The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1920-04-16
EXTRACTS FROM SENATOR "
HDEE SMITHS Speech IN 1
GAINESVILLE, SAT-, APRIL 3RD
Senator Smith Replies to
Attack of His Opponents
for Protecting Cotton
Farmers in 1915,

/ see that some OF my IrlenCs IN
Gainesville were dsple ped with
my course in 1915, wherrN insisted
upon the freedom of the seas and
the right of citizens Of Georgia to
ship their cotton into every neutral
port Of the world.
In the Russian-Japanese war
Russia sought to stop cotton ship
ments to Japan. England protested
against this action and made Rus
STA yield. l knew our people had
the right to sell their cotton in any
neutral port of the world; | knew
that this right was established by
international law. My constituents
had suffered so much frpm the loss
of markets for their cotton in 1914
that was bent upon obtaining for
them their well-established rights
to the freedom Of the seas and the
freedom Of the use of neutral ports.
President Wilson took exactly the
same position and our STATE De-
partment March 81, 1870 notified
Great Britain that her interference
with shipments of non-contraband
goods to neutral ports violated the
most sacred rights of this country
/ kept up a constant hight all
through 1915 and into 1916 in favor
of the freedom Of the seas for the
shipments of cotton to neutral
ports. Great Britain felt the justice
of the criticism. British courts and
British Statesmen for a century in
sisted exactly upon the same prin-
ciple / was urging. Finally their
representative came to Washing
ton, and advised officials of our
Government that Great Britain on
or about the 23rd of July would
place cotton on contraband list.
They knew this also was illegal,
and wanted to know how they could
make up to the United States for
the losses which their conduct
would cause; they were told it could
at least in part be done by buying
cotton heavily Immediately follow
ing the order making cotton contra
band.
am sure this suggestion was
carried out. The day after the an
nouncement that Great Britain had
put cotton upon the contraband list
the price of cotton went up on the
Liverpool Exchange; the day fol-
lowing it went up on the New York
Exchange, and in a few days it was
publicly known that British inter
ests were buying cotton heavily on
the New York Cotton Exchange.
Then representatives of German in
terests came to Washington to find
out why cotton advanced, although
put upon the cotton contraband list.
They concluded it was because
British interests knew peace would
soon lie made, so they began buying
cotton heavily also, and our crop
of 1915 sold higher than it did be-
fore the European war began.
In December, 1915, Sir Richard
Crawford, the Financial Agent Of
British interests, showed in Wash
ington a statement which disclosed
the very heavy purchases they had
made in August and September up
on the New York Cotton Exchange
and from the sale of which, later
on in the season, they had cleared
over four millions Of dollars.
l know the fight | made for the
freedom of the seas, both through
the press of the country, where in
many instances l paid out Of my
own pocket for publications, and on
the floor of the Senate, where /
spoke deliberately upon the subject,
contributed substantially towards
restoring the price Of cotton, and
the knowledge of the service / rem
dered the people | love cannot be
taken away from me by slanderers.