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?'UMHIN TALKS ON COTTON. TELLS rARME KS THAT PRICE WILL Kl U li THIRTY CENTS AND HOLD IT. However, He Teils Farmers That It tm H?ele Duty to Ward Off More Ne? rton? Situation ami as Patriot.*? to Halse More Than Kufllclent Fnotl for TssMli Omh < otisumpdon?Mooting Well Attended. From The Dally Item. April 21. The meeting at n?on today, when former United'States Fonator John L. McLaurln of Marlboro spoke to an aucllenc? In the Court. House on cot? ton and Ire relation In the world war of today, was largely attended and the cpowd was very attentive to what the speaker had to say. Mr. McLaur? ln stated that Sumter, at the close of the war. had an opportunity of be? coming a great cotton center, if the auslasse men would take advantage of the opportunities before them. He said that a compress was a necessity Is) export trade and, already having one aero, with the excellent facilities tor warehousing which Sumter had. he saw no reason why the city should not bo the leading cotton center of this section of the South. Ho said that last year he had plant? ed one acre of grain for every acre of cotton on his plantation. This year he had done better than that. Bo went on to say that the farmer Who did not raise sufficient foodstuffs for himself this year was a most sei? fleh hind of man. If he did not have enough foodstuffs for his own con? sumption a very serious situation faced him. and it was his duty as a patriot to plant more than enough, so as to htlp feed others who could not grow foodstuffs. The meeting was presided over by Senator R. D. Kpps, who presented the apeaker. Prior to Mr. McLaur In'e talk, a collection was taken to defray the expenses of the meeting. It waa announced that Mr. Mel*iurin would meet with a committee during the afternoon to confer about making Sumter more of a cotton center. A resolution was passed by a rising vote asking Congressman Lever and Secre? tary E. I. Keardon to see If they could not secure another competent cotton grader for Sumter this full and win? ter. Mr. Kpps Introduced the speaker o the day as a man who knew more about the cotton situation than any other man In the South. Mr. McLaurin's speech was as fol lows: Fellow Citizen?: I thank the gentlemen who Invited me to Sumter, I am always glad of an opportunity to meet the people of this county. I have mado a great many speeches i South Carolina in the peat twenty-five yeais, and I had rather discuss public questions before an Anderson or Sumter audience than any county In the State. The people as a whole are better posted and take a more active Interest in the great questions of the day. 1 note that I am expected to tall: on the cotton situation. If I may be permitted to amend this just a little. I would say "On the cotton situation In Its relation to a world at war." So far aa Sunder is concerned it is one of the most favorably situated townn In the State to become a great cotton m irket. You have tho advan? tage of being a great ruilroad center In the heart of the very best belt of cotton territory. I venture the as? sertion, that with Sumter as the huh that within ? radius of 7ft miles the yield of cotton per acre exceeds any area of like size In tho world. You havo splendid warehouse facilities and strong banks. To draw cotton to Sumter means trade fot your mer? chants a \d deposits for your banks. When the State Warehouse system was established, it was my hope to sss sales of cotton direct from the warehouses to the mill. . There is no better pi k * than Sum'cr to ir. n.i. i rate the movement. This sllmifiatSS useless middlemen and enable the farmer to get more than he can else? where. This will bring cotton her" You can always draw cotton to Sum? ter by Rising storers of cotton the lowest rate of interest ohtainalde. A warehouse In connection with a bank Is a good proposition. The bank gets the deposit when money is hor rowed or cotton sold, it is a stead' stream. The warehouse gets the stor? age which makes a profit. The hank does not lend Its own money. It takes the warehouse receipt ami tho Feder al Renen I bank discounts th? re? ceipt by placing the amount to the credit of the Sumter bank. Taking Into consideration the fn't that the farmers furnishes the security, pnys the storage on the cotton, and leaves money on deposit except as he neods It. I think your bank could well af? ford to act as the go between for one per cent, above the dlneount rate, h will pay you to do this. If you want 10 moke Sumter the cotton market of the State. Let the people understand that Sumter afford* the cheapest money and best cotton walket and you will have to double the capacity of your stores and will noon treble the re? sources of your bank. Whoever built your compress was s*,!king at ths right thing for Sumter. To develop a really great cotton market, you cannot afford to depend upon the do? mestic trade. It Is the export trad< which fixes the prices and affords a never failing market. You cannot de? velop a big export trace without, a compress. I begged the legislature three years for a compress to no avail. A compress in Sumter would do just as well and can compete with one in either Charleston or Savannah. Cot? ton could be shipped at one rate of freight from Bennettsvi le to Liver? pool or Bremen, it would bo taken off and compressed In Sumter and go from the cars right on board a ship, just as it does In Charleston. The ?yarohouses in Sumter connected with the compress could store nearly dou? ble the cotton and the saving in space would greatly increase their profit. I lave been hoping that a gin com? press would be perfected I saw one in Atlanta but it is too expensive and requires too much power Col. J. H. Marlon of Chester has one that if it docs what is claimed may revolution? ize the methods of handling cotton, as it would all then be compressed. I said I would talk about the effect of war on cotton. Statistics show that when war comes, cotton always goes down first and Stays down longer than any other article of commerce. Peo? ple can wear their old cedthes but must eat every day. On the other hand cotton finally goeB higher and stays up longer than any other pro? duct. Cotton has not yet gone as high relatively as grain, meat or metals, and under this rule it must go higher and remain up longer. The reason for this is the firs-, drop cur? tails production and high priced food forces more land Into grain and stock. If war continues a. cotton fa? mine is as sure as fate, because the reserve stock Is used up and the clothes on hand are worn out. There Is another rule that never fills to wori; out. war means inflation from credit money. I never had the slightest doubt in 1914 as to what tite inflation sure to come meant in prices of cot? ton. I have a considerable portion of my 1914 crop yet and I know of sev? eral wise men in Sumter who fore? saw It as I did. I congratulate them. The price of cotton will be letermined by the price at which we who have tlu spots turn It loose. 1 said when cot? ton was selling at 12c per pound i1 was worth 23c compared with tbe (?Ib? er products and I am of the same mind now. In 1914 the middlemen reaped a tremendous proft. Intoxi? cated with their success they sold more cotton ahead than has been made In 191fi, and we farmers are in a position to even up with them. The New York future market has been manipulated shamelessly to break the spot market. They rar it down under 13s but the markets of -he South re? fused to follow and now we are at the 20c lever again. The submarine war? fare has interfered with shipping and raised the Insurance rates or cotton now would be &c per pound higher. The entry of the United States will undoubtedly shorten the war. Some way will be found to abate the submu? rine nuisance. Both the submarine and airship are America's mentions, und once the inventive genius of this country is fOCUSPSti on tbe proposition they will find a way to handle it. It may be that VOOSOlS will on y leave in great fleets convoyed by battleships with numerous destroyers and aero? planes. England must have cotton and some means will bo provided. The Unitod States will need at least one half of the cotton on hand for the manufacture of explosives, uniforms, tOOta, and o?ber equipment. I saw the itntemnt that one munition concern had used up n millon bales of cotton since the war heran. The plant at Hopewell. Va., had the product of a quarter of a million of bales on hand , at one time last summer. It takes an a v? i age of two and one-half acres n> make one bale of cotton and one dis charge of I IG-lnch gun consume:; It. Cotton will be high for seseral yearv for the following reasons: 1st. The scarcity and high price of fOOdsttltf forces curtailment of acreage 1 2nd. The absence of Immigration and call for army recruits makes a constantly Increasing labor shortage. 8rd, The*. Is a shortage <>r goods and the mill* have practically no reserve supply of raw material. 4th The entry of the United Btaf >a means an expansion of the home market Which Will at bast offset the loss of the Buropeon ?un? ket. It roOUlfOU four times as many clothes for army as it do. a for men In Civil life and it is all heavy mater? ial requiring more cotton for ihn manufacture. f>th. The inflation ot the currency mu?t continue BO long as the war lasts. The dollar will buy less and less of nil producta InclUdtnH cotton. Money gi ta i h< a per and things nearer In war. If n man has mon y be had better buy cotton, com, wheat Off any other standard product, it will advance while his money will shrink in value. On every decline there h buying by the leaning trade Interests, fcr $850 2**985 Si Prices Effective April 1st, 1917 Light Fours Touring. . Roadster Country Cub Big Fours Touring\ Roadster Coupe . Sedan . Light Sixes Touring. . Roadster Coupe . . Willys-Six Touring . $6qs $08o $703 $830 $833 $1230 $1450 $0S3 $070 $1383 $T4*3 Willys-Knights Four Touring. $l.i03 Four Coupe . . $1650 Four Sedan. .$1050 Four Limousine $toso Eight Touring. $1950 Advance in price. Big Four end Light Six models. May tit next?deferred until that dale account too late to correct cdocr. tisements appearing in magazines circulating throughout the month of April. All prices f. 0. b. Toledo Subject to change v?hout notice "Made in U. S. A." Pedigr eOicSl 1 9* ?M* Nine years of continuous, consist? ent development, improvement, refinement! Each year a better car and a bet? ter value! Over three hundred thousand now in use! That is the history of the car that built Overland because it repre? sented integrity of value. And as steadfastly as this car has represented original integrity of value, so also has The Willys Overland Company sustained that integrity of value through? out its service in the hands of those who purchased it. The Overland Big Four of this season and its twin?except for the motor?the Overland Light Six, are the direct outcome of all this development. More than three hundred thou? sand owners and more than four thousand dealer and fac? tory-branch organizations have assisted this development by their experience with these cars y and their helpful suggestions of / improvements. In their new beauty, in their per? fected easy riding qualities, in their proven sturdiness and mechanical excellence, in their admitted tire, fuel and oil economy, these cars are worthy of the confidence we have, that they will further enhance Over? land prestige. J The prices are $850 for the Big Four, $985 for the Light Six, while we have them to deliver until May 1st?thereafter $895 and $1025. OVERLAND SALES CO. DEALERS 210 W. Liberty St. Phone 723 while selling is almost entirely specu? lative in its character. The technical situation is very strong. On April 1st. tho stock in New York was around 80,000 hales, the lowest that I can recall. It was the short interest on March which caused the adw.ee and there is a larger one in May. July is the month when the works are due to come. The short interest in that month must he enormous, as traders j have bean selling July to hedge pur chasers of March, May and October. What will they do? More cotton pass? es into consumption every day and stocks decline, so that when these short attempt to cover their July sales they will hid the market up on them? selves. Spots in the South are high? er than they are quoted in New York. The final ginm >g report shows that tho agricultural department over esti? mated the nop about 200,000 hales. There is one danger in all this we may he tempted to plant cot ion and neglect our food supply. These are war times. Wheat has heen in War as high as 14.00 per bushel and other products in proportion. If I knew cotton would be $1.00 per pound next fall I would still raise my corn and meal at home. 1 am planting an acre of grain for every acre of cotton, and the man who does not do it is liable to meet disaster. Foodstuff is not nearly so high as it will be. liaise your meat, corn, potatoes and peas then grow all tho cotton you can. ?OUth Carolina may lace a famine if this war continues a year longer. South American countrle" are al? ready placing embargoes on the ex? portation of foodstuffs. Production is greatly curtailed in Europe and those vast armies must bo fed, and rest assured will bo fed, even if yon and I go hungry. Those armies and British Heal stand between us and the destruction of some <,f our sea coast cities, our navy is Inadequate to pro tect our groat coast line. It is not only sensible hut a patriotic duty for each one of us to raise a surplus o food. Tho man who under these cir? cumstances plants all of Ills land in cotton ought to be deull with by law' it is little .short of a crime. I doubt | if Sumter county can feed itself for .10 days. Now listen my friends, when the railroads arc taken by the govern mcnt to transport troops and war sup? plies, you will find it hard to got cars for carrying your food supply, and when wheat, com and meat are scarce, and the government goes to commandeering if to feed armies here and in Europe, some of us are going hung -y if we don't raise a food supply at he me. Prices will go higher and you can't eat money or cotton. Most people do not think, just look at it. The average balance of trade in favor of the United States pr ior to the war was five hundred million do!-' lars. li is now four times that: two i billlor dollars annually drawn in here from abroad. This two billion dollars is good yellow gold. It is the basis up? on which seven times that much cur? rency can be issued under our bank? ing system. In addition to this 11 * * ? new federal reserve system provides for commodity loam; on warehouse receipts for wheat.,' cotton, coin or CCttle. Why wouldn't cotton and e1 - cry thing else advance in prices" In 1914 the country was paralyzed] by the contraction of credit and scar? city of money. Now like King Midas we seem in danger of being smother? ed under an avalanche Of wealth. Our attention has been BO centorcd upon the war and its tragic happen? ings, that few of us realise that b tre? mendous financial revolution has oc? curred light hero in the United St lies. I* Is to be honed that mir being dm .\ n into war will not turn the hands oi the clock backwards. The federal reserve and the farm loan acts menm' that for the hist time in history, the producer Is in a position to demand the use of money as a medium for the exchange of his products. Not na a favor be', as ;i right. 11 means that the tii k has come when land is to n, recognized as the basis of all wealth and that he who owns land must be able tC borrow money at the same rate of interest as ho who owns bun.Is. in t ie futun tlu re must bo no di crimination against producers i'oi J non-producers. The Wilson adminis trat Ion has done a wonderful service for the farmers, a greater service than any .sl ice the formation of the re public. The millions of the producers and Ofeators of real wealth need no longer cringe and cower before mon f?y /lenders. In the future nat ional banks Will not be permitted to im>? nopolize the function of issuing mon? ey, so as to control prices by coun? teracting or expanding at their pleas? ure the credits of the country. The tanner can go with his head up not as suppliant begging for the use of Rion ; ey for which he la prepared to give ) good security. ! The money of this country belongs I , to the people of this country. It is created by their agents, the govern? ment, without whose H ! it would not I be money. Bach citizen is a unil of the power which creates the dollar, and through law he obligates himself and ins property to redeem his pro? portionate share of the dollar. Thia war has completely exploded the gold fallacy. It Is products not gold w l ieh cany the country on. Our re al wealth is not gold, it is land, stock, cotton, corn, wheat, Iron, steel and coppor, the things thai so to clothe and feed mankind. Man ahould not be the servant of the dollar. He is its creal >r. Iiis labor or his property is more Important than tbe dollar Which is a mere medium of exchange. The valuo of a dollar docs not de? pend upon a banking1 system or gold reserve, these are entirely artificial. It depends for its value upon tbe products drawn from the farm, mute ai d factors by the sweat of the la? borer. Ever since lM;r> we have had a money system discriminating against I lie producers in favor of non-produe ei i. It lias made farming the most uncertain business on earth when it should lie the most reliable ami cer? tain. In cause it is fundamental. It has driven the brightest and most am? bitious boys to the city, leaving the farm no re and more to the dullard and incompetent. Labor in the coun? try is scarce, while the towns are over? crowded with non-producers earning a precarious living. The earth must support c u b Individual. Its pro- J ductlveness is the beginning and fo in dation of ail wealth, it makes no d{(Terence where a man lives, it may be in the heart of New York city, be yet bears a direct relation to the defi? nite piece of land from which Is drawn his fend and clothe-. The test of his usefulness from an economic point of View, is what do< s he put back in the world's common store bouse in return for what he takes out of it as a COO umcr. I The great cities have a luxurious spendthrift class, and a business sys? tem, where men prosper not by mer? it, but through superior cunning. Men overcome and crush each other In a mad struggle to acquire wealth created by others. Those are not na? tion savers or nation builders. You will find them in the quiet country places of the land, where men think soberly, live temperately, and have time to commune with God in the temple of his untarnished skies. Thomas Jefferson said more than a century ago that, ^roat cities were like cancers eating the life out of a nation. Students and statesmen have become alarmed at the growth of the cities compared to the country. They are increasing in population nearly twice as fast as the country. Tho only way to check this is to make the farms so profitable that people living on them can have comfort equal to the man in town. Woodrow Wilson has started upon the right road to develop agriculture by making credits easy and money obtainable through farm loan banks. I don't know what this war will do to check it. T do know that every great war in history has been the means of bur? dening the people with a false system of {?nance. The monied interests al? ways use the national peril to force advantageous terms for themselves. J. P. Morgan, Jr., is credited with having made more money since 1914 than J P. Sr., did in a life time, and we thought he u ;ia a collossus. Such men always pose as public benefactors sr.vim; the country, but under cover they never fail to drive the hardest argains. There is one factor about this war which is unlike any other. \i is heiug fought entirely on credit, and O'ould seem that the point of ex? haustion for all concerned is not far off. Men have quit thinking in mil? lions, the bond issues are in billions. The accumulations of many genera? tions hav been destroyed, and a mortgage for all time placed upon the labor and property of generations vet unborn. The last world war was when Fiance ran mad under Napoleon. These wars, however, practically paM their own Way. Napoleon used funds derived from taxation and forced levies on the conquered countries,