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he aanbigtles. L'wUls APPELT. Editor 1ANNING. S.-C.. MARCH 10, 1915. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY STAlVED INTO PEACE. When George Washington wrote his farewell address set ting iirth the policy of isolation S and "entangling alliance" he lit tle dreamed how steam and elec N tricity would bind together the 'ations of the earth. so that nothing important could occur anywbere, that would not affect. the nations of the entire world. The Monroe doctrine came later, dedicating the western ibensphere to American in Antences. The clcsing of ocean transpor tations brings ruin to the cotton ' planter, the declaration of a blockade, sends wheat prices tUmbling. and then the wheat --And cotton planter brings in uence to bear at Washington :-deimanding an open sea for his products, hence the United States is involved in a diplomat te tangle which may bring us in to a Eurorean war. For eight months "our million nmen armed with the deadliest eapons science .can furnish bae been locked in a death le, neither side seems to be-able to overthrow the other, 1ermany hasbeen on the offen ve. In the first rush, she near took Paris, then so far Arom e of her supplies, food and ammunition ran short, and e sullenly fell back to the ver Oisne. Then she moves rward to command the Eng s Channel, but the allied --F':armytulbbornly holds them. n the East, von Hindenburg Sammers away, routes the Rus who only fly to return another great army, and so was Napolean who said an crawls on its stomach" fthe food supply and the 1army on earth will melt li . .s Sherman-s~"march , sea" destroying the food _py,uot Grant's veteransthat Nov~rthrew Lee. It was gaunt miauuez, and the wail 'of starving inmen and childreri that took liehart out of the best army world-ever saw. BohGermany and England ~dedon the outside for a food n'p~ Russia is the' only na ~uengaged which is self sus iiigshe is the Largest' stock a grain producer in the world, keven excepting the United Nasgland started to starve u~ndy, she has the most pow - 7~rul navy in the world and ear -yi athe war declared the North ~3 a' war zone. Germany has zple&by declaring all the wat e aound England a war zone, adnvise neutral vessels to England's excuse for declaring Sida contraband is that both e a.and Germany, have ~oall grain' in those coun isn order to ecoaomise in -,edsrbution. Now suppose Gernany in retaliation declares 'Kdcontraband, then all ship infrom this country to both nand or Germany must cease, ~tthey will be forced to declare sragainst us in order to main Mtheir position.. ~~ The'United States must either "%eept the declaration of what ~xoutraband or reject and in latter case, it constitutes a ~aubelli. The United States 2-biviolated neutrality hereto -ore by permitting shipments of ~nsand ammunition to Eng ~5biand it is no wonder that the sentiment in Germany is one ~ of resentment. The forcing of the Dardenelles by France and England, is not only to capture Constantinople, but to give them access to the "vast wheat and meat supply bot .tled up in Russia. Germany has 'o way to turn and with her ~seventy million people, she must bring the war to a speedy de termination or hunger will do Swhat English, French and Ruas sian guns have failed to accom piish. -As we see it, Germany had no other recourse except to attempt the blockade of the British Is lands by her sub marines. Her ability to continue the war. will ~depend 'upon how thoroughly she can accomplish what is the ~ eeming impossible. This means h.-arder times ahead for cotton. hereased freight rates and -in "m~raance, with submar-ines oper alg iajthe Irish sea, the very ~gatwayto England, we will koefor a time our principle We had the feeling in the be ginning of the war, that t e United States could end it in short time by placing an embar go on all exports; the belliger ents would have been starved into the paths of peace. MUST UNCLE SAM ACT? It is fast dawning upon the American mind that our "watch - ful and waiting policy" towards Mexico was a waste of time. money, and opportunity, and, that Uncle Sam will have to do what he should have done long ago, to wit: Either let those half civilized mongrels across the border extrk te themselves from the miserable dilema for eign adventurers have brought upon them, or go into Mexico with a strong armed force, take the country and force the people thereof into civilization. It can be done, but not with a -watchful and waiting policy," it must be done with powder and lead and much of it. We took the Philippiiis for "benevolent assimilation" not by any "watchful and waiting pol icy," but by the forceof Dewey's guns; whether the United States did right in taking charge (f these far off possessions is ndtnow a question for debate, other than the argumen t that it vas a cor tingency of the Spanish-Ameri can war, but here are a people right over our border line daily indulging in murder, rapine and theft, the best of these ap pear as bad as can be b-ewed from hellish broth. they do not appreciate kindly mediation from friendly sour.es, because they are like clay in the hands of the potter, to be mould-:d at the will of the foreign adventurers they are serving. It is high time for President Wilson to lift the torch of humanity and send his armies into that distracted coun try to drive the carrion crows of lust away, and force a benevo lent assimilation nearer home.. . If this government does not arrest the carnage in Mexico right away, conditions will furn ish an excuse for complications with other powers interested i:i the Greasers, which may prove embarassing, especially at this time when it is with the patience of Job that Uncle Sam is meek ly submitting to the impositions of England and France with re-: gard tojour shipping. True, Un cle Sam is not.as neutral as his profesiions. Take the case of the LaTourine which recently left New York ladened with Ameri can passengers,and supposed ti be on a peaceful mission, but when tire broke out on this American vessel it was discovered~ that a large part of her ( argo con sisted of munitions of war for' the Allies, yet, Uncle Sam would profess to be a dove of peace. and have the world believe it, but as we said before, we may be able to get, away with our hypocrisy as long as we di5 not become entang led in embar assing conditions, but just as soon as we permit England, or Japan to set foot upon Mexican soil, tho' it '>e under the pretext of protecting their respective interests, we are just as sure to g'et into a mix-up that will lead to trouble, as night follows the day. The dispatches of yesterday in timate a serious condition.inMexi co so serious -that President WiI son has given Carranza to under stand be will no longer tolerate it, and unless there is an' imn provement, additional battleship will be sent to Vera Cruz. This is alright as fai- as it goes, but why dilly daily with those mon-, grels, when it is known of all men that no faith can be put in their promises or professions? The Carranza authorities seiz ed a British ship and threw the captain in iail, does this mean that John Bull will let this inci dent go by without notice, or is it a trick of diplomacy to give England an excuseto strengtben her mastery of the ocean. The belligerent nations are dergising all manner of means, regardless of international latw and rules of civilized warfare, that any move made by them mnatters not how it may appear remote,should be re garded with suspicion, and Un cle Sam above all should be ever watchful lest he find himself caught inf~ a d lomatic snarl that will be difficult to be extri cated from. WHY, KNIGHT! The Sumter Herald- of March 5th, reproduces from The Mani Times what it had to say about "A party of Sumterites" passing through Manning on their way to Greelyville to attend the Mc Lendon meeting. So far so good, I ut how the editor got his brain works to construe cur well meaning and very sincere com ment on the work' of ,Mr- Mc Lendon, into "Of course it was written in fun," is hard to com prehend. Why should we speak in light vein of the efforts of such a man; to attempt it. would incur the displeasure of Him whose commission we believe Baxter McLendon bears-i t wotdd be little short of sacrilege and mocking those who, with childlike faith, pray for guid ance through this vale of tears. We fear tiat our friend has permitted his zeal for inoney making to dull his faculty of ap preciating any expression of ap proval for the work of another, unless the same is done at adver tising rates. We would take the liberty to advise our Sumter friend that money is not all their is to strive for on this earth,and that it will be well for him to take a little time off from the tripod, attend school, even tho' it be a night school, and there imbib an education that will fit him to discern -the nicities of life, and understand and appre ciate a well deserved commenda tion of a man who is going throughout this land "gathering in the sheaves" and throwing out a life line to tottering hu inanity. THE WOMEN ARE NOT TO BLAME It seems that the tax comis s&on Act has met with some con fusion because of carelessness in the eugrossitig department, and acc')rding to Col. August Kohn of the News and Courier tibe fault is attributed to the haste at the end of the session, and ac cording to speaker Hoyt the fault. iies with the antiqated methods of the engrossing de part:nent, but to our mind neith er of thes- gentle:nen are cor rect; the blame shourd be placed where it belongs, and in our op inion the so itor who had charge of the reading of the en grossed Act is to blame for any errors that may have crept in. If everr member of the engross ing department was an expert typist the engrossed Acts would have to becompared with Journal to see if all of the amnizdments were in their proper p1laces, and this is the duty of the solicitor The young ladies employed to copy work hard and faithful, but if the solicitors do nuot take time to do the work- for which they are paid, errors and omissions will creep in even though steno graphers and expert typists .are employed. Do not blame the 'it tie women wben the men are responsible.. STATE OF SOUTWCOAROUINA County of Clareidon. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. Levi Mercantile Company, Plaint-ff agains~t Henr-Fslder, [Rufus Felder and Eugna King, Drfoda~ats. UNDER AND BY VIRTUE OF A Judgment Order of the Court of Common Pleas, in the above stated action to me directed, bearing date of June 3rd, ,1914, I will sell at pu blic auction, to the h ighest bidderfor cash at Clarendon court house at Manning in said county, within the legal hours for judicial sales, on Monday, the 5th day of April, 1915, being sales day, the followin.; described real es tate: "All that pit c:-, 'parce1 or trac.t of land lying, being and situate -in Claren don County, State aforesaid, containing Tirty acres, more or less, an.] bound-d North by lands of the estate of Salinas: East by lands of the estate of J. J. Fri erson; South lands of th3 estate of Jake Fe~der, a id West by lands of the es-.ate of Simon Felder. Bei'ig the land upon which the said Henry Fe'der resides, which land was conveyed to the said Henry Felder at~d Rufus Felder by James J. Friers 'a by Deed dated Jan uary 3, 1878, rcorded in office of Clerk of Court, for stud Coun:.y in Book Tr, at p iges 401 and 402, reference being thereunto had. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLUNA, County of Clarendon. E. W. A. Bultman, doing business un der the ntne and srtyle ol Ducker and Bultmau Plaintiff vs Lena Francis and Alf'red Francis. De fendantus. Decree. UNDER AND BY VIRTUE OF A Judgmient Order of the Court of Comn mon Pleas, in the above stated ac tion, to ine directed, hearing date of Dec. 24, 1914, I will sell at public auc tion, to the highest bidder, for cashi, at Clarendon Court Honse, at Man ning, in said county, within the legal hours for judicial sales,- on Monuday, the 5th -day of April. 1915, being salesday, the following described real estate: All that piece, p::rcel or tract of land in the Co)unty of Clarendon, in said State, containing fifteen and eight tenths (15, 8-10) acres. more or less, bounded on the Nortx by la-id of! Tay lr, East by lands of Frank Francis, South by lands of Sumter Francis, and on the West by lands of Blanding and being designated as lot No. six on a pla: of the Alfred Francis place made by W. L. Lee Surveyor, on JTuly 8th, 1904. Purchaser to pay for paperp. E. B. G A5BLE, She-riff Clarendion County. Notice to Taxpayers. The time for making returns for tax ation expired February 20th, but owing t a chuange in the law, many have failed to make their returns. In order to save the~ peu d ty being added, the Coun ty Board of Equlization authorized the Auditor to extend the time for making said returns until March 23rdJ, after which date a penalty of 50 per cent will be added to all property not: returned as required by law. A. P. BURGESS. Speech of Warehe John L I To The Farmers at Fellow Citizens: I appreciate the invitation extend ed to me by the farmers of Sumter, Lee and 'Clarendon Counties, to be with them to-day. I wish to talk to you, first, about the State Warehouse system, and en deavor to explain its operations in such a way as to show you that, while it should be, it is -still a great improvement over anything that the farmers have yet had. It is a prac tical step in the right direction, and its success so far should encourage us to go forward and perfect the system. It has been fought from its inception, and in the recent session of the General Assembly bitter per sonal attacks were made upon me in order to destroy the State Ware house. It is not my purpose to either defend myself or to indulge in criticism of others. Let them think and say what they please, so long as I approve of my:ilf it matters little to me what others think. I only ac cepted the position because I believ ed at the time that it was necessary for me to do, so in order to make the experiment a success. The extra session of the General Assembly of 1914 appropriated the sum of $15,000, and it was the lat ter part of November before we could begin work. U'p to the pre sent time we have taken over thirty tLwo warehouses, and given the farm ers of this State a 'practical demon ?tration of hoiv much cheaper cotton can be stored. You can build a warehouse on your own farm, which will store 600 oales of cotton, at a cost of about $400. Including in surance, and all expenses connecteA with the same, the storage of your cotton will be about 8 1-3 cents per bale per month. Is it any wonder that those interested in standard warehouses, with banking connee tions, -which have been charging from 25 to 35 cents per -bale, object to the State Warehouse. I have not en gaged in a war on these institutions, but, in obedignee to my official duty, I have merely gone ahead to assist the farmers of this State In reducing the rates for storing cotton. Now, let me explain to you, before I go any further, just how to take advantage of the State Warehouse system. I think that each Ware house should have a capacity of not less than 600 bales, though, owing to the emergency, I hav.e taken over warehouses smaller than this. 'All that you need .is a wooden frame, and you can go in the woods an cut posts, and if necessary, put them in the ground, but it would be better to put them on sills raised off the ground; then build a house, say, 50x100 feet, which would give you a 19-foot rafter. There must be two doors on each side and a door in each end, in order to comply with the in surance regulations and get the lowest rate. You can put poles down on the ground and pile your cotton on that, so as to keep it dry, and it would be w6'1 enough to cut a small trench around the entire house, throwing the dirt inward. Then you can make application to me, and I will take this house ovei at a nominal rentaI, one dollar per year, and appoint whomever you choose as manager, -wegher and grader, and you wm1 give a bond to guarantee the custody of that cotton and its delivery on- demand, and also your own weights and grades. You can get an expert to grade your cot ton at so mnch per bale. .It doesn't matter .who does it, so that you give me a bond to protect the State of South Carolina from loss on the grades. The State furnishes the re ceipts, tags, and all necessary blanks at no expense to you. You will then pay three -cents per bale per month to the State, and you 'will also pay the Insurance. When we began business the in surance rate on that class warehouse was aboiut $3 .40 per hundred. I can get you a rate now of $1.75, and I have completed arrangements, which will put into operation as soon as we can draft a form of a policy, which will reduce this insurance rate about 30 cents a hundred. Now, if you will make the calcula tion, you will see that you can keep youir cotton at home at a , cost of about eight cents per bale per month for all expenses, that you will have hauling- and handling it, and will also get a warehouse receipt in which the State of South Carolina guaran tees the weight and grade. of your cotton, and which in 'Boston and New York is more acceptable as a colla teral than a receipt from any private or corporate-owned iwarehouse- a paper which, as it becomes better and better known, will establish its character in the money markets of the world, and enable the farmers, of this State to get the cheapest rate of interest obtainable. The .same system has been put into operation in the State of Texas, and it came from the agitation* which we began three years ago in South Carolina for a State Warehouse system. Now, if there is anybody *who doesn't understand what I have just explained, I should be very glad, be fore I leave this subject, to answer any question, so as to make It per fectly plain. 3ly suggestion now is that each community in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon Counties build enough warehouses, by a number. joining in together, to take care of their sur plus cotton. Ten men who make fifty bales of cotton apiece can go in and buy the iron, and with their own~ labor put up the warehouse. I desire to say, further, that in the purchase of the corrugated iron needed for these warehouses, that I, can get it in car-load lots, according to the last quotations 'which I receiv ed. at $2.62. They will charge you retail about $3.75 per square for the 77 lb. stuff, laid down in Sumter. .You could probably, by taking a car load, buy it as cheaply through some of your large hardware merchants' here. But if you cannot, and the Farmers Union of Sumter will select1 a man to get up a list of parties who desire to construct warehouses, I will make the purchase of the iron for you, which can -be paid for when the car is delivered. But, my friends, in order to get the financial relief which the farm ers of the South need, it is absolu tely necessary that we should do something more than merely ware house our cotton. <Anybody who considers the subject of cotton ex cept from the standpoint of a finan cial question can never come to an intelligent conclusion. A warehouse system is a mere incident to the great question of handling and mar keting the crop. Cotton is the cor ner-stone of inter-national finance. The credits which come out of this great cotton crop is the basis of the entire banking system, not only of the South, but, I might almost say, of the United States. Wheat and other food products occupy promin ent and important positions, but do not compare in this respect with cotton, for food products are made all over the temperate zone, and cotton, as a commercial proposition, use Commissioner AcLaurin, Sumter Last Friday. Southern States. The great finan ciers of this country understand this thoroughly, and the cotton crop of the South has been used -by them for the past thirty years to hold the .balance of trade in favor of the United States. The business of this w6rld-ninety per cent. of it-is done on credit, and where not on credi.t per se, by the use of .paper money redeemable in gold. New York, which is the financial centre of this country, furnishes the South the credits upon which to pro duce the cotton crop. Then, in the fall, instead of selling our cotton crop for credit money of the same character that was used in its pro duction, the two-thirds of the crop which is exported is sold ^or gold. This gold is controlled in New York, afnd as the amount of gold in the world is limited, it keeps the float ing gold used by the nations in set ding their trade balances, under the control of -the New York banks. It is not that these people are the ene mies &- the South, or that they woul' not like to see us prosper, but fo. &heir own self interest, and to main tain the supremacy which they have acquired through the sale of our cotton, they must control that gold. it is for this reason that anything like a holding movement is -bitterly fought by the New York banks, and all of the banks and financial inter ests in the South who are dependent upon New York. It goes without saying that if the farmers of the South place them selves in a position where they can hold their cotton, and only matket it when it shows a fair profit, that they can always get whatever price they choose to ask for it. If any fact was needed to show the enormou power that the cotton crop of the South holds in the financial world, we have Just seen it. When war was declared last August, if it, had not been for the efforts of such met as Mr. Dabbs, Mr. Barrett. Dr. Stack. house, Walter Clark, of Mississippi, and others, cotton would never have recovered-and gone back up tc eight cents a pound . As it is, the farmers of the South have had- al least $400,000,000 taken from theii pockets. The men who have hel the-r cotton, and resisted ever. pressure and influence to sell it, are the patriots who have made a markel and enabledl others to sell at eighi cents a pound. . If, last August, we had -been a9hi to put away and abso lutely retire 6,000,000 -bales of cot ton, and the consuming world had realized ihat fact, the other 10,000, .00 bales' would have brought more money than the entire crop of 16, ,00,000. And yet, from the rate al ,vhich cotton is being consumed, i1 :ooks as if there would be a marke1 for every bale of cotton in the South The cotton vihich was forced out 0: the farmers' hands in November and December, at from five to six anc one-half -cents, has -been exported and is -bringing from twelve cents it England to thirty cents a pound it Russia. . nave contended all the time thal .here was, immediately after the de .:laration of war, a conspiracy in this -ountry and abroad to stampede the farmers an'd make them sell theb :otton at whatever it would bring. I 1he treasury department of the Unit ed States shows, as a matter of fact that more cotton was' exported it January and February than for the same months last year. Instead o: decreasing the consumption of cot ton, *-ar seems to have found new uses for it. The uniforms worn by all the armies in the world now, in stead of as in former days - beini composed of wool, are made fronr cotton. A soldier in the field onlI wears a uniform about thirty days and then it is thrown away and re placed by a 'new one.- Cotton' is ab solutely essential to the manufacture of explosives. Every pound of :pow der means the consumption of pound of cotton. One of the Germar 42-centimetre guns consumes 50( pounds of cotton every time it iF ired. The smaller guns, such at the 14-inch guns, consume a'boul three hundred pounds of cottor every time one of them is fired; one of the large battleships burns uI ten bales of cotton every minute it: batteries are in action. That is whal s going with the low-grade cotton as for linters, you don't see any 0: them in this country, and it. woulc be a very interesting thing to knov what these linters have been sold for since this war began, because the linters, being of shorter fibre, are better adapted to making of ex plosives. So it seems that, -aftei all, if the channels of the sea were opened, that there is a market foi even this large crop. It is not a question of there bein; a demand for our cotton, but of oth er .-people, who have nothing to dc with the making of the cotton, reap ing all the profits. Every bale 0: cotton has, standing between it and the mill in England or Germany from six to eight middle-men, whc must have a profit out of it, and thai leaves nothing but a loss for the man who made the cotton. What the farmers of the South must do and what they are going to do, once they understand the situacion, is not only to have State Warehouses, -but to sell the cotton from the State Warehouse direct to the mill that is going to manufacture it. Of course those who are profiting, and divid ing between them more money that the farmer gets for the actual cot ton itself, olbject to a change of this kind, and will resist it to the death. V. e are not trying to rob themi, but we are trying to keep them front,,tak ing from us that to which they are not entitled. It is a manifest impossibility tc market a 12-months supply of cotton in three months, and as the debt contracted for the making of that cotton comes due in the. fall, we must place ourselves in a position where we can get the money to pay our debts and hold the c'otton. The first step in that direction, my friends, is to make our farms self sustaining. 'As long as -we depend entirely upon commercial fertilizers, as long as our corn cribs and smoke houses are in the West instead of on the farm, our debts will continue to be so great that we must sacrifice our cotton in order to meet them. There is no system of State ware housing, finance, or anything else, that will give relief from any such folly as that, and if this war does not do anything else except to teach us to make our farms self-sustain ing, it is well wvorth the loss to us which it has occaioned. But, let me ask you a question, now. Suppose you make 100 bales of cotton next fall, and this spring y-ou hnve to buy your corn and your hay and your flour, and pay for it out of that cotton, and pay the fer tilizer debt, too; what good is that 100 bales of cotton going to do you? But suppose, instead of making 100 bales of cotton, you only nmade 50, and you had your own corn, hay and feed, and in the fall only owed a small fertilizer debt, and every other rmer in the South wa in the same situation; you would be in a posi- b tion then to put your cotton into a o warehouse and to hold it, and if you t got 15 cents a pound for it, instead a of 7 1-2 cents, wouldn't it turn you t] out just the same amount of money ti -(and it would be your money)-:- d as the 100 bales would at 7 1-2 c cents? In addition to that, if every p farmer in the South was pursuing -b that plan, and they were offering 15 f, cents for cotton, you could take your c State Warehouse receipt and borrow g 12 cents a pound on it, and hold it -y just as long as you pleased. With g the present price of food, clothing, h and everything else, middling cotton 1 in the South, under a condition of c affairs like that, would be more h eagerly sought at 20 cents a pound t than it is to-day at 7 cents a pound. v The way that you are fixed now, you a have got a rope around your neck t: and the -bankers and the moneyed e men have got hold of the other end c of the rope, and they can p choke you to death at any 1 time they choose to pull it. No man a who is loaded up with debt is a free a man. He who controls your means b of subsistance, controls you. We a are the slaves of our creditors, dis- t guise it as you will. Now, there is a one thing that is plainly apparent.' This year will -show more food-stuff. raised than ever before in the his-~ q tory of the State. There is not't enough wheat planted to make all y the flour that - will be needed for 2 South Carolina, but there is an enor- c mous crop of oats, and we have the chance yet to supplement the wheat crop with corn, and plenty of corn c means plenty of meat and lard. I f am glad that even the farmers of Marlboro County are going to show more good judgment in the use of fertilizers than they have ever be fore. I have seen more compost t piles than since I was a boy, and if I the price of cotton stays down-and sometimes I hope it will even go'c lower until after the June acreage f report-our people next fall will -be f in a position to warehouse-their cot ton and demand a price for it. It I has been a very difficult thing to hold t cotton with the market prife of it t running from 6 to 7 1-2 cents, be cause the borrowing power - of a bale of cotton depends upon its t market :price. 'But if you ever get t cotton up to ten or twelve. cents a pound, and can then borrow within two cents a pound of the market price, you can get fifteen to twenty cents a pound for the crop-and it is going to take big prices to tide - us over the losses of 1914. There is Another thing: Under the old national ban-king system all t the reserve money of this country < was concentrated in New York City, and the local banks all had to go to New York to borrow their money, and they could not get extensions, because.New York was determined that cotton should be sold abroad for gold, in order to maintain her su premacysin the financial world. The new currency law decentralizes that vast power, and the country is now divided up -into 12 districts, .with a regional reserve bank in each one of the districts. These regional reserve I banks will discount a farmer's note, j secured by a State Warehouse re- I ceipt, for six months, and it can be' renewed for another six months. The only trouble about this is that it ab solutely places the farmers In the' hands of the local banks which are i members of the Federal reserve sys-i, tem. The Act of Congress goes so, far as to say, that paper of -that sort' 1 can be accepted either with or without' 1 the endorsement of a member .bank, - but can only be presented through the -bank, but under the rulings of . the board, they have sgteadfastly re fused to accept any agricultural -pa--1 per not endorsed by a member bank. I Now, in order to get the -full advan tage of this new currency law, it is! absolutely necessary that the farm- . ers have a banking system thorou'gh-' 1 ly in sympathy with them. What < -the warehouse system needs to make I it.-a complete success is a chain of'1 banks-farmers' ban-ks-to handle this agricultural paper. There are: . too mnany banks at present in South: Carolina so completely under the,. -domination yet of the New York:4 banks, that theys are unwilling to do! it.. When the . emergency currency 1 was issued under the Aldrich-Vree-i land Act, last -fall, according to the statement of the Secretary of the: -Treasury, it was issued to the banks - for the purpose of enabling them to - -allow their customers to hold their: cotton. It was let out to the .banks' at three per cent., and in a great many cases was used, not for ad -vances to the farmers, to enable1 them to hold their cotton, but to pay.1 up the debts of the banks to New:] York, thereby defeating the very.; purpose that the Secretary of the -Treasury had in - view. The New 1 York banks did everything in their power to nullify the efforts of Mr. -McAdoo, and the money which he issued found its way into the New -York banks to still further strength-; en them, when, as a matter of fact, the only thing that would relieve the -situation was to increase the price of our export products and -bring in:' fresh money from abroad. I would like to -see, in this State,: a bank in Columbia, with its capi- - tal stock owned by the farmers of this State. If every cotton county - in this -State would get ten men who. would put in $1,000 apiece, or' twenty men who would put in $500u apiece, it would give it a capital'1 stock of $500,000. Then if every one of the stockholders, and every; 1 one whom they could influence, when'] their cotton was sold, or ,when they. 1 borrowed money on the receipts,:1 would deposit -it in that bank, it can readily -be seen that the deposits would make it the strongest bank- < ing institution in South Carolina,': and it could liandle the State Ware- < house receipts-every one of them -and get you the money from the Richmond bank, or other Federal I reserve banks, at 4 1-2 to 5 per< cent. What the farmers of this State need to realize, first of all, is that it is the cotton which they make 'l that forms the basis of the entire t banking system of South Carolina.i You furnish the credits that gives South Carolina her place, and yet t your credit, under the national banking system, and under the pre- I sent currency system, is confiscated, and made a property of the banks in this State, and while the money t which they get upon credit, created 1 by you, is doled out to you at S8% i discount. We create the credits,:c why not organize and use it our-c selves. It is not only because of:i high storage rates that the farmers t have not heretofore -been 1iolding t their cotton, for its full value, but 5 it is the high interest that is eat- *\ ing us up. And one of the worst - things about the whole situation is t that the men -who are the least able:1 to pay interest are the ones who are'5 charged the highest rate. A mant with some standing in the financial'3 world will borrow money at fromt six to eight per cent, but you know that these -people who have to bor-:r row $50, $100, or $200. are charged I from ten to tv-enty per cent. on loans- of that character. I know plenty of them. The only remedy c for it is to create a system where a' 'l pound of cotton is the unit of credit, t and where a bale of cotton in one i man's hands is as good as it is ind another man's hands. 1 Reverting to the State Warehouse a system, in this connection, I realize I the fact that there are some who op- e pose it on principle. They hold that t ish Governinent, by a rul*. --- the Chancellor of the Exchequer, told 'the cotton planters of Egypt and India that the Government would lend them what would ,be the equivalent of eight cents a pound for American cotton, or, if they pre ferred, the government would give them ten cents a pound and buy the cotton. Now, if England could do that for the cotton planters of Egypt and India, why could not the Fed eral Government have done it for the cotton planters of the South? It has 'been demonstrated by. the irresistible logic of events that cot toh is worth to-day on the continent of Europe from 16 to 25 cents a pound, and 12,000,000 bales has been taken from us at from 5 to 8 cents. But our government did not do that. We did not have men in Congress who had the nerve and the courage to jack up Mr. Dabbs, Mr. Barrett, and the committee .that went there at their own expense to make this dght for the farmers of the South, and the newspapers of the South, instead of -backing them up, -belittled the effort in every way they possibly could. No; if .the farmers. of this State could borrow money as a matter of right on their cotton, or if they would render it possible for cotton in State ware houies to Abe sold direct to the mill the army of people standing there and taking toll from your labbr and from mine, .and crying down. the warehouse system or anything else that we undertake, would be cut off from their rewards. Instead of aiding the holding movement, the only thing that could have put *up the price of cotton, some -with the best intentions in the world,. but mislead by subsidized newspapers, start a buy-a-bale motenant, in or der to sirpply the cotton mills with cotton at six cents a pound, anything to make us turn loose. I want to tell you right now that I have no sympathy with this cry, "keep It out of politics. " I have had, personally, all the politics that I want, but I want to tell you that you. will never get your rights until you elect men to office, from- the President of the United States down, who are in hearty sympathy with this effort of the farmers to hold their cotton and to obtain loans on it direct 'from the government, and to make sales direct t9 the mil. It is the only way that you can ever accomplish anything. The only way 4 you can ever make your power felt Is through your votes. And I would like to. know why Dabbs, myself; dr - any other man that is leadingthis movement, should be, attacked abe cause of political ambitions. Why is politics open to every large ,bank- A er, but closed to a leader of .a fare --. ers' organization. * Why, it was put up to me squarely in this fight over the Warehouse Bill' that I ought to come out and make' the statement that I never expected tot go Into politics, and I refused, and I will continue to refuse. to make any .ch cowardly statement as that.' I willf do anything ii my power - that is - '-? honest and honorable to aid the farmers of South Carolina, 'and .of the other Southern States, and I-am not going to be driven from that position by the attacks of politicians and newspapers. 'Twenty years ago wheat was sell ing at 40 cents a bushel, and corn at 10 cents a bushel, in the west. In Kansas they were actually using corn for fuel. That whole western country was in 'debt, and plastered with mortgages. But. the. farmers of the West had more continuity -of purpose than the farmers of the South. Thbey organized' through' their Farmers Uniion, and- by acting' together these great grain elevators were established, with .banks 'that would use the receipts for the wheat and the other products ,which they had no storage, and in that way they got, control of the situation, and macie the -banks, instead of their masters, mere channels for the dis tribution of .money-what they~ should be. The Interest rates have yeen lowered, and the western farm er never sells the product of his !and unless it shows a fair profit. What better object lesson do we need as to what can be accomplish ed through organization, than we have in that? Go 'to Kansas, Ne raska, Ohio, and all of those west ern States, and contrast the condi tion of the' farmers there with the :ondition of -the farmers In South Carolina. Now, I am often asked the ques tion about the cotton exchanges, whether they are harmful or of 2enefit. .I say most unhesitatingly :hat, as administered at' present, they constitute one of the greatest burdens that rest upon he farmers of 'the South. But in the regulation of those exchanges they are pro ceeding, in my judgment, upon an entirely false theory.. It is just like all the other legislation that has been probosed for the beiefit of the farmer-instead~of going to ,the root of the matter and proposing a measure of real relief, they proceed upon the line of doing something to placate and to keep the farmer sat isfied and quiet, without interfering with the profits of those who are thriving at his expense. The theory of the cotton excha.nge is entirely correct. 'It Is the practice that is pernicious. It proceeds upon the idea that by permitting future sales you can distribute a twelve-months supply of cotton over the twelve months. But you must remember that there are two kinds of cotton -visible cotton that must -pay stor age charges and insurance, and the -g invisible cotton upon which they speculate, running in the New York' Cotton -Exchange alone to one hun dred and -fifty or two hundred mil lion bales a year. The total amount of this speculative, or paper cotton, as I call it, in Liverpool, Bremen, New York, New Orleans, and the smaller exchanges, amounts to hun-' dreds of millions of bales. Well, now, and man of common sense' must realize the fact that if this speculative cotton is based upon the actual cotton which is to be carried for consumption at the mills over the 12' months, that the actual .cot ton has to pay the carrying charges upon all of this invisible cotton, and that every charge that you put upon a 'bale of cotton, whether it is freight, insurance, commissions, or storage, comes right straight back to the actual spot cotton itself, and is paid by the man who produces It is not paid by the consumer. Therefore, any regulation of the ex change that does not make the in visible cotton pay its proportion of the carrying charges on the visible cotton is at the expense of the pro ducers of cottorn all over this coun try, whether that exchange is in New York, Liverpool, or elsewhere. Now, there is ibut one way in which that can be corrected, and that is the imposition of a tax on every sale for the future delivery of cotton, and for the money arising from that tax to be used in lessening the carrying charges on the actual cotton. I drew a Bill,' at the request of Senator Tillman, nearly two years ago, which embodies that principle, and I don't care what they do, the thing will never be adjusted to the advantage of the farmers until some such legis lation as that is passed by Congress. In that Bill it is provided that cot ton to be delivered on contract, where the delivery is in a cotton producing State, is exempt from the tax, and that every contract, where OONTINUED ON LOCAL PAGE, e restricted to the mere exercise E the functions of governing, and iey raise the cry of "paternalism" bout the State Warehouse or any iing else of that -kind. For a long me that was accepted as a fun amental doctrine, afid I have no riticism. of any man who has op osed the State Warehouse system ecause he adheres to that old tshioned principle. But times have banged, and the government has one into all kinds of 'enterprises. le have seen it in South Carolina o into the whiskey business. We ave seen the Federal government Lst year send a ship, with $2,500, 00 in gold on it, to bring tourists ome from England. We have seen be British government since this -ar started, valorize cotton in Egypt nd India, by offering to lend to ie cotton planter the equivalent of ight cents per pound, or buying tton from him at ten cents a ound. We find that Germany has ationalized the potash industry, nd holds the balance of the world, nd especially the South, in tribute y it. We hear it now seriously rgued that the government should a.ke charge of telegraph, telephone nd railroad lines, and other public tilities. It runs a parcel post and ostal savings bank. We see towns nd cities of this State running elec ric lighting plants and water rorks for the benefit of their citi ens, and on every hand it has be ome a recognized principle that the :overnment should do for the peo le that which. they* are unable to .0 for themselves. We have tried or twenty-five years to organize a arehouse system, and to develop , proper method of 'handling and arketing our cotton, and in the ery nature of the case it is some hing that it is impossible to do rithout government aid. We have seen Brazil go into the offee business, and raise the price rom four cents a pound to twenty ive cents. T will say' to these good, old-fash oned Democrats, for whom I have he utmost respect, that whether hey like it or not, government has mbarked upon this line of endeav r, and, for weal or woe, our salva ion is -to be worked out through hese means. Some call it socialism. say, No, it is nothing but justice; t is trying to equalize between the :orporate interests and the individu dls. In this fierce race of life, what hance have the individual farmers -20,000,000 of them, scattered >ver thirteen States-against the ombined brains and the money of he world, standing by to get their otton from them at the lowest pos ible rate they can? The cotton crop of the South is ur greatest national asset, and the onservation of its profit (to those ho produce) demands the wisest tatesmanship and most patriotic fforts. It is not, only a function, >ut a solemn duty to every South rn State, to do for the cotton farm rs that which they are unable to o for themselves. Senator .McLaurin, then discussed he question of selling 'direct to oreign mills .where the price of cot on is fixed, referring ~to the enor nous profits made -by buying six ent cotton and selling it in Europe Lt from 16 to 25 cents a pound. 'They have sure made a .killing" his year. He said the Legislature was so busy abusing him, that after xtending his powers to make sales, hey must have forgotten that it :ook money to go to Europe as they nade no appropriation. "The .farm r however is always expected "to nake bricks without straw".. I have 'been Identified for more han twenty-five years with every armers' organization that has been n existence, and I am struck with me singular fact-the newspapers, he press, and all classes of society. nite in encouraging the farmers to >rganize ,and there is nowr going on Spropaganda by the government for ;he benefit of the farmers; and yet, when we propose a concrete and ractcal plan of reform, these same eople have always arrayed them elves in bitter opposition to what ~ver is attempted. So long as it is ~onfned to mere talk, they approve, >ut when that talk crystallizes into otion, then the fight begins. The eason of this is very plain.' If one >f us was engaged in some line of >usiness where our profits depended pon the manipulation of the .pro lucts of the soil, we twould oppose tny change which interfered. If there is any one class of men n the United States whom I honor Lnd respect above all others, it Is he men that for 25 or 30 years ave stood at the head of these armers' organization and fought the ight without reward and without :he hope of reward. Take .the early lays of the Alliance, with such men I Polk, Macune, Peffer, Sockless erry Simpson, and Tom Watson of eorgia, and think of the ridicule ind abuse under which they were ither driven from public life or put n their graves. And yet what was t that they were advocating except :he policies which have now become ipart of the platform of every olitical .party that Is striving for uccess? The State 'Warehouse Bill South Carolina, Louisiana and 'exas, and the Federal 'Warehouse 3il that Congress has -just passed, Lnd whicp. has been signed by a emocratic president- where did he thought underlying these great neasures come from, except from he hated anid despised sub-treasury an of the Alliance? What was hat? Nothing in the world except hat this government should lend noney upon standard agricultural >roducts to the farmers of this 'ountry. And what is this new cur ency law except a step irn that irection? 'Here we have the See etary of the Treasury saying that arehouse receipts for cotton shall >e accepted for discount at four and ne-half per cent. All that you ould have to do to make it the ub-treasury plan of the Alliance ould be to cut out the member ank that stands between you and he Government in Washington, and f you will send to Congress true re iresentatives of the agricultural in rests of this country you will on see that barrier removed and noney issued direct to the people n the products of the soil. Why, when war broke out, and he cry was raised that there would e no market for cotton, who was it n this country that met together and ffered us the only practical plan f relief? It was the Farmers Un on that met in Dallas, Texas, and hat sent a committee, headed by he president of the South Carolina tate Farmers Union, Mr. Dabibs, to Vashington, to insist that it was the uty of the Treasury Department of he United States to come to the re ief of the cotton planters of the outh. There was nothing else hat they could have done which could have been absolutely effec ive. How quick again was the ame old cry raised against Bar ett, Dabbs, and others, that we .eard twenty-five years ago about 'olk, Macune, and Ben Terrell. It as denounced as the rankest so ialism. And yet what do we find? 'he great financiers of this country, ake the British government as thcir odel in financial affairs--and what id England do? Why, she did, to rotect the cotton planters of Egypt nd India, exactly what Dabbs and arrett were trying to get this Fed ral Government to do for the cot on planters of the South.* Just as!