old Ship of State.
The best heritage that q man can leave
his children is good government, and the
only way to have a good government is to
elect good, true and tried men to Office
men something like the old apostle Paul
when they put him in prison because lH
was Roman and then proposed TO take
him out under the name of u different
tribe, he refused: he said that he was a
Roman when he went in and that lie was
going to he Il Roman when he came out.
Men like him is What it takes to make Il
good gOvcrnment-not men like Tillman' S
Lizard, that changes to the color of every
thing they get on mot men that will IA
vOr one thing today and DO against 1t to-
morrow. But elect men that will stand by
their colorS and fight under one flag all the
time.
1t would be interesting to know what
will be the issue in the next campaign.
The prohibition question is about settled,
and the lien law is repealed; the Legisla-
ture will have to get up something to kill
the forty days.
l told the people in the last campaign
that it would be a great mistake to repeal
can see that was right. told them that
no country on earth could get along with
out some basis of credit for it's consumers.
Can any man say that the repeal of the
lien law was not mistake when it cost the
State twenty thousand dollars to repeal it,
and the Legislature enacted a mortgage
law that is just the same thing that we
had before?
In the next place, there was a great hue
and cry raised among some OF the farmers
that they could better control labor if the
lien law was repealed: Have they done it !?
No, no, a thousand times no. There has
been more violations of contracts this year
than was ever known in the history of the
country, and there are more idle negroes
walking around now than was ever known
before, and they will walk up to white
mans door-it doesn't matter how grassy
his crop is-and tell him that they won't
hit lick for less than seventy-five cents q
day and three meals. Where is your mort
gage law, Brother Farmers? How. much
good has it done you in the way Of con-
trolling labor? guess you feel like the
Irishman who went to the monkey show,
and just about the time the show com
menced the monkey died; the Irishman
said to the bystanderS: Faith and be-
criste! the monkey is dead, and the show
is all over-our mOneyis gone and we are
that much poorer" So our twenty thou
sand dollars that the Legislature spent to
repeal the lien law is gone, and the State
is that much poorer.
1t seems to me that it would be Of as
much Importance to the people for the
Legislature to make some changes in the
laws we already have as to make new
ones. The County government law needs
some changes the School law needs some
al hat q n hoy, haft ftar oh
in the country-the towns and cities have
good schools already; we need some
changes in the law in law in regard to our
public nstitutions-Clemson needs some
changes and Lethe needs some changes,
and others likewise the Jury law needs
some changes; the Fertilizer law needs
some changes, and l will not leave out the
Pension law-there is grave injustice in
that. There are men who go to the Clerks
Office and draw pensions who never saw q
Yankee in their liveS-(unless he was cap
tul ed by somebody elSe)-and never fired
a gun in their lives. l contend that the
law in regard to pensions ought to be
made equal-that every Confederate SOL
dier who went to the front and offered up
his life for his country ought to be pen
stoned alike, except those who are dis
abled, and that class ought to have more.
Under the present law a Confederate SOL
dier can't draw pension if he is worth
certain amount Of property: Is that equal
rights to all and special privileges to none /?
I shall answer, No. The Confederate SOL
dier who was worth million dollars, if he
went to the front and marched in the same
line and charged the same breastworks as
the man who was worth only five dollars,
is entitled to the same pension.
| could mention great many other
things, but feel like am working a hard
ship on the editor. You will hear from me
again. w. c. Shaw.