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WHAT HOKE SMITH SAYS ? ? GREAT BRITAIN" DESTROYING FOREIGN MARKET FOR COTTON. Is With "lit Warrant in Law or Justice.?Advocates (losing Markets j t? England. ? j Washington. June 12.?I'nited States Senator Hoke Smith has given out an interview, in which! he most forcibly asserts that the peo- j pie of the country, particularly of the ! South, through their representatives' in congress and through their influence in Washington, must promptly and vigorously take steps to compel the British government to call off its illegal blockade of neutral European I ports, whereby irreparable injury is; being done to this country, and par- i ticularly to the South, through closing so many important European markets to cotton, etc. Senator Smith is convinced that we have it in our power to open the seas to our non-contraband commerce by simply refusing to supply England and her allies with ammunition until she recedes from her present unwarranted and unprecedented position. senator sixum s miciuor t follows: The public mind was justly filled with horror at the sinking of the Lusitania. But we should not for this reason forget that Great Britain and her allies have utterly disregarded the rights of American citizens, have placed a heavy burden upon the legi- j timate commerce of this country, and ; t have injuriously curtailed cotton markets. Just before the war began mid-1 dling cotton was selling at 13 1-2 j cents a pound. We normally sell I abroad two-thirds of our cotton crop. For a while our entire foreign mar- j ket was cut off. Our domestic mar-; ket was seriously impaired by the I disorganized condition of our fi- j nances. v Too much praise cannot be given 4.1. the administration ior uic mauuci in which our currency laws were amended and threatened liquidation prevented. Now the reserve banks are in a position where they can issue, if necessary, from $700,000,000 to $800,000,000 of reserve notes fully secured, and our domestic market for cotton is removed from strain. Last fall exports were hampered by the enormous insurance rates on trans-oce.>nic shipments. The war! insurance bureau established in the I treasury department reduced war in-1 surance rates, which were ranging -\ from 20 to 30 per cent., down to 2 . . and 3 per cent. Why Cotton Went Down to Six Cents. Still, during the latter part of October the price of cotton did not rise. The markets of Germany, Austria and northern Europe consume over 3,000,000 bales of cotton annually. This market remained closed. Buyers of cotton thought it would continue closed, and the lessened demand, coupled with the threatened surplus, carried cotton down to six cents a pound, with a limited market even at that price. Shipments of cotton to Germany, Austria and northern Europe were Drevented by the constantly circulat ed reports that Great Britain intended to put cotton on the contraband list, and seize vessels carrying cotton. October 23rd the acting secretary of State, at the instance of a committee of senators, conferred with the British ambassador, and urged the British government to give a definite statement with reference to cotton shipments. October 26th the British ambassador presented to the State department a letter which contained the following language: "Last night I received a reply from Sir Edward Grey in which he authorizes me to give the assurance that cotton will not be seized. He points out that cotton has not been put in any of our lists of contraband. It is, therefore, so far as Great Britain is concerned, in the free list and will remain there." Why Cotton Jumped From Six to Ten Cents. The communication of this assurance from Great Britain made it practicable for cotton merchants to IbWUIC VC&C5CI& dUU LU uuauvc Oil I yments of cotton to Germany, Austria, and to northern Europe. This market was thus opened. Cotton buyers realized the broadening market for cotton. During the months of December. January and February large quantities of cotton were shipped abroad, and the price rose from six cents a pound to ten cents a pound. During March middling sold up to ten ana one-nan cents a pound. Thus we have a clear illustration of how the closed market depressed the price, and how the opened and broadened market increased the price at which sotton sold. What the "Orders in Council" Did to Cotton. On the first of March came the notice from Great Britain that the "British and French governments j will hold themselves free to detain and take into \ ort shi^s carrying goo is o; presumed e:ie..:" destination. ownership, or orig'n. * This was followed by the order in council of March 12th. but prior to that order the State department was in.ormed by the British ambassador that so far as cotton was concerned shipments | made during the month of March would not be subject to the order in council. but would! be covered by a different rule.. That rule provided "the cotton for' which contracts of sale and freight i engagements already had been made, before March 2nd. is to be allowed ! free transit or bought at contract price if stopped provided the ship sails not later than March 31st." During February 1.501.000 bales of cotton wer shipped abroad. Dur-! ing March 1.208.500 bales of cotton left our ports. But Great Britain l allowed no cotton shipped in March to go free to Holland. Denmark, or Sweden. The vessels with cargoes' . ; 01 con on were seizeu. anu inc tuuu:i shipped to Rotterdam, Gothenburg and other European ports was carried into English ports. Over 200,-1 000 bales of this cotton destined to| northern Europe were sold by Great i Britain in England during April and May. A I>i*op From 430,037 Bales to 45,300 Bales in One Month. The table of exportations as kept by the department or commerce clas-, sifies France. Germany. Italy, Russia 'in Europe, Spain and the United Kingdom, separately. The figures then show for the balance of Europe as "Other Europe." They showj that in February we exported to, "Other Europe" and Germany 43".,-! 037 bales of cotton, of this Germany received SS.000 baies. In April we exported to Germany no cotton and to "Other Europe" only 4 5,300 bales,! thus showing the tremendous shrinkage of exportation!, of cotton to the neutral ports of northern Europe, caused by the illegal blockade. But for the blockade. Germany. Austria1 and northern Europe would have1 purchased before August 1st, 1,500.-! 000 additional bales of last year's crop. A Three-Million Bale Market Cut Off For This Year's Crop. Before these seizures by Great Britain, the price of cotton was steadily rising. After Great Britain cut off our German, Austrian and northern European market, the price of cotton fell in England a cent and a half a pound. Great Britain stopped the rise and caused rhe fall in price of cotton during the past two, months. If the present illegal blockade by Great Britain of neutral ports of northern Europe is permitted to remain of force, not only will we lose the market now for part of last year's crop, but a market will be cut off for 3,000.000 bales of this year's crop. On March 30th the State department of our government wrote Great Britain protesting against the notice from Great Britain of .March 1st, and the order in council of March 12th.! This order in council was a declaration of purpose by Great Britain to' intercept all vessels destined to or from the ports of northern Europe carrying goods of presumed enemy destination or origin. That is to say, this order in council of March 12th announced the purpose of Great! Britain to close the neutral ports of northern Europe to the commerce of the United States, even though the cargoes consisted of non-contraband goods, when Great Britain suspected j that the cargoes might be destined to German or Austrian use. or that the cargoes were of German or Austrian origin. Cannot Blockade a Neutral Port. There is no rule of international law more fully established than that a belligerent cannot blockade a neutral port, and neutrals have the right to ship to neutral ports non-contraband goods even though the ultimate destination of those goods is to citizens of one of the belligerents. Our government, through the State department, wrote Great Britain on March 20th protesting against the notice of March 1st and the order in council of March 12th. In this letter of March 30th it was declared that '"innocent ships may be freely transported to and from the United) States through neutral countries to belligerent territory without being subject to British blockade, much less to detention and confiscation." I Again this same letter declares that) such interference by Great Britain is a "distinct invasion of the sovereign rights of the nation whose trade and commerce is interfered with." England's Only Answer Was Continued Seizures. The only answer Great Britain has given to this letter has been the continued seizures of vessels loaded with mi A ?iAn_/".Antrohor\H ! I'UUUll dliU nuii-vvuuawuuu j goods destined to neutral ports. These seizures have continued to such an extent that shipments of cotton into this territory have been abandoned. Great Britain has destroyed the market, and has deterred cotton merchants and shippers from even .-"i . i, ; seeking further to enter the ' tar1 ~t. A cotton sliipper was in Washington a few days ago with an or ".er I iron; Sweden for 1".0U0 bales of cotj rlie !.a<l . thr.t the cotton would he consumed by Swedish mills, i He sought to obtain assurance from 1 j the English embassy here that the' J vessel would not be seized if he sent j the cotton. He obtained no satisfac-' tion. How the South Suffers From This Illegal Blockade. The injury to our entire country,! and especially to the cotton-growing I States, if the illegal blockade to; which 1 have referred is permitted to remain of force, cannot be over- j i estimated. Our people struggled j through low prices lor cotton last; fall. They must not submit to con-j tinued low prices caused by an illegal blockade. In a number of instances Swedish spinners are now in England seeking through the aid of their government! to obtain cotton consigned to them j by citizens of the United States' which has been seized by Great Bri- j tain. By the help of their own government they may obtain some of this cotton. Great Britain has neglected to settle with the cotton shippers for cotton seized. Various excuses have i been given which can be easily answered. One of these excuses recently embodied in a letter from Sir Edward 'Grey is that Swedish consignees are claiming some of the cotton. The shippers from the United States ask nothing better than that cotton should be turned over to [ their consignees. Great Britain does j not deliver to Swedish consignees,! or pay the American shippers. Seized Uott<?n, But Wouldn't Pay F<>r It. I had brought to my attention within the past two weeks the case j of a Southern firm which early in j * ' *" 1 - - ~ -3 1. c O ?t fl Knlac ' Viarcu Sllippeu &eveiai uiuuoauu of cotton to Rotterdam, Holland. A member of the firm came here and presented his invoices together with proof of his contracts of sale to the British embassy, and sought to obtain payment for the cotton which Great Britain had seized, and sold, but he was able to obtain no satisj faction. I I will not take up more time discussing the mistreatment Great Britain has given to those cotton shippers whose cotton has been carried into English ports. While it is a serious matter for them to have from $5,000,000 to $8,000,000, which they should have received for their cotton, tied up by the British seizures, the really big problem is the loss of our| market caused by the illegal conduct, of Great Britain, and the helplessness J of individuals to defend themselves. I In Spite of Promises Seizures Continue. j The declaration of London made by the representatives of the great ! nations of the world, February, 1909, contained a list of those things which under no circumstances in case of | war were to be made contraband, and the list was headed by raw cotton. Great Britain has solemnly pledged to this government by the letter ! of October 26th that cotton would nnt hp <jpizpd and hat so far as Great Britain was concerned it was on the free list and would remain there. In spite of all this, the seizures have been made and the cotton trade with Germany. Austria and all of northern I Europe destroyed. Other non-conI traband commodities have been similarly treated by Great Britain. There are Other "Bights" of Citizens That Should lie Stressed Upon. The importance of preserving our cotton markets cannot be over-estimated. It is non-contraband and i Great Britain has no right to make | it contraband. Greal Britain has no I right, to blockade neutral ports. We I should insist upon the rights of citii zens of the United States to ship cotI ton to Holland. Denmark, and Swei den. even though it ultimately may i go to Germany and Austria. Xot one line has gone from our government to Great Britain since j the letter of March 30th, which Great tsruain ignored. 11 is out i<ur, iu uic administration to say that I believe the subject would have been aggressively handled before the middie of May but for the sinking of the Lusitania. Should Hold Kngland to Account No Matter What Germany Has Done. We should not submit longer to the disregard of our rights by Great Britain, no matter what Germany has done. The people of the entire country should understand what has taken place, and especially those who are being so grievously wronged should see the hand that strikes the blow. But it is said that cotton is used to make explosives. This is nothing new. ii was iue cast wurn me Lict- | laration of Ixindon in 1909 declared that raw cotton could not be put upon the contraband list. It was the case last October when we received the solemn pledge from Great Britain that no interference should be made with cotton shipments. Great Britain cannot now make a new rule that we should recognize on this subject, and she has not undertaken - - . >; j'-'T i' ' .<0 " ' . M, even to make cotton contraband. It London of February, 1909. expressly declares shall never be made. Destroying Our Markets \V'?ile We Supply H^r With Ammunition, is being stopped by an illegal blockade. a blockade which disregards recognized principles of international law. and which the Declaration of Our own government has notified Great Britain that this interference is "a distinct invasion of the sovereign rights of the nation whose trade and commerce is interfered with." Great Brtiain a?;d the allies are receiving half of their munitions of war from the United States. They would destroy the market for the farmers of the South, and the market for many American producers, while they rely upon the United States to furnish them their implements of way No Occasion for War, But "Firmness" Is Needed Here, Too. There is no occasion to involve the United States in war with Great Bri tain and the allies, but we should definitely notify them that unless our neutral rights are regarded they cannot continue to receive neutral privileges from the United States. If Great Britain and the allies were notified that shipments of munitions of war will be discontinued' so long as Great Britain prevents shipments by citizens of the United States, legal at the time the war began our difficulties would be quickly solved. Great Britain would withd.aw the blockade of neutral ports of northern Europe rather than lose her supplies from the United States. I trust that by the time this is read our government may take firm action to compel Great Britain to: cease illegally interfering with our cotton markets. But if it has not been done. I ask the support of those interested to help bring pressure upon Great Britain to save the market for our cotton crop. DROWNING, DIDN'T CALL. Neither Did Four-Year-Old Boy Thank His Rescuers. When a boy about four years old fell into the Harlem .Mere in Central park shortly before 6 o'clock the other afternoon he did not cry for help. Bystanders fished him out, but he had swallowed a good deal of water, so he was taken to the Knickerbocker hospital, where Dr. Frascolla worked over him. He was soon breathing.' Still he would not answer questions put to him. Presently there came looking for the youngster a girl who was over-j joyed at seeing him. and who was not j a bit annoyed when he neither spoke nor seemed to hear. "He's my4little brother, Bernhard Klein, and we live at 84 East 107th street." she said. "He isn't unconscious. He's just deaf and dumb." Bernhard was taken home by his sister none the worse for the experience. LODGE MEETING. Bamberg, Lodge, No. 38, Knights of Pythias meets first and fourth Monday nights at 7:30 p. m. Visiting brethren cordially invited. H. L. HINXANT, Chancellor Commander, F. C. AYER, Keeper of Records and Seal. The Quinine That Does Not Affect The Head Because of its tonic and laxative effect, LAXA 11 Vis J3NUMU ucilci iuauuiuiu?*/ Quinine and does not cause nervousness nor ringing in head. Remember the full name and look for the signature of E. W. GROVE. 25c. ?. H. HENDERSON Attorney-at-Law BAMBERG. S. C. Generv.1 Practice. Loans Negotiated JOHN F. FOLK REAL ESTATE. STOCK, BONDS Real Estate for Sale. 1 CO-acre farm, 2 miles from Bamberg. 94-aere farm near Midway. 290-acre farm near Hunters Chappel. 1 house and lot. 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