Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1914-09-23
News and Courier.)

N.NeWS ana iOullST.)
The cotton growers Of the South
and all who are dependent upon their
prosperity, now face a grave situa-
ton. 1t may be that we will DC able
to relieve the present embarrassment
in the next two or three months by
mutual help and cooperation among
all of our business men. Arrange
ments are being made for warehous-
ing and insuring so much of the pres
ent crop as it will be necesessary to
hold for some months to come, pos
sibly for the next year. A large pro-
portion of the crop being thus with
held from the market, and the mer-
chants and bankers, to whom the far
mers are indebted, exercising for
bearance in pressing obligations, the
present acute situation will, perhaps,
be relieved. But this arrangement
of necessity will be temporary only,
and cannot permanently solve the
problem Of over-production, such
over-producton resulting in depress-
ing the price and seriously impairing
the prosperity OF the South. Unless
piled within the next few months we
shall likely have a repetition Of this
acute condition twelve months from
now. a very large per cent OF the
cotton crop of the present season
must be carried over to another year,
and if the farmers of the South pro-
duce a normal crop in 1915 we shall
be confronted in the fall Of next year
with a condition as bad, if not worse,
than that we are now facing. In or
der to guard against such condition
a substantial reduction of our next
crop must be assured. How can this
be accomplished?
1t has been suggested by some that
the Legislatures of the cotton States.
in the exercise of the police power,
pass an act prohibiting the planting
OF more than a prescribed acreage of
.o,tun. The constitutional power of
he l.. --islature Of ANY one or ~ the
Sc.thern States to ssB such & act
would be moro tNSmhlut,lgl " 1'he
vousfua.on1Nty of such m .asure
would probably be tested by the Su-
preme Court of each OF the States in
which such an act was passed, and
we might find the act adjudged un-
constitutional in some States and sus-
tanned in others. Such a result
would be grievously unfair to those
States in which the act was sustained,
the farmers in such States being lin
tied in the planting Of cotton to a GER
tain acreage and in other States there
being no limitation. | apprehend
that the Legislatures of the respect
i've States would be slow to expose
their citizens to such a risk.
There is, however, a means by
which the desired result could be ac-
complished, the constitutionality Of
which ia beyond controversy. Every
State in the Union possesses, through
it's General Assembly, power to i'm
pose an occupation or business tax
upon all persons, firms and corpora
tions engaged in any professional or
business undertaking. A great many
Of the States have exercised this
power, and have imposed a tax of
this character. In every State in the
Union this authority is delegated by
the General Assembly to municipal
corporations, and there are very few,
if any, municipal corporations in any
Of the States Of the Union not en-
gagged in exercising this authority and
imposing a tax of this character. The
General Assembly Of the State Of
South Carolina, in 1872, passed an
act Of this kind, imposing a business
or occupation tax upon brokers, keep
ers Of billiard rooms, bowling saloons
or ten-pin alleys, hotel, inn, livery
stable, tavern or Saloon-ke eepers, ven
doris of goods, wares, merchandise,
liquors, drugs and medicines, all
persons, firms or corporations en-
gagged in banking, railroads, auction
GERS, manufacturers and dealers in
fertilizers, attorneys at law, physi-
clans, dentists, insurance agents, ar
chitects, photographers, all pc sons
holding any office, elective or ap-
pointive, all officers OF corporations
or societies who receive salary,
statesmen, all persons soliciting or
ders, telegraph and express compa-
ninc