The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1919-03-05
WHEAT GUARANTEES
CAUSES MUCH TALK


Stevenson Takes Part in Congress Dis
cussiOn. Cotton Seed Losses.
Washington, March 3.-One of the
important bills which has been under
discussion here for several days was
that enabling the president to carry
out the price guarantee made to pro
ducers Of wheat and protect the Unit
ed states against undue enhancement
| OF it's liabilities. South Carolinians will
| read with interest Tic following re-
marks made on this subject by Con-
,gressman Stevenson Of South Carolina:
| Il am somewhat in sympathy With
the purpose Of rhe gentlemen from
Pennsylvania Mr.. MoorcJ in SO far as
protection to the consumer is con
cerned had an idea that he was to
be protected under the licensing or
supervising system provided in the
Dill; but | want to talk just minute
about some of those who have not had
any protection, and l am a little curl
Gus to know why they did not put some
protection in the bill for the protec-
ton Of some more Of the farmers.
THE statement has been made
broadcast, and great deal has been
made out Of it, that nobody's price was
liked except the wheat mans price.
The mis-Statcmcnt amounts to this,
that nObOdy's price was fixed and
guaranteed except the wheat mans;
and | want to say to you that there is
a large class Of farmers the price of
whose goods has been fixed but was
not guaranteed, and they are tied up
tight today and have lost over $780,
100000. Take the matter of the cot
ton seed Of the farmers OF the South
about 100000 tons. 1t was selling at
$S3 a ton. They came along and said
that they must fix the price Of that to
prevent cX0rbitant charges, and they
reduced the price to 500 ton, max
ing deduction at one lick from the
market price Of $70,000,0OO. They fixed
it at that and let it run along for a
while, until some Of the middlcmen and
|
stocks OF seed on hand which they had
obtained at the price fixed by the gov
crnmcnt, and then they reduced it an
other dollar a ton. They did not guar
| that. That took 100000 more. Then
they took the lintcrs and reduced the
price cents a pound--thc lintcrs that
were to be taken by the government
for the manufacture Of explosives. By
| that reduction they caused the farm
ers of the South loss Of &2l .0OO, 900,
rat they made no guaranty about TAX
ing care of the loss that we sustained
| there. They went ahead then, and, as
| soon as the armistice is signed they
cancel all OF the contracts for lintc,
and render them lifclcss, so that the
farmers can get only a cent a pound
for them now. That cost us another
niggardly $4,000, 900 as a result Of
price fixing without a guaranty at
| tachcd. That makes SIP 1000, 600 that
they fixed for us, but they did not
guarantee us against loss. | sympa-
| thzc with the gentleman over there
who wants to be guaranteed against
| loss on tho flour that we arc going 10
buy from those fellows who had a
guaranty out West. You must rcmcm-
bcr that cotton seed after ii is crush
cd and put into the mill, is sold back
| to the farmer for fertilizer: and they
said, IF you take that sccd home and
keep it there over GO days you will be
guilty Of boarding. and they indicted
some people in my country for hoard
ing cotton seed, so We had to let ii go
until the mills were blocked. and they
have not bought n pound Of seed since
tho lst of December; and whore arc
we?