The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-07-24
Letter From Mr.. Dabbs
Discusses Recent Activities OF
the Federal Reserve Board
Tryon, N. c., July 10, 1920.


One day last week The State carried
three notices of more than ordinary
interest On page 2 exchanges of
| telegrams between Commissioner Har-
ris and Governor Harding of the Fed
eral Farm Loan Bank. Page 5, Com
missioner Harris long and interesting
analysis of the cotton situation. Page
~, announcement that Governor
Harding Will speak at the Cotton AS
sociation Rally in Craven Hall, Co
lumbia, August 18th. | took these
for the text for an article on the de-
nation and contraction of business
program of the Federal Reserve
Board and the Priorities orders of
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
so far the State has not published my
article So am sending you some of
the salient features of it,
MI. Harris was very juhilant over
the reply of Mr.. Harding Mr.. Hard
ing said: Federal Reserve Board has
taken no infamous hand in anything"
Or course, he denies that anything his
board has done is Infamous" But he
does not deny that his board has
raised interest rates, and denied cred
us and is using the immense powers
| that is lodged in it to coerce the coun-
Try into its way of thinking just as
, the old money power of Wall Street
did in the days that are past.
Mr.. Harding told me that the let
ters of Thos Marshall, Jr.,- assistant
cashier of the Richmond Reserve
bank to Sumters banks were without
authority. Along with other respon-
slble citizens of the state, asked that
Mr.. Marshall be transferred to a bank
that does not handle cotton paper.
This has not been done for when in
sumter a few days ago / saw a letter
from Assistant Cashier Thos. Marshall,
Jr
If Mr.. Harding goes to the meeting
in Columbia on the 18th will ask him
some pointed questions that will at
least Keep the meeting from degener-
atlng into long winded platitudes that
SO often characterize the speeches Of
distinguished men. <
cannot understand Mr. Harris
and Mr.. Wannamaker's confidence i'm
Mr.. HaIding's friendship toward cot
ton when the facts and acts of the
!, board of which he is the head are all
/ against u.s.
The South Carolina Farmers Union
last January called On all organiza-
tlons who have the good of the coun-,
: try at heart to join with us in trying
to prevent the Federal Reserve Board
from putting the brakes on business.
secretary Reardon sent out for me
several hundred of our appeals for
concerted action. 1 got perhaps a.
dozen favorable responses, not one un-
taVorable. tried to get Mr.. Wanna
maker TO have the American Cotton
Association appoint a committee to
join with the Farmers Union commit
tee III personal protest to the Feder-
al ReSerVe Board and i'm the failure Of
that appeal then to go to congress-
but no, this letter is before me as |
wrlte). lie said. IL can most positively
assure YOU this, that Governor Hard
ing ls very friendly toward us and
mas helped us out in many ways" /
thought so too. But the logic of facts
are against such a thought. While all
the rest of the world is speeding up for
greater production, wider distribution.
extension of credits on the most favor
aple terms, this great coun-
Try through its fiscal agents
the Federal Reserve Board and
It's regulator of transportation,
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
is putting on the tracks,. showing
down. trying to squeeze the tremen-
dous increase of production and trade
into the same old worn out cars of
transportation OF pre-war times, and
to have bank transactions measured
in the same figures of 1914.
Some Of my readers may say what
has that got to do with us?" 1t has
everything to do with us. Unless
we can arouse the public to such a
concerted pitch of protest that will
cause change in the program, we
will go through the same experience
OF orr fathers after the War of Sc
cession Zach year we will sell our
crops On a lower basis than we made
tJneE--a basis so much below the cost
OF production that many homes will
be lost as / we'll remember TO have
been common from 1870 to 1900. We
have fresh in our minds the awful
times Of those days. Why, when we
see the powers that-be determined to
make us travel the same road that
our forefathers found SO hard, do we
not rise en- masse and put stop to
this downward course? Why? Be
cause many, very many, do not see nor
understand the relation of credit and
money to prosperity: and because so
many Of the few who do see il, are
afraid TO raise their voices for fear
Of giving encouragement to the Re-
publican party. Not realizing that if
/ the Federal Reserve Board and Inter
| state Commerce Commission are not
restrained ntheir arbitrary interfer-
encc with the business of the coun-
try all the good that has been done
by the Democratic party will be lost
sight of and the party will lose con-
troll of the government i'm spite of
what we say or think. We have no