Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-07-24

been elected at least on the face Of
the returns 1t was decided that there
was nothing else to do than so de-
clare, and this the committee did.
While telling of the investigation of
he primary. he cited the case of one
/ places and had voted at all four Of
them. A voice from the crowd asked
as to whether the man was a farmer.
The speaker replied that he did not
know; but that he was the driver of
an oil delivery wagon. He went on to
say. however. that most of the un-
fairness and dual voting was about
the towns, and he with others deter
could to put stop to such things
such people voting the one time they
had a right to vote, and then three
or four times more to kill the votes
Of that many farmers and they made
the recommendations that resulted in
the adopt I Of the new rules at the
recent state convention, except that
the committee had recommended the
closing of the books fifteen days be-
fore the primary. He went on to say
| that he thought these rules were just
and right and as evidence that no one
would be hurt, cited the fact that he
was at Glover this morning when they
enrolled their 333d man against 3O6
votes cast in the election Of two years
ago and said that If every enrolment
board in the state would do it's duty
( as the Glover people were doing. there
could certainly be no complaint
against the rules.
Next the speaker went into dis
cussion Of the river and harbor ap-
propriations and the failure Of con-
gress to do its duty with regard to the
construction and maintenance of pub
lie roads. He agreed with Senator
| Tillman that river and harbor appro-
priations were a steal, and said that
the only ground on which anybody
could defend them was that while the
/
share. He cited the fact that the first
river and harbor appropriation bill
was vetoed by President Monroe on the
ground Of unconstitutionality and the
one that it has not been answered to
| this day. Then he went on to tell how
the present river and harbor bill car
ried $43,000,000 when it left the house
with provision for continuing con-
tracts that would call for that much
more, and how the senate had raised
the amount to more than $4,000, 900.
In the last ten years he said congress
had appropriated $350000, 900 for rivers
and harbors, and went on to say that II
appropriations continue at their pres
ent rate during the next four years
there will be wasted enough money to
dig another inter- oceanic canal across
Nicaragua. The responsibility for these
tremendous appropriations, he said is
traceable to lobbyists, contractors who
get rich on the expenditures, machin-
cry men, engineers and the like. These
work on the people Of the small towns
along the rivers and tell them how
they can get reduced freight rates with
the lever Of water competition. He
went on to say, however, that 1t Is all
buncombe and cited the case Of the
improvement Of the Pee Dee river. a
number Of his people had spent thirty
thousand dollars for boat that could
not carry as much in week as three
freight cars could carry in day and
went to the Interstate commerce COM
mission with an application for water
rates on the railroads. The commits
sion held that the boat did not COM
pete, which was a fact. The boat was
sold for song and since then the only
boats that have been on the river are
those used to catch catfish and suck
ers. He wanted to say that he did not
blame Mr.. Finley for any Of this, be-
cause the people Of Cheraw and other
people had asked Mr.. Finley's assist
ance in the matter and all had gone
into the enterprise in good faith.
But while there was no Constitution
al authority for river and harbor ap-
propriations, the Constitution makes Ii
the duty of congress to provide for the
construction and maintenance OF post
roads. Congress has never done any
thing. The house has passed bill to
give $25 a mile assistance in the case
of public roads measuring up to certain
requirements; but the bill has not yet
passed the senate. II congress would
drop the river and harbor scandal and
spend as much money in constructing
and improving the roads, it would not
be great while before all this coun-
try would be traversed by roads equal
to those Of ancient Rome, which con-
tinue to this day. The reason the farm
ers do not get what they are entitled
to in the matter of road Improvement
is that they have no lobby; but the
farmers should demand If the money Is
to be wasted they should at least have
a dollar for roads for every dollar that
Is given for rivers and harbors. My
friend Mr.. Finley says no one man can
make congress build roads. am quite
well aware Of that, but one man can
start the ball to rolling, and if you
send me to congress l promise that |
will either start the ball to rolling or
be found trying as hard as a man ever
tried anything. If we should appro-
pirate $50, 100000 for roads in proper
ton to population, we would have ST.
100000 for South Carolina, and in
few years this would give us first rate
roads all over the state.
Getting down to the tolls exemption
question, the speaker said he was not
in favor of taxing one class Of people
for the benefit of another. He ex-
planned how all coastwise ships are
OWHeu ny AlleIlCdnS OI the northeast,
and that foreign vessels cannot engage
in the coastwise trade. The Demo-
cratic platform declares against SUBJ
sdy, and he argued that failure to
collect from coastwise ships the tolls
that they should pay would be the
same thing as giving the same amount
Of money out Of the treasury The
statement is that these exemptions
would amount to $2.500,000 a year,
and if congress is to give this ship
ping interest $2,500,000 a year, why
not give it $25,000,000. He pointed
out also that since the south exports
nothing but cotton and imports very
little else than nitrate of soda and
other fertilizers from South America,
and both Of these commodities are
carried in foreign vessels, we would
have to pay tolls both ways, and get no
benefit from the exemption whatever.
He admitted that the platform declares
for free tolls; but pointed out that the
anti-subsidy provision nullified the
tolls plank, and in effect he said that
the whole fight against repeal was en-
gineered by men who had been dis
cOmftted by the president and had
sought thus to get even while hiding
behind the platform. They knew that
even if they were defeated, they could
cite that self -contradictionary plat
form nv woV Of Justification