Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-11-03

take hold.
The bond issue proposition owes it's
passage through the house to Hon. w.
F. Stevenson of Chesterfield, who took
the lead in the matter and convinced
his fellow legislators that there was
nothing better in sight.
The most intelligent presentation Of
the bond issue proposition, from the
standpoint of it's advocates, was that
which was made by Mr.. Stevenson in
a speech on the floor Of the house last
week, and for the benefit Of those who
want more light on the subject,
summary of that speech is presented
herewith:
Mr.. Stevenson stated that the house
and its bill had been misrepresented
in the public prints and was, there
fore, misunderstood. He said that he
made the statement without feeling
or resentment, as the newspapers
were his friends, and he only raised
an issue as to them and did so then
to get clearly the question before the
house and the public. That in the
afternoon paper the following appear
ed:
"A substitute measure for the bill
the issue Of $35,0O0,0OO
in bonds for the retirement Of cotton
by the state. was introduced in the
house by the special committee. This
substitute makes no important chang
es in the senate bill in its original
form, and only amends it in manner
as to increase validity Of the proposed
bonds when offered as security for
Federal loans and for rediscount.
These changes were incorporated al
the suggestion Of officials of the treas
ury department and reserve board"
That on the back page the following
appeared:
Substitute bill for the measure
proposing the issue Of s35,OOO,OOO in
bonds for the retirement Of cotton,
passed in the senate, was introduced
in the lower house, Tuesday, by the
committee Of Representatives Ste
venson, Mower and Wander Horst,
named Monday night This bill en-
bodies few changes in the text of the
original measure, and was prepared
to incorporate suggestions OF the
comptroller of the currency and men,
bers of the regional reserve board.
These suggestions were made known
Monday night, in the report of the
special delegation to the house"
That no such measure had been re-
ported to the house by the committee.
The bill reported provided a bond issue
not exceeding $24,O00,000, while the
senate bill was for $35,O0Q,000. The
committee reported a bill to provide
for loans to farmers on cotton, while
the senate bill provided for buying
cotton at ten cents. A difference be-
tween 35,000,000 and $24,OOO,0OO,
and between buying cotton at ten
cents, and loaning on cotton at net
eight cents was certainly considerable,
and the statement of the paper that
there was no material change was a
gross Misrepresentation of the facts.
Yet we find the editor, whose paper
perverts the record facts, stating
editorially in the same issue that the
committee sent to Washington had
distorted the facts to fit their case and
were therefore disingenuous. He
makes this statement:
The hypothetical cast of the
question placed before the Washing
ton authorities, as reported by Messrs.
Stevenson and Dick, bespeaks the
fine Italian hand of the lawyer trying
to make the evidence suit the pre-
conceived theory Of his case rather
than to let the public hear plainly
and frankly what the witnesses say"
We have no quarrel with the editor.
He is probably the strongest editorial
writer in the state, but this inti-
nation Of distortion Of facts to
fool somebody, comes with bad grace
from the paper that made the re-
markable misstatement of facts Of
which it had the record evidence be-
fore it. The objections raised are
therefore:
1st. That this is revolutionary.
Not so. In 1888, on May %, the
general assembly convened in extra
session and in four days passed such
a bill as this. issuing (without any
vote of the people), s2,oO0,OOo of
bonds to make loans to citizens of
Charleston, to rebuild the burned
city, the loans being secured by real
estate mortgaged and to run ten
years. The states taxable property
was then s1S,0OO,O00. The bond is
sue was one-ninth of the value of
the taxable property, II 2-3 per cent.
Now the taxable value of the proper
ty is 100000, and this issue is
eight per centum. G. c. Memminger,
j. l.. Petigru, d. l.. Wardlaw, w. f.
DeSaussure, B. K. Hennegan, +. w.
Davie, John Dunnovant, Benjamin
Massey, Albert Rhett and a host of 9TH
ers, associates Of John C. Calhoun, sup
ported it, Many Of the strongest subse-
quent United States senators and gov
ernors were there and voted for the
bill, and it was passed and ratified in
four days and South Carolina never
lost a cent by the proceeding. So it is
not revolutionary
End. Will it destroy the credit of
the state and cause it to lose money?
Under the plan of the bill. if the
whole issue is applied for, it will re-
tire 100000 bales of cotton and with
the notes of the farmers and that
much cotton and interest provided
for in advance. for two years is there
serious danger? Reduction in acre
age is bound to come all over the
south from poverty and common
sense. BY next August. cotton will
probably be selling at eleven cents.
The Baltimore Sun, the most con-
servative Democratic newspaper in
the country, published, in statement
interested in cotton, says editorially: