The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-01-30
NEW LIGHT on
WAREHOUSE ISSUE
Mr. w. W. Bradley Says South Caro-
lima Has Grand Chance to Dem
onstrate Blessing OF the System
irGil Here to Texas.

Bradley, OF ADbeville, who recently
CHECKED up the State warehouse sys-
TEN and whose name is before the
g neral assembly for State warehouse
commissioner to succeed Senator Nc
Laurin, resigned, gave the following
statement to the press tonight:
LAS is perhaps known to a good
many Of your readers, | made a thor
ough audit Of the State warehouse sys-
ten some months ago. | was assisted
in the work by Mr.. q. B. Walton, or
the State board of examiners for pub
lie accountants. The report itself,
which is in the hands OF the governor,
is the best lvidence Of the thorough
ness OF our work. An audit is sup
posed to cover facts as they exist Sucn
general impressions as the auditor
may have are another and very diff
ferent matter. Since, however, the
State warehouse system is State in
stitution, | have felt impelled to
make some public statement of what
believe to be its weakness, as well
as its possible strength.
primarily, the system is weak, be-
cause it has not been carried into all
Of the rural sections Of the State, the
sections it was designed to serve.
There are quite number OF counties
in the State that have no State ware
house whatever, and some of the
largest counties have perhaps only
one small warehouse, capable of stor-
ing only few hundred bales. The
total amount of cotton stored in State
warehouses today would probably not
exceed $4,000 bales, less cotton than
can be raised in single large county
1t is not the fault of the State ware
house plan, nor would l say that it
is the fault of the anagement, that
the State warehouse system has TAX
en- such slight root, but the facts
stated are convincing that the real
work of the State warehouse system
lies ahead and not behind. Properly
handled it can be made a powerful
instrument for the protection of the
cotton grower in his extremity, but
. Improperly managed it will rot or rust
to decay.
''The original idea of chain of
, State warehouses running from North
Carolina to Texas, should never be
lost sight of. The one thing that will
make possible the connecting of the
links of this chain, is the demon
strated success of the system in sin
gle State. South Carolina has the
possibility of this demonstration be-
fore her, but it will be mans task
to effect it. The State warehouse
system is a measure Of preparedness,
the value Of which may not be esti-
mated in actual dollars and cents
earned. 1t can, however, be made not
only self-sustaining, but an actual
source of revenue to the State. The
remembrance of siX-cent cotton grows
dim in the time of 21oent cotton, but
the fact that Wall Street could bull
cotton up to p cents and then W thin
ten days slump it to Is cents, empha-
sizes the necessity for storage facil-
tiles that discourage the flooding ct
cotton on the market in such panics.
All warehouses are useful in such ex-
tremities, but State warehouses, in
VIII ch the interests of the producer
and the anagement are identified,
constitute the ideal system.
1T is my opinion that all the ware
houses in the State, whether in or out
of the system, should be brought with
in close relat ons. To this end be-
lieve an act of the legislature should
be passed, requiring the State ware
house commissioner, through his
agents, to make frequent inspections
of all warehouses publicly receiving
cotton for storage. The man who de-
posits h S cotton in a. public ware
house should be entitled to the same
protection that the man who de-
posits his money in a bank has. The
TACT is shortages occur in cotton ware
houses as well as in banks. 1t would
seem the part of wisdom then to in
spect these institutions:
First: To ascertain if all the cot
ton is in storage as shown by the
books
Second: To ascertain if insurance
is carried to cover possible losses dol
lar for dollar
Third: To ascertain whether or nor
the manager is properly bonded.
Fourth: To standardize local re-
ceipts so that they will be made bet
fer collateral in the general money
markets in the United States.
Fifth: To enable the State ware
house commissioner to issue State re-
ceipts, based on the local receipts, and
protection that the man who de-
had at home, as is the case in many
counties today, to enable him to ac-
commodate the small holder through
a central bank in Columbia
''In concluding this article | desire
to thank my friends who have stood
by me 50 Loyalty in my race for ware
house commissioner. | feel that they
ale tired of the legislative deadlock,
as | myself am, and while | have not
11y withdra YIN my Oanoa chal