The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-09-23
Mr.. MeLauria Gives a Discussion Of It's
Value In This Crisis.
A FARMER.

| Editor Manning Times:
In view OF the special session I desire
to point out what would be the value
of state warehouse act in this emer-
gency, so that members may be con-
sidering the problem.
Cotton is the cornerstone of inter
national f finance and no plan that does
not take this into consideration will
reach far enough to be Of much prac-
tical value.
1t is idle to depend on the Federal
government to 60 further than it has.
Let us depend upon ourselves and work
with such tools as we have. There is
no use in looking to New York. She
has always made advances to produce
the crop, so as to be in position to
demand gold from Europe. When war
conditions force Europe to sell Ameri
can securities and start a flow OF gold
from instead of to New York, and the
lack of ocean transportation makes cot
ton useless tc start the annual import
of gold. then cotton to New York banks
is worthless commodity.
1t seems to me that the key to the
situation in its broader aspect lies with
the English mills. Let us suppose that
the last general assembly had passed
the warehouse bill and that South Car
olina had in sight one million bales of
warehoused cotton. The chairman of
the board would go TO England and say
to the president OF the Federation of
Spinners, controlling in an area but
little larger than Marlboro county one
third of the spindles OF the entire world;
"My President, I am here representing
officially the state OF South Carolina,
which will produce this year 1,400,00
bales of cotton. Here is copy OF the
act of the general assembly under
which am proceeding. The domestic
mills are not taking our cotton except
at sacrifice prices. The ocean chan
nels are closed to you by reason OF war.
The New England mills propose to
take advantage of this situation to
drive out of our domestic market and
South America where you shipped last
year $500, 900, 900 worth of cotton goods.
It they succeed in buying a two-year
supply at a one-year price your trade
will be gone. You can't get the cotton
or only at twenty cents a pound, be.
cause legislative enactment in some
states, coupled " ith necessity in others,
has cut the acreage so per ceot.
Here is a copy of our warehouse re-
ceipt. The sovereign State of South
Carolina guarantee the title and that
the identical bale of cotton will be de-
livered only on the presentation OF this
receiDt. Here is one million bales of
cotton, Mr.. President, that you can
ir pound until you need it. Neither
Georgia nor North Carolina have a
state warehouse system, We can also
corral the bulk OF those crops if you
will make it to our interest to do" The
president would reply:
sour difficulty is that we cannot COM
mand our usual supply of gold. We
are having to finance this war. Rus
sia and Belgium are constantly drawing
upon our gold reserve, and to supply
that we are sending over American Sc
curities and selling them at a great
sacrifice"
The reply would be: 'Mr. Presi-
/ dent, you do not need one dollar OF
gold, Under our new currency law,
these securities can be discounted by
the correspondents of the banks OF
ENGLAND in New York. Our debts for
making the crop are ultimately due
in New York. You control in England
over three billion dollars Of these Sc
curities, have your correspondents to
give the state warehouse board credit
in New York for these certificates at