Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-03-18
To Finance Cotton.

Hon. Jno. L. McLaurin Is always
interesting. He is a close student,
tireless worker and deep thinker.
| AS a student of political economy ne
is head and shoulder above the aver
age man of the day and the equal Oh
almost any man in America. cotton
and cotton warehouSinS is one OF ms
hobbies, and we do not hesitate IN
saying that he is one OF the pest IN
formed men in the United states on
these two subjects. We did not near
his address at the court house the
other day, but men who heard 1t said
it was one of the most remarkable ad-
dresses even delivered in Dillon. But
among other things, so we are told
Mr.. McLaurin said a bank with a cap
| ital of 100000 could Finance all the
cotton in South Carolina. II this Is
correct we must differ with Mr.. NC
Iaurin. He takes the position that
member banks of the Federal reserve
system, by virtue of the privileges
given them under the Federal Reserve
| Act, can borrow without limit on agrl-
cultural products properly stored ana
insured. In other words, the Federal
Reserve can be forced to hnance the
cotton crop through the various ma
tional banks in the south. We are un-
able to find this provision In the Fed
eral Reserve Act, but If MIR. McLaurln
is correct in his Interpretation of the
act he can greatly relieve the present
situation in he south by forcing those
in authority to carry out this provis-
| ion of the law. The member banks are
| limited by the Federal bank and even
if they offer liberty bonds as collater-
al security to rediscounts they are not
permitted to exceed that limit. The
spirit and purpose of the Federal Re-
serve act was to assist the farmer
north, south, east and west in hand
| ling agricultural products to the best
advantage by the simple process OF
shifting government funds from one
section to the other as they were
needed in moving the crops, but the
act goes no further. After all, the
authority to limit the loans to any one
section is vested in the Federal Re-
serve The state warehouse plan, long
by a state cotton bank with sufficient
capital to finance the cotton crop
without calling on outside help. is the
only solution of the cotton holding
problem. The south must be able to
| finance it's own cotton with its own
money. 1t must be independent OF
the money lender in the north. east or
west. The west does not call on the
south to finance it's wheat stored in
elevators nor does the north ask the
south to float its industrial bonds,
When the south reaches the point
where 1t has ample capital Of its own
to finance what 1t produces then and
then only will 1t be in a position to
fix a price on what 1t has to sell.-Dil-
lon Herald.
Mr.. McLaurin is undoubtedly Of the
opinion that the Regional Reserve
banks can be forced to finance the cot
ton crop Of the south through the ma
tional banks, unless the law as it now
stands is changed. At least that has
all along been our understanding OF
his attitude in regard to the matter
But even If he is correct in his view
it is difficult to see how he could make
a test of it, except at the head of such
a bank as is described, organized fol
the purpose in question.
OF course there are those who do not
see how such thing as is here pro-
posed could be carried out; but that is
not surprising. Until it was actually
accomplished, nobody but Mr.. McLau-
rim seemed to see how single per
cent loan on the receipt of a state
warehouse could compel per cent
lloans on the receipts Of all other ware
houses; but so long as Mr.. McLaurin