The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-06-16

| I have been reQueSleu Wy 1nA-
Hodge to express my views on tne
state Warehouse System and L am
indeed glad to do so.
have for some time been interest
ed in this bill. In fact, when hao
charge Of the Chautauqua during tne
month of April, was instrumental
in getting Senator McLaurin down 10
Manning to make an address on tnat
occasion. did this not only because
I myself was interested, but because
I thought an address on the state
Warehouse System would prove 70
be an interesting and instructive SUD-
iect to the people Of the whole county:
In the outset I wish to say tnat
am heartily III sympathy with thS
State Warehouse System for the SIN
nile reason that I honestly believe II
will ultimately prove to be the sal'a-
ton of the whole South. NO other
country in the world has such moA-
opoly as the South has in her cotton
No people have such an opportunity
as we have to establish credit sys-
tenn of our own, through our state
government. Our cotton. needs only
to be handled in the proper way, IN
order to bring money into the pockets
of those who produce it. There IS not
a doubt but that there is determln-
ed effort on foot throughout the whole
South to conserve the waste from the
farm to the mill. At the present time
the producer of cotton gets about one
half of its real value. The farmer
takes his cotton to town, has it grad
ed by a grader in the employ OF an
| exporter. That grader can grace
strict middling as low middling and
the farmer must accept the grading
because he IS utterly in the hands of
the grader. The cotton Is shipped 10
Charleston or some other seaport
town to the exporter who puts the
cotton on a boat bound for Europe:
The exporter is a business man and
therefore makes as large q proht as
he possibly can. The same cotton the
farmer sold to the grader at SC
pound brings in Europe about 2Oc
pound. So where does the l2c q pound
go to-?
The 12c a pound goes to pay the
graders salary and expenses, the eA-
porter's profits, the transportation
and the insurance rates. The State
Warehouse System will remedy this.
It also means the bringing together OF
cotton to be shipped and SOLD oirecs
to the manufacturers themselves.
At the present time If q: farmer
stores his cotton in a warehouse, ne
must pay the warehouse charges ana
an enormous insurance rate. II ne IS
able to borrow any money at all on
this cotton, he can borrow 1t lot only
g few months and at rate or per
cent psr arRum. Ia the fall our farm
ers are obliged to sell their cotton
whether the market price at that.tlme
is Sc a pound or zoe pound. Under
the State Warehouse System, now
ever, a farmer can store his cotton.
nav an extraordinarily small rate OF
insurance, and borrow all the money
he wants, on S Per cent OF the actual
value of his cotton, at the rate OF IL
per cent to 5 per cent per annum. He
can borrow this money for a year
and have the loan renewed for an
other six months. In this way the
farmer is able to hold his cotton until
there is a demand for same.
I am also sincere in saying that at
the present time I believe Senator J.
L. McLaurin is the best man to nan
die the proposition. He has dreamed
of, and worked and fought for, TINS
system for practically a life time and
it is only reasonable to think. that ne
is in a better position than any other
man in our State to handle the sltua-
ton.
These are N. views briefly express
ed.
J. ". Wideman.