Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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HIGHER PRICES. Why the Farmers Should Stand by Their Guns and HOLD THEIR COTTON. Strong Argument for tho Cotton Growers and Against tho Middle Mon. Five Months lleforo tho New Crop Will Move and thc Middle Men Short Oil Their Contracts for Delivery. We com mond the following letter from Mr, .1. Wannamnker of st. Matthews, to th.? careful perusal ot' all who are interested in the pros perity of oar Southland : Although 1 do not claim to he a prophet, or tile son ol' a prophet. I venture lo assert (hat cotton should not be sold in (he presen! low mar ket; lirst, because of the moral effect lipon the farmers themselves. I need not tell you how itu- forty long years the middle man, Hie speculator and the gamblers have mude a fool ball of cotton; how for the linn, hoing, he has set at nought lix- creal, law of Supply and demand, and thereby rob bed the cotton producer and the South of millions ol' money; bow the fanners tamely ami ignobly submitted to this thraldom until a few years ago the slumbering manhood of the South assorted itself, and at New Orleans made a new declarations of Indepen dence, I need not tell your readers how Steadily our organization bas grown, bow bil ter ly it has been fought by tue New York and oilier colton ex-? changos; all these things are matters ol' history To surrender now. four to live mont hs before it is possible to lint new ( lion in (|tian(itics in (In1 market. would be to lake counsel of our fears, show the white leather, to plaj in1' the hands of our enemies and to in v ii o defeat now and here after. Theil, a;:,on. il is not Hie time lo sell colton, because the low prices prevailing would entail too great ii naneial los upon those who have risked all fur Hie common good, lt is well kile M\ that the last crop was made ai high cost. .Mubs, wagons, f?rtil ixe rs. farm supples pf all kinds, including hi bor; all commanded high prices. Thon o>.". nwi'n M '.' " ts u not true i hat tho depressing in fluence ol' tho ?lanie still lingers .Thal the salo of null produc?s is slow? That many mills are running on re duced lime'? Thal Iho buying capacity of tho world seems io bo diminished? What are the chances for higher prices?" l answer, much of what you say is doubtless true; still, with l'uni holding of Hie remnants pf tho crop J believe 11)0 chalices ol' higher prit es are lirst class. When fertilizer mills have mor,, goods than they can sell they maintain prices, wan.- house the surplus stock and cut down produc tion. Tho diamond kings do tin same,same, we aro told. W in n tho cotton mills find prices for their pro ducts too low they often warehouse (heir stock and curtail their output. These are wise nu n. Sha)! not tho farmer profit by their example? Then, remember, trade is steadily m?vilig toward Hie norina), even in this country, where tho depression has been greatest, In longland, i om informed, tho export trade has ap proached close lo the figures of last year for some lime, longland is wide awake. Note these straws: Liverpool, May 7: Cotton, spot, good business done; sales 20,000 bales, of Which 18,000 American; re ceipts 1,000, no American. Futures opened eli sj and closed steady. "Liverpool, May S: Colton, spot, In active demand and a good business done. Prices IS to L'O points higher. Sales of the day were 15,000, of Vilich 14,20t) American; receipts 1,000 hales, no American." Here are some facts which should not be lost sight ol'. While 0 good many mills have curtailed their out put, this is offset, to a certain extent, by the new Spindles which are merri ly humming away for tho first time this year. And lol no one forget that there were 2,000,000 l?ales of cotton less made 111 this country last year that! the year before, and that India also fell short 2,000,000 bales. Then mark- well this fact, which is very sig nificant: The cotton manufacturer ig nores the farmer and buyes his sup plies of raw colton, by contract, months ahead, sometimes a year ahead, from middle men. Higher prices now for raw cotton would not burt, bul help the mills. These mid dle men are shrewd, smart men. They have no cotton, hut sell short to tho mills. They utilize the New York Ex change In all their Hades. The New York Cotton Exchange i.; the arch enemy of the cotton planter. The distinguished editor of the Saturday Evening Post has declared that n Inelonths of its activities are pernicious. And now comes United tates Corporation Commissioner Her bert Knox Smith, who in a import published last Monday, sayo: "However this mo be, the New York Cotton Exchange, lt' it eau not exist under a just and equitable sys tem, has no excuse for existence at all. The present Kew York system of fixed differences is uneconomic, in defiance of natural law, unfair, and j like all Other efforts lo defy mit oral law, results in snob complex and de vious effects that the benefit of its transaction accrues only to u skilled few." To return to the middle mon; who have sold short to tho mills. They come Into daily contact with the far mers through their agents, who cov er the whole cotton belt. They play ] daily upon the hopes and fears ?d' the cotton farmer, always taking their Cue from the New York CoTloil I'.x ohunge, and have grown strong and waxed fat in their successful dealing:; with him. if the truth wore known hales of cotton aro now sold on contract to tho mills by these middle men for May, .lune, July, August and September delivery. Suppose, Mr. Editor, the farmer realized the true situation; suppose he quietly put his cotton in a good wore house and went about, his business, cutting down his cotton acreage, putting in more corn, harvesting bis small grain, increasing his pasture lands ami triode patches; wouldn't there bo something doing in tho cotton world? Wouldn't the price begin to jump? Would't the world wake up out. of its slumber ni ter nil it must not go naked? Mr. I'klltor, I tell you the mnnufne tlho of colton and the ni v I liza i ion ol' the world go hand in hand! Hut, says some one: "The farmers will plant the earth in cotton this year." i.et not tho manufacturer, nor lin1 middle man. HOI' the speculator pin their faith too strong to what the fool larmer may or may not do. 'Paul may plan) and Appollo.- may waler, but. Cod alone giveth the Increase,' is as true in material as in Spiritual thing?. Already in tho wisdom of Providence, by frost, by Hood, by cool nights rind withering, blighting w inds, colton has beeb kided out righi and stands badly broken the length and breadth of the colton belt; and yid still it has to run the gauntlet of Hood and drought and frost. "Three 's many a . ip iv.; the clip mill 'tn1 lip." " . Mr. Kdiior. I believe we are light ing in a great cause, a cause which embraces the financial, industrial and economic welfare, and, therefore, the educational and spiritual welfare of all our people of the entire sunny South. In view of all I've done ami tried to do, no matter what the out come may ho. 1 fee-] that I can adopt aa my own the motto of the disting uished Rabbi Bizas: "Men say I've failed; I have not fa li the Republican leaders are deter mined on an early adjournment of Congress, and have tentatively agreed upon M av ~:>', but the con troversey between the President and Congress over the control of the army has become acute. In the Senate, on the 12th inst.. Senator Rayner, of Maryland, read a letter relating to the punishment inflicted on Col. Stewart, of the rep ular ar my without a* tri al. and made a fierce attack on the President, charging him with usurpation and the sub stitution of martial law in place of the Constitution, and the laws of of the land. This, Mr. Rayner characterized as military despotism. The letter of the President to Senators Stewart, of Vermont, and Smith of Michigan, in which ho de clared himself supreme over the ar my and navy without regard to any law of Congress, will probably he placed in the Congressional Record before the debate closes, and may result in action by the Senate, which would postpone thc adjournment of Congress. The much amended currency hill will be discussed in the House in a day or two, and will probably he passed practically as agreed upon at the Republican conference. It may he called a purely inflation measure with the govermont guaranty of the notes, and will undoubtedly in volve the Treasury in endless trouble in the future, as all makeshift finan cial measures do. There arc two reasons for passing it at this late day; first, because this Republican Congress must show it has done something; and second, because tile Wall Street bankers arc demanding this inflation, The principal reform legislation that thc Democrats have been fight ing for is all to he neglected, in cluding the repeal of the tariff lax on wood pulp and print paper, and the hill to prevent political corrup tion hy the publication of campaign expenses of all parties. The meas ures recommended hy President Roosevelt for the amendment to the anti-trust law, to limit injunctions against Labor Unions, and allow railroads to combine and pool, have not even been reported from Com mitte In consequence of this practically do Nothing Congress, a large num ber of Republican Congressmen will wend their way homo with btit lit tle heart to face their outraged con stituents, especially those whose dis tricts aiv elosu anddoubtfu!. Many of these already FOG their Democrat ic opponent's looks of delight at the st and pat policy these Republi can members have endorsed and voted for; thc gag rules adopted to prevent the Democrats from discuss ing and amending measures, and withal! that, the lack of practical legislation. The Democrats have worked to. gcther as ono man under their able leader, .John Sharp Williams, whoso constant victories in debate over all the Republican leaders has unit ed the Democrats in their legisla tive program, without a hitch. Thc officials of the National Pros perity Association have been there soliciting the help of thc President in their effort "to keep the dinner pail full; to keep the pay cur going; to keep the factory busy; to keep thc workman employed; to keep thc present wages up. ' This excellent and fetching pro gram appealed to the President, and he eagerly endorsed it. Thc Prosperity Association is backed by the the money of thc Railroads, and its literature declare "our prosperi ty came with the prosperity of thc railroads; it declined when adversi ty struck the railroads; Wc do not believe we can have the full meas ure of prosperity again until the railroads aro prosperous." lt is said that the President's change of heart on the subject of railroad rates and the labor legisla tion proposed by him in so many spectacular messages to Congress was produced by the receipt of thousands of telegrams from mem bers of the Manufacturers Associa tion, of which the virile Mr. Van Cleave is the leaf' spirit, ff the ! Manufactors openly threatened to bolt the G. O. P., and cut off its supplies of hoddle for thc corrup tion of the floating vote this year, no wonder that Mr. Roosevelt was silenced. Perhaps that is why he is now willing to fornpfo anH-inimy?. .. .,, ... ^,.w m* H m tiie coun ? try have more sincere respect and liking for each other than Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bry an. We like to read of tho associa tion of these two and have sincere pleasure in observing that tho Pres ident never neglects an opportunity to show Mr. Bryan special attention and honor. They dined together at the White House two or three days ago and wc can imagine that when they are beyond thc reach nf the reporters much good natured chair ing occurs between them. Really WC would bc interested to know how the\ define in their frank and in formal personal conversations, their political differences. Mr. Roosevelt has an unbroken record of victory, not only over his Democratic Oppon ents, but over laggards and foes in his own party. Mr. Bryan has been the victim of successsive defeats. Yet the victor has grown into many of the advanced and progressive pol icies of the vanquished. We suspect that in the bottom of his heart he realizes his own obligations to Mr. bryan and the Democratic party for most of thc ideas and pur pose with which he is so conspicously identified. However they may he, the Presidents' ungrudging respect for thc leader of the opposite party and his generous manifestation of it is graceful, lt would be well if all we obscure voters, constituting the masses of the two parties, would learn from thc example of these two big leaders and realize that it is not only possible but proper for Ameri can citizens to hold opposing political opinions and membership in d?li?r ent parties while at the same time maintaining sincere regard and rc ; peet for each other.-Richmond News-Leader. ?'(Jive l's a liest." Can prosperity be manufactured to order? Some St. Louis people seem to think so and have therefore organized tho "National Prosperity Association." It is much to be doubted though, from their motto if they feel hopeful of results for ''tove us a rest and sunshine" in dicates that tired feeling that has reduced thc volume of business af thc Republican d<*b?nie*> "* *' last few yean*, Th. j i sociation, who are Republicans, are perhaps tired of Teddy and undoubtedly they are tired of the taril?-fed trusts and corporations just as Democrats are. But just now, when Congressmen are being nominated who have re fused to reform tariff', i.- no time to take a rest. From now until elec tion day is a ti me for work. Thc standpat cry of "give us a rest" is just what produced the panic and the continuing business depression. Eternal vigilance, with but little rest, is the price of prosperity. Tin- Colored Vote. The dear colored brother is going to light Taff and Teddy to a finish. In a recent document presented to Speaker Cannon, Vice-President Fairbanks, Senator Forakor, and other prominent Republicans, the allied negro societies of the United States said that they intended to do three things: "To arouse the women of the race to tlie necessity of defeating Taft or Roosevelt. "To use the churches to which colored people belong and their pas tors to the same end. "To hold public meetings through out the United States to protest against the nomination of Taft or Roosevelt." What do you think of that? It. looks as if Mr. Hearst had a hand in this business. Ile will open the doors of the Independence League to the colored brother, and scoop a million votes which were cast for Teddy in lim I. A Goori Mau (Jone Wrong. In a dispatch from Washington tq The News and Cou rim-, signed by the correspondent of that paper at the national capital? but written in the weil known style of ?ts accom plished editor, whose clinging asso ciation with Gov. Johnson, of Min nesota, it reports, occurs the fol lowing passage: Johnson isa loyal part y juan; 'Bryan is for Bryan all the time and only for Bryan. When Johnson was ask ed today whether or not he would support Bryan in case of bis nomina tion, he prompt ly answered; "with all my heart." When Bryan was o..ul n.owii i M.-it. orijf.i coi' ecu tor of The News and Courier ought to carry a file of bis own paper with him oh his travels and particularity on his political peregrinations, it was only ten days ago that that esteem ed publication said: 'The News and Courier believes that Mr. Bryan is an honorable, faithful man, who en deavors more than do most politi cians to meet bis obligations, and we have no doubt that he would do his utmost to elect Cray, Johnson or any other whom the convention miKht nominate for President.' And a few days before that it de clared that 'The News and Courier will vouch for thc loyalty of Bryan.' There is evidently something in the political atmosphere about .Johnson headi putters that has poisoned the generous soul of our contemporary and friend. He should keep away fron, such bad places." How lt Strikes (ho Times. The Florence Times says "from thc best that we can gather from Mr. Kohn's explanation of what Senator Tillman did say about the chances of the success ol' the Demo eratic party it seems that the un pression was sought to be conveyed that if the Democrats would take a 'good, staunch, dyed in the wool re publican' from one of the northern stah'.s, one on whom Wall street and all that it represents could positive ly and certainly count, we might elect him president. May-be so, but maybe wc do not want to win in such company, we would have the bal ance of time to ligure out whether wc had won or lost in fact." There Is No Itlvalry. The Washington Star of Friday afternoon, remarking the interesting conjunction of Bryan and Johnson in Washington, said: "There have been some misunderstandings of late, which it* was feared threatened to produce coolness between Mr. Bryan and Mr Johnson, but thia prospect is now rendering less likely after Mr. Bryan and Gov. Johnson have had a personal conference. From utterences of both these men it is assured that tho rivalry for the nomination will be a friendly one and that the victor in the conven igh the subse arnest, support of thc other. Both have de clared that they would support thc Democratic ticket and the nomi nee." The Charleston Post says "is a pleasant spirit of harmony and is characteristic of Democratic senti ment generally this year. It is an ei'i'oV ot lorine nowt v ci, io speak of the 'rivalry' for the nomination be tween Mr. Bryan and Gov. Johnson. Mr. Bryan is as good as nominated already." in ?dal Day Suicide, it was learned in New York that the real reason why Isaac P. Wil liams, the insurance broker, com mitted cuicide while Miss Nay Ar nold, his pretty young fiancee await ed him at the Cathedral of St, John the Divine, was because he had only 39 cents. While Miss Arnold, who lives x-ith her mother and brother in handsome apartment at No. 502 West One Hundred and thirteenth street, gai ly made plans for her wedding, hon eymoon and future home, Williams was living on the desperate hope that he might obtain a loan or have a stroke of luck. Saturday was the wedding morn, Too proud to confess to his liancee. and dismayed at the thought of the humiliation of Miss Arnold before her wedding party, Williams lay down on a couch in his room at No. KIO West Scventythird street, and sent a bullet into his brain. Of all in the gay wedding party of fifty or more that thronged the crypt of the Cathedral of St. John for the ceremony winch never took place, not one called yesterday at tue little undertaking Shop, No. 305 West fort>-third st reid, where the body of young Williams was taken. A Tesl ol' Strength. A Republican from Vermont puts the matter so clearly that we adopt his letter written to the New York World. It is good tonic for some of South Carolina's weak kneed Democrats: To the Editor of The World: I am not an admirer of W. J. Bry an, neither am I a Democrat, but the result of the poll made recently by the Success Magazine somewhat amuses me. Lust january that pe riodical sent out about 12,000 votes, to be returned with preferred can didates for the next president. The subscribers to this magazine must admittedly he men of more than the average clear-headedness and ability. The total number of vii?.- lUltli, tl oilliooii, un: i'i:iuutiui who you .seem to think is as liable as any to carry New York and Pennsyl vania,13.G per cent., while Judge Cray, the gentleman for Delaware whose "carrying abilities you have been expounding to a considerable extent, received .8 of 1 per cent. Prom this result, gathered from all parts of the country, the East as well as the West and South, it al most seems as if you had been in a measure mistaken in your conclu sions that. Mr. Bryan was politically dead and buried and that Johnson or Gray should take up the standard he had let fall and bear it on to vic tory. Dorman B. E. Kent. Montpelier. Vt., May -I. THK more mention of the name of Gen. Miles in connection with a Presidential ticket that the South is expected to vote for is an insult to our people, Yet Congressman II am mond, who isa close personal and political friend of Gov. Johnson, the candidate of The News and Courier for the Presidency, says tien. Miles would make an ideal running mate for Gov. Johnson. As Congressman Hammond and Gov. Johnson are from the same State it is more than likely that they agree on the propo sition that "Gen. Miles would make an ideal running mate" for the ideal candidate of The News and Courier. ' 'JOHNSON and Miles" is the tick et suggested by Congressman Ham - mond for nomination by the Demo crats at Denver. Gen. Miles might "make an ideal running mate" for Gov. Johnson as Congressman Ham mond suggests so far as the Min nesota brand of Democracy, is con cerned, but the South got quite enough of Gen. Miles some years ago when he treated President Jef ferson Davis with great bru tality while a helpless prisoner in Portress Monroe. "Johnson and Miles" could not even carry the Solid South, THE Manufacturers Association is about <o organize a business men's political party. The main object of the new party will bc to aid stand pat Congrosmen to get re-elected so as the members of the Manufactur er's Association can continue to hold up and rob the public under the protection of thc robber tariff. Most Popular und Powerful. The Richmond Times-Dispatch says "beyond any peradventure of doubt, the two most popular and powerful citizens in the United States today are Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. Both are feared and abhorred by many of their party leaders, and both are idolized by hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens. It is this per sonal prestige and this enormous hold on the masses that have given President Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan their extraordinary position as lead ers. The remarkable feature in the career and power of these two men is the fact that neither of them are deep thinkers, wise counselors or trained statesmen. "There must be some reason for the almost reverential attitude which the real followers of Mr. Bry an and Mr. Roosevelt feel towards their leaders, and the explanation is to be found in the fact that eseth two men have risen up to teach morals at a time when morality was more needed than statesmanship. In preaching their crusade against materialism both Mr. Bryan and Ml Roosevelt have been led into deda mations with which The Times-Dis patch can not agree. Both have made charges which can not be proved, and both have offered reme dies which would be entirely ineffec tive or disastrous. "But despite these mistakes Mr. Hryan and Mr. Roosevelt alike have stood for manhood before money, and for the inalienable and glorious rights of the individual to live his own life under that freedom for which the fathers of the republic died. But thc heart of the Ameri can people understood and sympa thized with the real motives of both preachers. And the good sense of the American people pierced through the frequent claptrap and demogogy to the underlying princi ple. Again we have seen it demon strated that the heart has its reasons which the head does not under stand." The Charleston Post says "that is unquestionably the condition of the people's mind today, and that ac counts for thc prevalence of the devoted radical, and, in many things misled, reformer. Mr. Roosevelt has caught the trend of the public mind and put it to political purpos es. To the end Mr. Bryan will con tend for what he thinks is right for and beneficial to the people. Mr* Roosevelt will contend for what he thinks the people want-until they change their minds or he changes judgment of their views. And this distinction the people are finding out. Favors Unit Kudo. It is hard for Senator Tillman to please The News and Courier in what he says about the delegates from this State to Denver. The Senator and the News and Courier both agree that the delegates should not be instructed but they reach the common conclusion from different motives. The News and Courier don't want them instructed because it hopes to slip in an anti-Bryan del egate or two, while the Senator dont want them instructed because he thinks "it is foolish to tie up the men who go to Denver when we know that they would vote for Bryan, anyhow." The Senator went on to say that he believed in the unit rule, which means that a majority of the delegation would determine for who our eighteen votes would be cast. Asa majority of the delegates will undoubtedly favor Mr. Bryan they would cast South Carolina's eighteen votes for him, even should The News and Courier manage to slip in an anti Bryan delegate or two on the dele gation. Therefore The News add Courier says the "Senator's notions that the delegation, or the State Convention for it. should adopt tho unit rule is illogical and unreason able." Those papers that can lind comfort in Senator Tillman's posi tion are easily comforted. "THE nomination of Mr, Bryan is as good as an accomplished fact," says the Charleston Tost. "There is no good end to be served by Dem ocrats kicking againsi the pricks. It is Bryan cr a Republican. Thoso who want a Republican for Presi dent may continue to oppose Bryan, but all others will accept and sup port the Nebraskan."