The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-04-08

APRIL 5, iel4
law would greatly advance the
cause.
THE PRIMARY
I am not in favor of restricting
the right to vote in the primary
by applying the qualifications
laid down in the constitution for
the general election. With few
amendments the present rules,
if fairly and honestly administer
ed, are sufficient.
I am satisfied that the last
primary was without fraud to
any considerable extent. Mere
irregularities do not constitute
fraud. The greotest evil in the
condnct of the primary arises
from the use of money in buying
votes. If a man with money is
without moral scruple, no statu.
tory enactment can prevent its
use where there is a purchasable
vote. The intelligent man with
money who tempts weakness and
cupidity is the greater criminal
of the two, and I have not heard
of any one being punished yet,
for this meanest of all election
frauds,
THE ,FORTNER BILL
The Fortner bill passed the
house and came to the senate.
I favor the passage of this bill
as amended by Senator Clifton,
and if elected governor will re-
commend it's enactment into law.
COTTON MARKETING
My views ou the state ware
house proposition are well
known and cannot be elaborated
upon in a short statement The
| bill passed the senate with an
amendment referring the ques,
ton to the people. 1t never
came to a vote in the house.
Since the adjournment of the
general assembly a syndicate OF
capitalists headed by Mr.. Duke:
the founder of the American
Tobocco Trust, has announced
plans to put this warehouse sys,
tenn into operation in every cot
| ton state. This would be a grand
thing if it could be controlled in
the interests of the producers OF
cotton, but this it is unreasonable
to expect. I could have secured
private capital to build a ware
house system in South Carolina
with the powers conferred in the
warehouse bill, but it would have
been for the profit Of those tur-
nishing the capital, not for the
benefit of the entire people as
under state system. Our cot
ton crop sells for about one bill
lion dollars each year. The
floating supply averages about
two million bales, and whoever
controls that, (within certain
Ilimits) can dictate the price OF
the crop. 1t is done now and
would be done still more effect
lively under the management OF
of Mr.. Duke. He controlled the
price OF tobacco to such an ex-
tent that after years of litigation
the company was dissolved by
the courts. It would be far
easier to dictate the price of cot
ton because it is a natural mono
poly, while tobacco is a world
wide product.
| There is no way Tor the pro-
ducers of cotton to get the value
of their product except to carry
the surplus themselves and hold
lit off the market when the price
is too low. The credit of the
state and the prosperity of the
people depends almost entirely
on the cotton crop.
All share in the prosperity OF
| the farmers and not a business in
the state or professional man but
feels the pinch when we have
such a year as 1911. Nothing
will get the state on her feet
quicker than an administration
which will develop and en-
courage agriculture.
| IfIam elected with a legls'
lature in sympathy with me, ]
shall endeavor to make of South
Carolina a model for all states to
copy in progressive agricultural
methods.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST.
I come now to the last, and
what I regret to say will in all
probability be one, if not the
paramount issue in the campuign
I had hoped that our people
would get together and that
there would be no personal or
factlonal issues in the contest,
but that time has come, and
whether it will in the future or
not depends upon the self con-