Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-01-23
|MCLAURIN ON COT.
TON and CURRENCY
Marlboro Senator Discusses State
Warehouse Bill.
N. Y. COTTON EXCHANGE BLISTERED.

N. Y. COTTON EXCHANGE BLlSTERED.
Powerful Plea to Brother Senators to
Reach Out Their Hands and Take
for the People of South Carolina and
the South that Which is Rishtfully
and Properly Theirs; but Which is
Now Going to Others.
Hon. John L. McLaurin delivered
another great speech on the ware
house bill in the senate yesterday. He
discussed the bill in the light Of condi-
tions that have been created by the
new regional reserve law, and made a
wonderfully clear presentation OF the
advantages to be derived to the cot
ton producer through the establish
ment Of his proposed state warehouse
system. The full text Of the speech is
as follows:
This measure has been under dis
cussion for some time, and 1t Is need
less to travel over the same ground
that I did last year. The situation Is
very materially changed since then
ard I propose at this time to confine
myself to how this bill is affected by
the new currency law which has just
been passed by congress. and the at
titude Of the New York cotton ex-
change arising from the threatened
anti option legislation.
have the various anti-option bills
introduced at the present session OF
congress, and there can be but little
doubt that some law Of this kind will
be passed.
The real purpose Of every one Of
these bills is to establish and maintain
better prices for cotton, but will un-
dertake to show that they would be
failures without some action on the
part Of the producers to take care Of
the surplus supply Of cotton.
Each bill seeks to limit the activity
of the market by forcing spectators
to take the delivery Of actual cotton.
My theory is that all that can be
wisely done with speculative trading
Is to force it to be conducted under
such regulations, as will make its vol
ume support instead Of depress the
market.
What is Gambling2
All that law can do short Of closing
every cotton exchange is to make
speculation pay the carrying charges
Of the actual supplies and risk Of
fluctuation in price; 1t cannot be fore
ed inside of the Constitution to fur
nish the capital to hold the supplies.
The producers must find some way
to do this for themselves, and I have
heard of no better plan than is en-
bodied in the bill under discussion.
r. the delivery of actual supplies
the passage Of any OF these antl-op-
ton bills, the result can only be low
er prices, unless the demand for con-
sumption is large enough to absorb
all the offerings. This is absurd to
expect, the experience each fall dem
onstrates how impossible 1t is to mar
ket a twelve month supply in three
months without depressing prices.
l draw a distinction between gam
bling and specializing. The latter is
of the merchant class, which after
calculation takes a business risk,
while gambling seeks chances, or tries
by a system to beat game. Specu-
lation is legitimate business, gambling
is a vice.
Now the money necessary to carry
cotton for legitimate speculative ac-
count is almost entirely call money"
You will remember that last winter
1 explained where this money came
from and the immense power it gave
New York to advance or depress
prices without regard to the law Of
supply and demand. Since we met
last winter the new currency bill has
passed I believe it Is a good law, 1t
NAV lead to imitation, but that will
not be the fault Of the law. 1 wish
it was possible sooner that the twen-
ty years provided in this act to get rid
Of the bond secured circulation, still
1 believe congress went as far as it
could without inviting a panic. The
purpose Of the Federal reserve act,
is to reduce the call loan fund in
ho,,, vorL u,b;ob u,bi1a n did footor
gambling in staple products, also fur
nished the necessary funds to carry
the surplus supply Of these products.
The act looking to this very condition
OF curbing speculative activity on the
exchanges provides in section (1S) ia
cilities for carrying agricultural pro-
ducts by means Of loans from the men,
Der banks, which loans may be freely
discounted. believe that this impor-
tant provision was due almost entire
ly to the agitation Of the warehouse
bill in South Carolina, Louisiana, Tex
as, Wisconsin and other states. ..
There can be little doubt that had
this bill been in operation in the states
l have named, that the warehouse re-
ceipts would have been made the ba-
sis of an actual issue Of currency. Had
congress last winter enacted the Clark
amendment shutting up the cotton ex-
changes, there would have been no
place, where we could have secured
money except abroad in the cotton
manufacturing centers to finance cot
ton deposited in the warehouses. 1t
was looking to this condition Of affairs
and to render 1t possible to pass some
restrictions on gambling in these ex-
changes that section Q3) was written
into the reserve act, so as to provide
funds to carry the surplus supply OF
cotton, wheat and other standard pro-
ducts of the farm. We must devise
the machinery to take advantage Of it
Time to Act.
l think anyone who heard the speech
l delivered last winter will agree that
have been conservative in every
statement which made concerning