The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-11-12

Columbia, Nov. Tin his forthcom-
ing annual report to the General AS
sembly Mr.. f. H. McMaster, insur.
ance commissioner, in reviewing the
work of his department for the year,
will say in part:
Search has not been made to dis
cover them, but it is understood that
several other States have statutes sim
liar to that to be found in the Insur-
ance Code of Connecticut, which for.
bids it's savings banks from investing
in the State, county or municipal
bonds of any State south of the Dis
trict of Columbia, and which prevent
foreign insurance companies from
using any of such securities for pur
poses Of deposit in that State. Such
statutes were passed about thirty or
forty years ago.
ut is we'll enough to recall some OF
the facts of forty years ago. The South
Carolina State debt in 1868, when the
negro rule commenced, was $5,407,000.
Il. X. Scott, of Ohio. was elected Gov
ernor that year, with Niles c. Parker.
of Massachusetts,, as State Treasurer,
and ID. II. Chamberlain, of Massachu-
setts. as Attorney General. These
three constituted the financial board
N hn fat Dot nf
Pennsylvania. was ring master and
partner on the side.
After four years Of control by these
creatures an investigation committee
reported to the legislature n 1872 that
South Carolina was facing a total Of
$28,977,000 actual and contingent liza
bilities Of the State" The next year
the ragtag and bobtail legislature re 4.
pudiated one-half of the actual debt,
because of inability to pay" But
really, was this any worse than the
action Of the Federal Government it,
self, which, in 1S66-6S had by Act
Of congress prohibited South Caro-
lima from paying a debt of $2,241, 900,
contracted in 1851, for the military
| defence Of the State. The difference
between the two debts was that the
debt of 1861 represented dollar for
dollar money loaned by the people Of
this State to the State under definite
and certain authority OF the legisla-
ture; the debt Of 1872 was repre-
sented by fraudulent issues Of bonds
bought by persons in the North at
scandalous discounts.
Not only was the State robbed di-
rectly, but by many indirect means, as
the sale of stock in the Columbia and
Greenville Railroad. which represent
ed value to the State exceeding $40O,-
600, but sold to Patterson and his gang
for less than $4,000. Likewise, with
the municipalities. The $S5O,000 debt
placed upon Columbia, the capital
during those days. represents less than
100000 actual value; 100000 of it
was for a City Hall, contract price
$1,000, and when completed had no
roof because the architest had not
stipulated for one in the specifications.
Columbia has never repudiated one
dollar of this great debt. So with
Charleston's s4.150.00O debt, not "a
dollar of which has ever been re-
pudiated. OF it $3.750.OOO represents
nothing on Gods green earth nor the
waters beneath it,
During the forty years that the
credit of the old secession States have
had this bar sinister written across it
by the statutes of Northern and East
ern States the agents of the insurance
companies from those States have
Carolina money to be sent to trustees
in the North. Out of the money col.
lected here have been paid all the
losses incurred here; all of the eX.
pense incurred here and, after taking
out the toll for home office expenses
in the home States of the cmopanies.
there have remained over millions of
dollars, which for the most part have
been invested elsewhere.
And. sad to relate, many agents
employed by these foreign corpora
tions To gather South Carolina mon
ey. rarely hesitate to disparage or
throttle domestic companies which
sought to keep part Of this money at
home.
$50, while South Carolina's credit
has been damaged abroad. her own
institutions have been stined and the
money of her people has been sent to
make great and still greater instiu
tions in unfriendly sections, and to en-
rich people there and elsewhere.
IF such statutes are an expression
ho III Of g.,