The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-03-10

ABOUT LuG SIdlS wal SAOuSS VI any
thing else of that kind. For long
time that was accepted as a fun
damental doctrine, and l have no
criticism OF any man who has op-
posed the State Warehouse system
because he adheres to that old
fashioned principle. But times have
changed, and the government has
gone into all kinds Of enterprises.
We have seen it in South Carolina
go into the whiskey business. We
have seen the Federal government
last year send ship, with S2,5Oo,-
600 in gold on it, to bring tourists
home from England. We have seen
the British government since this
war started, valorize cotton In Egypt
and India, by offering to lend to
the cotton planter the equivalent CT
eight cents per pound, Or buying
cotton from him at ten cents a
pound. We ind that Germany has
nationalized the potash industry,
and holds the balance of the world,
and especially the South, in tribute
by it. We hear it now seriously
argued that the government should
take charge of telegraph, telephone
and railroad lines, and other public
utilities. 1t runs parcel post and
. postal savings bank. We see towns
and cities of this State running cleo
tric lighting plants and water
works for the benefit of their clti-
Zens, and on every hand it has be
come a recognized principle that the
government should do for the peo-
pie that which they are unable to
do for themselves We have tried
for twenty-five years to organize a
warehouse system, and to develop
a proper method of handling and
marketing our cotton, and IN the
very nature of the case it is some
thing that it is impossible to do
without government aid.
We have seen Brazil go into the
coffee business, and raise the price
from four cents a pound to twenty
five cents.
7 will say to these good, old-fash-
ioned Democrats, for whom l have
the utmost respect, that whether
they like it or not, government mas
embarked upon this line Of endeaV-
or, and, for veal or woe, our saliva
ton is to be worked out through
these means. Some call it socialism
l say, No, it is nothing but justice;
it is trying to equaliZe between the
corporate interests and the lndlVldu-
ais. In this fierce race Of life, what
chance have the individual farmers
-20,000,O00 of them, scattered
over thirteen States-against the
combined brains and the money OF
the world, standing by to get their
cotton from them at the lowest pos
sible rate they can?
The cotton crop Of the South Is
our greatest national asset, and the
conservation Of it's profit Ito those
who produce) demands the wlses1
craftsmanship and most patr1oti<
efforts. It is not. only function
but a solemn duty to every South.
ern State, to do for the cotton farm
ers that which they are unable tc
do for themselves.
Senator McLaur1n, then discussed
the question Of selling direct tc
foreign mills where the price OF cot
ton is fixed, referring to the enor'
nous profits made by buying si1
cent cotton and selling it in Europe
at from 16 to 25 cents a pound
They have sure made killing
this year. He said the Legislature
was so busy abusing him, that after
extending his powers to make sales
: they must have forgotten that Il
took money to go to Europe as the!
made no appropriation. The farm
!! er however is always expected "te
make bricks without straw.
have been identified for more
f; than twenty-five years with every
! farmers organization that has beer
IN existence, and am struck with
one singular fact-the newspapers
+! the press, and all classes of society
unite in encouraging the farmers te
j.! organize ,and there is now going OF
F.! a propaganda by the government fol
&; the benefit of the farmers; and yet
;: when we propose a concrete anc
practical plan of reform, these same
people have always arrayed them
selves in bitter opposition to what
ever is attempted. So long as it /:
=. confined to mere talk, they approve
/ but when that talk crystallises into
action, then the fight begins. Tne
reason Of this is very plain: II one
of us was engaged in some line o.
business where our profits depended
upon the manipulation Of the pro
ducts of the soil, we would oppose
any change which interfered.
! If there is any one class Of meI
in the United States whom ] honor
;: and respect above all others, 1t !:
! the men that for 25 or 80 year:
: have stood at the head of these
farmers organization and fought the
fight without reward and without
the hope of reward. Take the early
days Of the Alliance, with such mer
as Polk, Macune, PETER, Sockless
Jerry Simpson, and Tom Watson o:
! Georgia, and think Of the ridicule
and abuse under which they were
either driven from public life or put
in their graves. And yet what was
it that they were advocating except
the policies which have now become
a part of the platform of every
political party that is striving fol
success? The State Warehouse Bill
! in South Carolina, Louisiana anc
! Texas, and the Federal Warehouse
Bill that Congress has just passed
and which has been signed by q
democratic president where die
the thought underlying these great
measures come from, except from
the hated and despised sub-treasury
plan of the Alliance? What was
that? Nothing in the world except
(; that this government should lend
money upon standard agricultural
products to the farmers Of this
country. And what is this new cur
rency law except a Step il that
direction? Here we have the Sec
retary of the Treasury saying that
warehouse receipts for cotton slall
be accepted for discount at four and
one-half per cent. All that you
would have to do to make it the
sub-treasury plan Of the Alliance
would be to cut out the member
bank that stands between you and
the Government in Washington, and