Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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mMM HIGHER PRICES. Why the Farmers Should Stand by Their Guns and ? HOLD THEIR COTTON. Strong Argument for llio Cotton ( rowers and Against tin* Middle Moll. Five Months lleforo the New Crop Will Move and the Middle Men Short on Their Contraets for Delivery. We commend (ho following letter from Mr. J. 10. Wannamaker of St. Malllinw. 4.% #?wv r.. I I ..e ?* vv**\ ti r>, iv/ i in; ? ?i i ?* i u i |m;i umi i 111 all who aro interested in the prosperlty of our Southland: Although 1 do not claim to ho a prophet, or the son of a prophet, I venture to assort that cotton should not ho sold in the present low market; first, because of the moral effectj upon the farmers themselves. I need not tell you how for forty long years the middle man, the speculator and the gamblers have made a foot, hall of cotton; how for the time being, he has set at nought the great* law of supply and demand, and thereby robbed the cotton producer and the South of millions of money; how the farmers tamely and ignobly submitted to this thraldom until a few years ago the slumbering manhood of the South asserted itself, and at New Orleans made a new declarations of independence. I need not tell your readers how steadily our organization has grown, how bitterly it has been fought by the New York and other cotton exchanges; all these things are matters of history. To surrender now, four to five months before it is possible to put new cotton In quantities in the market, would be to take counsel of our fears, to show the white feather, to play into the hands of our enemies and to invite defeat now and hereafter. Then, again, It is not the time to sell cotton, because the low prices prevailing would entail too great financial loss upon those who have risked all for the common good. II is well known that the last crop wat made at high cosl. Mules, wagons fertilizers, farm supples of all kinds including labor; all commanded liigl prices. Then, once more, it is not time t( sell cotton because conditions prcsen and prospective warrant much highei prices. "Hut," says some one, "I an willing to grant that the moral effec of selling out now would bo bad, ant that the loss would bo heavy on (host who have held; but let us face facts Is it not true that the depressing influence of the panic still lingers .Thai the sale of mill products is slow"i That many mills are running on re duced time? That the buying capacity of the world seems to be diminished'i What are the chances for highei prices?" I answer, much of what you saj Js doubtless true; still, with flrn holding of the remnants of the croj I believe the chances of higher prices are first class. When fertilizer mills have more goods than they can sel they maintain prices, ware house the surplus stock and cut down production. The diamond kings do the same,same, we are told. When th< cotton mills find prices for their products too low they often warehouse # i? oi / t/tl/ ?i n <1 mi n 1 1 i li t* /\i?f mil (JI1T1I DW/I. IV UliU Mill (111 LUlyll Ulll|JUl These are wise men. Shall not the farmer profit by their example? Then, remember, trade is steadilj moving toward the normal, even ir this country, where the depressior has been greatest. In England, I an Informed, the export trade has ap proached close to the figures of las year for some time. England is wid< awake. Note these straws: Liverpool, May 7: Cotton, spot good business done; sales 20,00( hales, of which 18,000 American; re ceipts 1.000, no American. Future: opened easy and closed steady. \ "Liverpool, May 8: Cotton, spot in active demand and a good busines done. Prices 18 to 20 points higher Sales of the day were 15,000, o which 14,200 American; receipt 1,000 bales, no American." Here are some facts which shouli not be lost sight of. While a goo< many mills have curtailed their out put, this is offset, to a certain extent by the new spindles which are merrl ]y humming away for the first tim this year. And let no one forget tha there were 2,000,000 bales of cotto less made in this country last yen than the year before, and that Indi also fell short 2,000,000 bales. The mark well this fact, which is very sif nificant: The cotton manufacturer nores the farmer and buyes his sui plies of raw cotton, by contract months ahead, sometimes a yea ahead, from middle men. Highe Lj prices now for raw cotton would nc hurt, but help the mills. These mid die men are shrewd, smart men. The have no cotton, but sell short to th mills. They utilize the New York Ej hange in all their trades. The Ne^ Tork Cotton Exchange is the arc enemy of the cotton planter. The distinguished editor of th Saturday Evening Post has declare that n lnetentha of its activities ar pernicious. And now comes Unite tatee Corporation Commissioner Hei pert Knox Smith, who in a repoi M* ' ' . ' f 4 ' ? ?y ' , ? A* V \ * . J> > ' -' f published last Monday, Bays: n "However this me be, the Now York Cotton Exchange, if It can not , exist under a just and equitable system, has no excuse for existence at ^ all. The present New York system v of flxed differences is uneconomic, in t defiance of natural law, unfair, and like all other efforts to defy natural law, results in such complex and devious effects that the benefit, of its transaction accrues only to a skilled few." To return to the middle men; who have sold short to the mills. They come into daily contact with the farmers through their agents, who cover the whole cotton bolt. They play daily upon the hopes and fears of the cotton farmer, always taking their cue from the New York Cotton Exchange, and have grown strong and waxed fat in their successful dealings with him. If the truth were known bales of cotton are now sold on contract to the mills by these middle men for May, June, July, August and September delivery. Suppose, Mr. Editor, the farmer realized the true situation; suppose he quietly put his cotton in a good ware house and went about his business, cutting down his cotton acreage, putting in more corn, harvesting his small grain, increasing his pasture lands and truck patches; wouldn't there be something doing in the cotton world? Wouldn't the price begin to Jump? Would't the world wake up out of its slumber sifter all it must not go naked? Mr. Editor, 1 tell you the manufae- j tuie of cotton and the civilization of , the world go hand in hand! But, says some one; "The farmers will plant the earth in cotton this vivir " 1 mil I lift 111 ii ii ii fjiit r#?r linr the middle man, nor the speculator pin their faith too strong to what the fool fanner may or may not do. 'Paul may plant and Appollos may water, hut Clod alone glvetn the increase,' is as true in material as in spiritual things. Already in the wisdom of Providence, by frost, by Hood, by cool nights and withering, blighting winds, cotton lias been killed outright and stands badly broken the length and breadth of the cotton belt; and yet still it has to run the gauntlet of flood and drought and frost. "Three s many a slip tv?? the cup and the lip." Mr. Editor, I believe we are fighting in a great cause, a cause which , embraces the financial, industrial and i 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 and . tried to do, 110 matter what the outcome may be, I feel that I can adopt as my own the motto of the disting1 uished Rabbi Elzas: "Men say I've failed; I have not faili ed. t If 1 have brought truth to men, i* they'd not receive, 1 'Tls they have failed, not I." t J. 10. Wannamaker. 1 St. Matthews, May 9, 1908. > Congress lias Done Not mug. ( The Republican leaders are deter> mined on an early adjournment of' - Congress, and have tentatively ' agreed upon May 23, but the controversey between the President and Congress over the control of the . armv hns become acute. In the i Senate, on the 12th inst., Senator ) Rayner, of Maryland, read a letter ] relating to the punishment inllicted on Col. Stewart, of the regular army without a!trial, and made a fierce attack on the President, charging him with usurpation and the substitution 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 I Senators Stewart, of Vermont, and i Smith of Michigan, in which he dei clared himself supreme over the ar my and navy without regard to any [ law of Congress, will probably be placed in the Congressional Record before the debate closes, and may ) result in action by the Senate, which would postpone the adjournment of s Congress. The much amended currency bill s will be discussed in the House in a day or two. and will probably be f passed practically as agreed upon at 8 the Republican conference. It may a be called a purely inflation measure 1 with the goverment guaranty of - the notes, and will undoubtedly in!' volve the Treasury in endless trouble ~ in the future, as all makeshift finantt cial measures do. There are two n reasons for passing it at this late r day; first, because this Republican a Congress must show it has done r_ something; and second, because the J. Wall Street bankers are demanding >- this inflation. The principal reform legislation J' that the Democrats have been fight(t ing for is all to be neglected, ini plnrtinv thn r^ru>nl r?f thf* tariff tnv y on wood pulp and print paper, and 0 the bill to prevent political corruption by the publication of campaign h expenses of all parties. The measures recommended by President ? Roosevelt for the amendment to the (] anti-trust law, to limit injunctions 1 against Labor Unions, and allow ?. railroads to combine and pool, have t not even been reported from Com nittees. t In consequence of this practically 1 [o Nothing Congress, a large num?er of Republican Congressmen will t /end their way home with but lit- < le heart to face their outraged con- 1 titutents. especially those whose dis- j riots art; close and doubtful. Mjmy >f these already see their Democrat- ' c opponent's looks of delight at ,he standpat policy these Itepubli- : :an members have endorsed and , rotod for; the gag rules adopted to prevent the Democrats from discussng and amending measures, and vithall that, the lack of practical egislation. The Democrats have worked together as one man. under their able eader, .John Sharp Williams, whose constant victories in debate over ill the Republican leaders has unitid the Democrats in their legislative program, without a hitch. The officials of the National ProsDeri ty Association have been there soliciting the help of the President in their effort "to keep the dinner pail full; to keep the pay car going; to keep the factory busy; to keep the workman employed; to keep the present wages up." This excellent and fetching program appealed to the President, and he eagerly endorsed it. The Prosperity Association is backed by the the money of'the Railroads, and its literature declare "our prosperity came with the prosperity of the railroads; it declined when adversif\r efrnnl/ f ho r?n 1 vuewlc W** tj OU U\.I\ till/ i l*ill I/CHIH. ? ? V_ Ml/ I*' v I believe we can have the full meas-1 ure of prosperity again until the railroads are prosperous." It is said that the President's change of heart on the subject of railroad rates and the labor legislation proposed by him in so many spectacular messages to Congress was produced by the receipt of thousands of telegrams from members of the Manufacturers Association. of which the virile Mr. Van Cleave is the leading spirit. If the Manufacters openlv threatened to bolt the G. O. P., and cut off its supplies of boddle for the corruption of the floating vote this year, no wonder that Mr. Roosevelt was silenced. Perhaps that is why he is now willing to forego anti-injunction bills, prosecution of railroads, and running amuck after corporations, until the Republicans are replenished again. Itooscvell jiikI Bryan. Probably no two men in the country have more sincere respect and likiny for each other than Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. Wc like to read of the association of these two and have sincere pleasure in observing that the President 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 we can imagine that when they are beyond the reach of the reporters much good natured chaffing occurs between them. Really we would be interested to know how they define in their frank and informal personal conversations, their political differences. Mr. Roosevelt has an unbroken record of victory, not only over his Democratic opponents, 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 policies 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 the ideas and purpose with which he is so conspicously identified. However they may be, t.hp Prpsidpnts' iintrmdtrincr rparv>r?f ~ o for the leader of the opposite party and his generous manifestation of it is graceful. It would be well if all we obscure voters, constituting the masses of the two parties, would learn from the example of these two big leaders and realize that it is not only possible but proper for American citizens to hold opposing political opinions and membership in defferent parties while at the same time uiaiiiiaiiuiiK diiiccic mm rt'spect for each other.?Richmond News-Leader. "(Jive Us a Ilcst." Can prosperity be manufactured to order? Some St. Louis people seem to think so and have therefore organized the "National Prosperity Association." It is much to be doubted though, from their motto if they feel hopeful of results for "Give us a rest and sunshine" indicates that tired feeling that has reduced the volume of business afthe Republican debauch of the last few years, Those members oi ;he Prosperity Association, who are < Republicans, are perhaps tired of < reddy and undoubtedly they are :ired of the tantT-fed trusts and icrporations just as Democrats are. ; [Jut just now, when Congressman i ire being nominated who have re ' fused to ivforn. .e tariff, o<> time i Lo take a rest. From now until election day is a time for work. The standpat cry of "give us a rest" is ' just what produced the panic and the continuing business depression, i Eternal vigilance, with but little j rest, is the price of prosperity. ! The Colored Vote. The dear colored brother is going to light Taft and Teddy to a finish. In a recent document presented to Speaker Cannon, Vice-President Fairbanks, Senator Foraker, 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 the necessity of defeating Taft or Roosevelt. "To use the churches to which colored people belong and their pastors to the same end. "Tohold public meetings throughout 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 j IL.' i : ii- :ii ~ i i UU8 UUSlIieSS. lit; Will UPL'II Uie doors of the Independence League to the colored brother, and scoop a million votes which were cast for j Teddy in 11)01. A (ioocI Man <?one Wrong, In a dispatch from Washingthn to The News and Courier, signed by the correspondent of that paper at the national capital, but written in the well known style of its accomplished editor, whose clinging association with Gov. .Johnson, of Minnesota, it reports, occurs the following passage: Johnson is a loyal party'man; Bryan is for Bryan all the time and only for Bryan. When Johnson was asked today whether or not he would support Bryan in case of his nomination, he promptly answered: "with all my heart." When Bryan was asked whether he would support Johnson he dodged, saying: "My record is clear on that point." It is like Bryan. He believes in Bryan or bust. Damn the party. Vote for Hrvan. The Charleston Post says "the editor of The News and Courier ought to carry a file of his own paper with him on his travels and particularily on his political peregrinations, it was only ten days ago that that esteemed publication said: 'The News and Courier believes that Mr. Bryan is an honorable, faithful man, who endeavors more than do most politicians to meet his obligations, and we have no doubt that he would do his utmost to elect Gray, Johnson or any other whom the convention might nominate for President.' And a few days before that it declared that 'The News and Courier will vouch for the loyalty of Bryan.' There is evidently something in the political atmosphere about Johnson headquaters that has poisoned the generous soul of our contemporary and friend. He should keep away from such bad places." How It Strikes the Times. The Florence Times says "from the best that we can gather from Mr. Kohn's explanation of what Senator Tillman did say about the chances of the suecess of the Demo ni?otin r I Oft if it- f h u t tUn i rv~? v,ic*viv \jc\i lj iv Ovv-11lu mat inv; iiiipression was sought to be conveyed that if the Democrats would take a 'good, staunch, dyed in the wool republican' from one of the northern states, one on whom Wall street and all that it represents could positively and certainly count, we might elect him president. May-be so, but maybe we do not want to win in such company, we would have the balance of time to figure out whether we had won or lost in fact." There Ih No ltivalry. The Washington Star of Friday afternoon, remarking the interesting conjunction of Bryan and Johnson in Washington, said: "There have been some misunderstandings oi i late, which it was feared threatened to produce coolness between Mr, i Bryan and Mr Johnson, but thif prospect is now rendering less likelj after Mr. Bryan and Gov. JohnBor have had a personal conference ' From utterances of both these met it is assured that the rivalry for the i nomination will be a friendly one and that the victor in the conven i tion will receive through the subse ' quent campaign the earnest support 4 [)f the other. Both have declared that they would support the Democratic ticket and the nomi- i nee." The Charleston Post says "is < a pleasant spirit of harmony and is ] characteristic of Democratic senti- ! ment generally this year. It is an : Li tor t iLiiiio auwt vci, to speak, of , the 'rivalry' for the nomination between Mr. Bryan and Gov. Johnson. Mr. Bryan is as good as nominated already." Itridnl Day 8ui<-i<le. It was learned in New York that the real reason why Isaac F. Williams, the insurance broker, committed cuicide while Miss Nay Arnold, his pretty young fiancee awaited him at the Cathedral of St, John the Divine, was because he hid only 39 cents. While Miss Arnold, who lives xdth her mother and brother in handsome apartment at No. 502 West One Hundred and thirteenth street, gaily made plans for her wedding, honeymoon 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 fiancee, 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. 100 West Seventy third 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 which never took place, not one called yesterday at the little undertaking snop, No. 305 West forty-third street, where the body of young Williams was taken. A Test of 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 weakkneed Democrats: To the Editor of The World: I am not an admirer of W. J. Bryan, neither am I a Democrat, but the result of the poll made recently by the Success Magazine somewhat amuses me. Last January that periodical sent out about 12,000 votes, to be returned with preferred candidates for the next president. The subscribers to this magazine must admittedly be men of more than the average clear-headedness and ability. The total number of Democratic preferences returned was 1,404. Of these W. J. Bryan had 1,178: Gov. Johnson 191; Folk 22, andJudgeGray 12. Or, in other words, Mr. Bryan, the gentleman who you are saying every day can carry only one small corner of this country, received 83,8 per cent, of the total; Johnson, the Democrat who you seem to think is as liable as i. NT \r 1. 1 T1 1 tiny iu carry rscvv r urts. anu reniisyivania, 18.(5 per cent., while Judge Gray, the gentleman for Delaware whose "carrying abilities you have been expounding to a considerable extent, received .8 of 1 per cent. From this result, gathered from all parts of the country, the East as jttell as the West and South, it almost seems as if you had been in a measure mistaicen in your conclusions 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 victory. Dorman B. E. Kent. Montpelier, Vt., May 4. The mere 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 H am mond.who is a close personal and political friend of Gov. Johnson, the candidate of The News and Courier for the Presidency, says Gen. 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 proposition that "Gen. Miles would make an ideal running mate" for the ideal candidate of The News and Pah .1 ny WUl 1V/1 4 'Johnson and Miles" is the ticket suggested by Congressman Hammond for nomination by the Democrats at Denver. Gen. Miles might "make an ideal running mate" for | Gov. Johnson as Congressman Hammond suggests so far as the Minnesota brand of Democracy is concerned, but the South got quite r enough of Gen. Miles some years ' ago when he treated President Jef1 farcAn T^oxria ni i f K I AVAOVA1 A/UTID TTIVAI U1 U" tality while a helpless prisoner in Fortress Monroe. *'Johnson and Miles" could not even carry the Solid South, The Manufacturers Association ia about to organize a business men's political party. The main object of the new party will be to aid standpat Congresmen to get re-elected so as the members of the Manufacturer's Association can continue tc hold up and rob the public undex 1 the protection of the robber tariff. c / Most Popular and 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 personal prestige and this enormous hold on the masses that have given President Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan their extraordinary position as leaders. The remarkable feature in the career and power of these two men is the fact that neither of them are deep thinkers, wise counselor's or trained statesmen. "There must be some reason for the almost reverential attitude which the real followers of Mr. Bryan and Mr. Roosevelt feel towards their leaders, and the explanation is to be found in the fact that esetn 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 decla mations with which The Times-Dispatch can not agree. Both have made charges which can not be proved, and both have offered reme dies which would be entirely metfective or disastrous. "But despite these mistakes Mr. Bryan 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 the heart of the American people understood and sympathized 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 principle. Again we have seen it demonstrated that the heart has its reasons which the head does not understand." The Charleston Post says "that is unquestionably the condition of the people's mind today, and that accounts for the prevalence of the Bryan sentiment and presistence of the Roosevelt legend. There is an essential difference between the two, however, for while Mr. Bryan has been spreading an evangel Mr. Roosevelt has been capitalizing a sentiment. Mr. Bryan is a sincere, devoted radical, and, in many things misled, reformer. Mr. Roosevelt has caught the trend of the public mind and put it to political purposes. To the end Mr. Bryan will contend 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 Rule. 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 delegate 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 antiBryan delegate or two on the delegation. Therefore The News and Courier says the "Senator's notions that the delegation, or the State u ?u?u -ii i ? vjuuvniuuii iur it. buuuic auopt UV<* unit rule is illogical and unreasonable. " Those papers that can find comfort in Senator Tillman's position are easily comforted. "The nomination of Mr, Bryan ^ ' is as good as an accomplished fact," say8 the Charleston Post. "There is no good end to be served by Democrats kicking against the pricks. It is Bryan or a Republican. Those who want a Republican for Presi' dent may continue to oppose Bryan, but all others will accept and support the Nebraskan."