The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-03-08
CALLS FOR LIGHT
ON COTTON BILL
McLAURIN WOULD KNOW OF
sPEClFIC BENEFITS
If Advice to Hold Cotton When Sell
ing for Forty Cents, What Is
Fool Advice?
o the Editor of The State:


as my ignorance would permit the
article of Harvey Jordan of St. Mat
tthews in The State of today. This
article appears to be more of a per-
sonal nature than an article of infor-
.mation. want to say to Mr.. Jordan
that make no claims to intelligence,
but really 1 did not know that l
was so densely ignorant as Mr.. Jordan
claims. Oh, that might have the op-
portunity to sit at the feet of wis
dom and learn. I have no desire to
make any personal attack upon Mr..
Jordan, as l assume that he is high
toned gentleman, and l am glad to
be able to attribute to him more wis
dom and broadmindedness than l can
ever hope to attain.
1t was not my purpose to make an
attack on the American Cotton asso-
citation, as its efforts as a whole have
been used as it thought best. Mr..
Jordan devotes most of his article to
quoting the resolutions as passed by
the association during the last year.
i, The object of these resolutions was
not realized in single instance. Mr..
Jordan tells US that the advice to hold
cotton for 40 cents last fall was sound
and wise advice. If this was sound
advice, pray tell US what is fool ad-
vice.
The American Cotton association
has issued a great deal of propagan-
da. This was for the purpose of
helping the farmers, and I insist that
about all it can do is to issue propa-
ganda, but why this is to cost the
cotton farmers the sum of 100000
per annum for the life of me l can
not see. Mr., Jordan utterly failed to
show where any material benefits are
to be derived by the farmers from this
tax on our cotton. He has failed to
show this because this is its weak
point. Turn on the spotlight and
show us where the results are to be
obtained. Will this tax guarantee
/ the advance in price. of cotton, and
how? Will this tax force the cotton
buyers to pay us more than they want
to pay us? If so, how? viii these
graders paid by cotton tax force
the buyers of cotton to accept their
grading and pay US more for cotton
than they would otherwise do? If so,
how? / say turn on the light and
show us guaranteed results from this
tax. that amounts to more than a
fourth of million dollars. How many
salaried positions do you expect to
bring into being? Will the men that
have lobbied without ceasing for this
measure get their reward by being
given. a high salaried position? ! op-
pose this measure because it is not a
sound principle of government and
can not give results in comparison
with the expenditure proposed, We
| are now overloaded with all kinds of
taxes, and our lawmakers should not
increase this burden unless they can
show beneficial results, and / contend
that they can not show any relief un-
der this measure of taxing cotton.
Poor old cotton at three to ten cents
has all it can bear without an utter
collapse.
Mr.. Jordan would have the public
believe that on account of my ig
norance that / have misstated facts.
I do know it to be.a fact that when
cotton was bringing 40 cents per
pound that members of the American
Cotton association did publicly advise
the people to hold their cotton for SO
cents. This was certainly not sound
'advice, and it was not sound advice
to advise holding 80 cent cotton for
40 cents. The facts will bear me out
that this association has in almost
every instance fixed the price of cot
ton too high, with no right or power
to maintain such price. ] was told
mot very long ago by banker that
had made visit to Northern banks
that the propaganda issued by this
association had done the South great
harm from a financial point of view.
The cotton farmers are not asking
for this tax, and every farmer that l
have heard express himself is opposed
to this measure.
We have our state warehouse sys-
tenn and our export corporation and
we should be very cautious about
making new ventures under these abb
normal times.