Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-11-23
Cotton Marketing.

One Of the ancient differences be-
tween the Yorkville Enquirer and GER
tain people in this town has been over
the question Of cotton marketing, The
Enquirer always holding that the To-
cal market should be free, and those
who differed with it standing up for
protection.
The first record Of this difference is
found in The Enquirer Of the 18th of
December, 1856. The town council of
that day had promulgated an ordinance
in which it levied on nonresident
buyers a direct tax Of so cents bale
for each bale purchased, and it was
frankly stated in the ordinance that
the object Of the same was to preserve
the market for the benefit of the local
people.
The Enquirer at the time made a
vigorous editorial protest against this
ordinance. 1t urged in the first place
that the ordinance was unlawful and
unjust, subversive Of the principles Of
liberty and calculated to cripple the
growth and prosperity Of the town. 1t
was argued that because Of the in
justice Of the thing, to say the least Of
it, people of the surrounding country
would be prejudiced against this
market, would hunt other markets
as far as possible, and where they
were unable to find access to other
markets, they would be impressed
with a feeling Of injury and distrust.
Nothing was said of the spirit out
of which this old ordinance grew. 1t
was not any more proper in those days
than it is now to impugn ones per-
Sonal motives. Then, as now, one
could only go by the facts as they ap-
peared. But it seems strange to us to-
day, that those old folks had no better
appreciation of the intelligence and in
dependence of York county people
than to think that they would allow
themselves to be coerced into selling
their cotton on a protected market
where, in the absence Of competition
the buyers having agreement among
themselves, could establish prices as
they chose. The records of even that
day do not show on what ground, if
any, the local buyers sought to justify
the Wy of arbitrary tribute from the
cotton producers of that day. But 1t
is fact for this community, an un-
fortunate fact, that the old ordinance
stood. and although cotton continued
to come to Yorkville, many and many
bale that would have otherwise come
here, sought free market elsewhere.
Time and again since the Civil war.
efforts have been made to free this To-
cal cotton market by establishing pub
lie platforms to be presided over by
public weighers More than once
men have secured the necessary sigma
lures to petitions required by law; but
eventually somehow all these efforts
have been defeated. The statutes have
been hocus- -pocused in the matter, and
the courts have been invoked along
side issues that have served to uphold
the continuance of the old hide-bound
protection idea to the satisfaction of
an interested few and to the hurt of
the community at large.
Only recently very pointed .atten-
ton has been called to the fact that
although the general assembly had
specifically sought TO exempt cotton
buyers from the operation of the occu-
patton tax law, when a local ordinance
was framed on the subject of Occupa-
tiOn tax. cotton buyers were specially
! included. If anyone wants to believe