Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-22
RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT
What John L. MeLaurin Has Accom-
plished in Constructive Leeis alton.


"""' ' '''' 'SS'''
P'sneo IN constructive Iee's'at'on'
| Euitor fork'liIe Enquirer
| when Johh L. Mcl&lurlh entered
the state senate IN lsl3-he came with
Ia dctnit" purpose 10 inauguratt Il
new programme OF industrial pro-
Grcss by using the sovereignty Of IN"
| state TO stabilize the market value of
| the S"uth's many CROPS.
| The programme WAS;
| list. Warch"usinS ana financing
md. Direct sales Of cotton from the
| warehouses Ia the mills.
3rd. state grading.
ith. stale insurance.
5th. \ Farmers Bank To handle the
| receipts.
These ideas 1T first found little
| favor in an ultra conservative South
Carolina senate. but finally under the
persuasive power and fire Of cnthu-
| si;lsm OF the author and under the
| stress of 4 cents cotton caused by the
war in Europe the Warehouse Bill
was enacted into law at the extra
session Of 1914.
The law conferred but limited
puwer and provided a meaget arpro-
priation. McIaurin WAS chosen com :
missioner ami given his baby" to
rear TO manhood. The home was un-
sheltered, the wolves numerous,
fierce and hungry, but he loTed this
"offspring'' of his mind and fought
| for il with q valor that has COM
manded the admiration of every
generous spirit which has not been
| ohscurcd BY politicala partisan zeal.
He got farmers to build warehouses
on their farms. he reduced insurance
on rural warehouses from 3i To Los;
he secured an abundance of money
to finance cotton at 4 per cent 1T Il
time when none Was available even
at per cent, he enlisted the SYM
pathy and co-operation Of Mr.. w.
=. q. Harding, chairman of the Fed
eral Reserve Board in Washington
and ne and | had developed plan
15r1r -secr.1c5r TIE cSy1ais 1eff~l!nH ffafH-
| ing to establish bank To serve as
distributions agent for the money
available To finance cotton so that the
| farmers could get il AT per cent in
stead of per cent as provided by
existing distributing agencies. The
thought had taken root and was
| growing. The government i'm Wash
| ington was sounding harmonious
note. The state warehouse office and
| the governors office seemed I'm har-
mony and everything seemed fair and
| promising to set up in South Carolina
a light Ia guide southern agriculture
out of the gloom of its years of de-
preston. Then came the May con-
vention of 1916 which violated the
rules of the party and broke the law
Of the state I'm dcn,ing the ware
house commissioner the right to a
place i'm the state campaign. which
right had been demanded by reso-
luton introduced bN Mr.. r.. W. labhS.
president OF the state Farmers Union
ut Il meeting OF the state warehouse
association. and unanimously adopted,
as expressing the universal desire tu
have the author ut the law explain
to the people its bcncfcicnt purpose
and enlist their CO. operation To like
end that II might hccomc all that
its friends hoped for. McI4rurin felt
that he lost the support of the adj
ministration then in office and in my
opinion made the mistake of carry
ing the fight into the campaign for
the election of the faction which sup
ported our resolution. II is my con-
yiction that our programme is bigger
than either faction and IL carried be-
fore the people by it's author would
make all which they stand for look
| small indeed
Additional evidence of the fact that
| McI.aurn's though has taken root