The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, August 19, 1922, Image 1
* THE STJMTKR WATCHMAN, Est
CONSOLIDATED AUG, 2,
RESUMED AT
NEWBERRY
Crowd of Twelve Hun
dred Hear Office
Seekers?Blease
Criticises Manning
* and Cooper Admin
istrations
?????
Xewberry, Aug, 14.?With ap
proximately 1,200 persons in at
tendance, candidates, for state of
fices today invaded'the populous
Piedmont section and were given
the closest attention throughout.
I The race for governor and super
intendent of education seemed to
? attract the keenest interest, cho
partially at least to the presence
among the candidates of one native
son, Cole L. Blease, for governor,
and another, J.' J. Hope, for su
4 perintendent of . education, wno
might be termed a native son in
asmuch as he is a former reside*u
of this county.
* AU candidates for the various;
offices were given mere or less ap
plause but several for state su
perintendent of education, includ-!
ing the two women candidates, I
: Mrs. E. B. Wallace and Mrs. Pes- i
sie Rogers Drake; probably shared
with former Governor Blease the;
greatest amount of applause. Geo. j
W. Wightman, candidate for com-!
^ missioner of agriculture, was also!
a decided favorite with the aud- ]
ienee, judging by the amount of j
applause during his address.
Tfte meeting- began in the opera '
house, but was ajourned to' the j
* court house lawn because of the
constantly increasing crowds. J.
?? "Wheeler; of Xewberry, presid- ]
ed. Baskers of flowers were pre- j
* sented to Mr. .Blease and to J. ?.
Swearingen, superintendent of ed-!
i ucation. , j
As* Thos. G. McLeod, candidate j
for governor concluded his ad- j
i dress, he was handed a bunch of i
cotton stalks which were tied to- j
gether with heavy black crepe, j
"Take this." he was told by the j
young man presenting the odd j
bouquet, and quickly came the re
ply from Mr. McLeod^as^he re
- tunied the cotton stail^;^aie only
similarity between myself and the,
boll weevil is that we take every-i
thin# in sight as you will see on
August 29. Take this to" put about
the white lightning that you have
in you," he said on returning the
stalks.
The young man was said to be
a resident of some other county,
and leading officials of Xewberry
county appeared to deplore the
Incident which, however, did not
attract any great amount of at
tention. When the candidates ad
journed to the court house lawn a
?ne-horse wagon was -put into use
and it was from this that the
candidates spoke. The young man
was standing at the head of the
wagon when Mr. McLeod was
speaking and promptly handed him
the bunch of cotton stalks which
almost as promptly' fwere return
ed.
, John T. Duncan, the first candi
date for governor, said he was in
favor of * developing thev water
power of the state. He declared
that thousands of dollars had been
made last year by outside inter
eats through the development of i
South Carolina water power. "Touj
may say that Duncan is a runner,
but you can't say that he is a quit- !
ter," he concluded, amid applause.?
George K. Laney told of his rec- i
ord of twenty years in the legis-;
lature, where he has endeavored to ]
serve the people at all times as I
he saw best- . He said Sie has I
fought for good schools, with the j
aim .of placing^an education with- !
in the reach of every white boy j
and girl in the state. Referring to
the cry of "economy," he asked if j
air; person present opposed the ap- \
prcpriations that had been made j
for good schools and also for Con- j
federate veterans.
Thomas G. McLeod said he was I
a farmer and has every dollar in- j
vested in farming. He said he
favors a luxury tax. which he de- j
clares to be nothing but fair when j
a large part of the state is in de:s- i
perate financial straits. Referring |
to the back-wash of the recent ,
world war, he said that no gam- j
biers, "bootleggers" and the like j
would ever stop the tide of crime ]
resulting after the war, and that
nothing but the best class of citi- |
zenship could end it.
Cole L. Blease said that in 1910 j
Xewberry furnished its first gov- \
ernor for the state of South Caro- j
lina. He declared that he did ev
erything as he saw to the best in
terests of the state and that Xew
berry county will again furnish !
one of its sons to aid the state. He
declared that taxes have been rais-.
ed from slightly more than $1,000,- ?
000, when he became governor, to
about $6,000,000, saying that the
state was now bankrupt. He de
clared that the administrations r.f
Manning and Cooper were the most
extravagant since those of Cham
berlain and Moses. Taxes were
only reduced because or election
year, it was said, and will be higher
again next ycra. As to the charge
that crime was greater in his ad
ministration than at any other time
he said that only last week seven
men were killed in South Carolina,
adding that of all these prisoners
ablished April. 1850.
1881,_
BROTHERHOODS
i CONTINUE
MEDIATION
-
Striking Shopmen
Place Their Case in
Hands of the Big
Four Brotherhoods
"Washington, Aug. 14 (By the As
sociated Press).?Heads of rail
road labor* organizations not on
strike got their attempts to me
diate the strikes of shopmen and
? other crafts in transportation ser
I vice back before President Hard
ing today, and after a two and
j one-half hour White House con
I ference declared they intended to
j reapproach railroad executives.
J L. E. Sheppard. president of the
Order of Railway Conductors and
spokesman for the entire group,
declared on leaving the White
House the striking unions would
leave "their case in the hands" of
himself and his associates, while
as to the sporadic walkouts of
brotherhood members in various
parts of the country, he said, "the
President doesn't intend^ to make
iany issue-J?gainsi men who leave
unsafe engines."
Mr. Sheppard, like other union
officials, refrained from specifical
ly indicating,what basis was being
considered for further compromise
attempts. The meeting with the
president was arranged by Secre
tary of Labor Davis after all the
union chiefs, including those on
strike, had been in one of their
general executive sessions to con
sider policy.
"It has been . much the same
story. We have' been discussing
the whole situation from top to
i bottom, ?nd now we are going to
! look for somebody to give us help
in our mediation attempts," Mr.
Sheppard declared. "That means
some railroad executives not so
tenacious of; their points as those
we have seen. We shall talk over
the matter of who might help with
all the uniop. officials tomorrow.
"We have found the president
determined to give the workers
J the same consideration as the em
ployers. We do not Understand
that he is going to" make further
advances to the executives.
"The situation ?s to local walk
outs of other crafts is clear. It's
all newspaper talk that the people
have been 'marooned" in the des
erts. Our men have taken every
train into the terminals, and the
passengers have been left at places
"where railroad men live.
"All our discussion relates to the
fundamental rights of men who
are on strike. The railroad labor
board takes the position they are
not entitled to consideration. Lots
of lawyers hold with, us that their
rights are only suspended. We've
made a basketful of propositions. I
can't tell' you all of them."
Reverting to the policy of his
own union, Mr. Sheppard said that
"officers of our order .are on their
way to get men back at any points
where walkouts are not justified."
"Our orders are that men are to
stay at work, unless ther lives are
endangered," he added, "and to
make an honest effort to maintain
transportation service, with equip
ment that is safe."
An announcement of a similar
nature was made by W. G. Lee.
president of the Brotherhood of
Railroad Trainmen, during the day
in Cleveland.
Representatives of the railroad
I managements apparently were not
I involved in the continued union
j mediation* efforts and Fairfax Har
j rison, president of the Southern
railroad, issued a statement from
the road's general headquarters
that his company would now at
tempt to break the strike by em
j ploying new men. Acting apart
j from all other railroads, the South
ern, he said, had hitherto tried
to "so operate our property that
our men could honorably return to
work," but had been unable to ef
fect a compromise.
"We must now turn to employ
ing others, for the road must run,*'
' Mr. Harrison concluded. "If it
(means war to run the Southern
[ Railway, then let us have it now?.
I not later."
? ? o .-.
1 A chorus girl would make a for
! tune if she were a centipede.
Winter styles follow Grecian
lines: but with a coal strike Eski
mo lines would be the best.
paroled of pardoned by him only
two had "come back."
J. J. Cantey said if there was
a better platform than his offered
! by any candidate in the race he
was yet to see it. The day has
pressed when a bunch of politicians
in Columbia can write a ticket and
dictate it to the voters of the state.
Tie urged the voters not to stam
pede at this time but to keep a
clear vision.
William Coleman. former resi
dent of this county, told of spending
eighteen years in Whitmire. H-?
paid he had brought into the coun
ty of New berry more definite;
tangible property than any other
person. He believed in coopera
tive marketing among other things,
declaring that the residents of the
state must put their heads together
educationally, financially and in
dustrially to bring about the wel
fare of the state.
?'Be Just and Fear
SOUTHERN
I TAKES UP THE
! STRIKE FIGHT
-_ '
j Rejection by Strikers
of Offer .of Railway
j to Take Them Back
Without Condition
Results in Decision
to Employ New Men
Washington, Aug. 14. ? The
? Southern railway, which to date
j has made no efforts to combat the
j shopmen's strike, announced today
j through its president. Fairfax^ Har
i rison, that it would employ any
j help available to keep trains in
operation.
Mr. Harrison in a formal state
! ment said that the Southern had
made every effort to settle with its
j men even "to the extent of offering
i the terms that they had previously
j agreed to accept" and without re
' suit, and that "if it means war to
j run the Southern railway then let
I us have it now?not later."
! Officials of the company, supplc
j mented Mr. Harrison's statement
j only to the extent of pointing out
j that conferences between the rail
I road management and the strikers
iwere held last week without result
!ahd that the only course left open
j to the company was to employ such
j workers as could be obtained.
The action of the Southern was
( generally regarded as significant in
j that it had heretofore made no ef
j fort to fill the places of the shop
; men who went on strike and in that
? it not being a member of the As
sociation of Railway Executives had
j not participated in the two ineet
j ings held by that organization in
New York to consider strike set
tlement proposals put forward bv
President Harding.
VThe statement issued by Mr. Har
rison said:
} "Every effort has been made so
jto operate our property that our
men could honorably return to
] work. Every effort has been made
j to settle with our men, we have
i gone to the extent of offering the
j terms' that they had previously
I agreed to accept. We have thus
! held ? out every reasonable in
1 ducement for them to- return,
i We must now turn to employing
j others, for the road must be run:
i we must give those we employ pro
j tection, for it may be that those
! we have up to this time protect
i ed by keeping their jobs open may
j now turn against us even to an at
j tempt to prevent others from
I working.
! "Call is now being made upon
iever}' employee, upon every patron
j of this company and upon every
j citizen along its lines to rally to
i the support of the road that has
! served you and protected your own
j interest in the maintenance of
j transportation. With your help we
i can run the road and we pledge
I all the resources of the company
jto that end. If it means war to
run the Southern railway then let
us have it now?not later."
j Spartanburg, Aug. 14. ? The
jSpartanburg branch of the federat
ed shop crafts unions of the South
ern railway, through its executive
J committee, today issued a state
ment giving the Reasons for their
j refusal to accede to the terms of
j settlement offered by that railway
jin Washington on July 8. They
[stated, "we were bound by every
j rule of ethics not to do so.
"When an honorable man enters
j into an agreement, verbally or oth
j erwise. he carries out at any cost
j every obligation binding him there
! to. The members of the shop
: crafts of the Southern railway are
! honorable men and as their agree
j ment is nationwide in import, we
! could not accept the terms of a
J separate settlement, regardless of
? our personal feelings towards the
management of the Southern rail
| way, without stultifying ourselves,
i which we will never do."
j Knoxville. Tenn., Aug. 14.?Steps
j will be taken immediately to re
j open the Coster shops of the South
; ern railway here. O. B. Keister,
J general superintendent of the lines
? east, announced to'night on receipt
j of a communication from President
i Fairfax Harrison.
m m -m-_
j Germany Pleads
Bankruptcy
[Note Sent to Allied Govern
I Rients Alleging Inability to
i Pav Pre-War Debts
Berlin. Aug. 15 (By the Asso
ciated Press)).?The German gov
ernment Today addressed a note
to the British, French, Italian and
Belgian governments declaring that
] in consequence of the demand for
j foreign currency to pay for urgent
; ly needed nc-eessaries of life, and in
j consequence of the fall in the va'l
! ue of the mark, it could not meet
I the clearing house installment of
1 2.000.000 pounds due today in
i payment of pre-war debts, to al
! lied nationals.
Petersburg, Va., Aug. 17.?Halt
ing an enclosed truck last night at
; Xottoway river a federal prohibition
j agent looking -for liquor, captured
j eighteen Chinamen, apparently be
I ing smuggled from Florida to New
York.
Not?Let all the ends Thou Aims't
Sumter, S. C.?$*t
iMSH?RlW"
DEVELOPED
i BACKBONE?
_ ?
?
! White House Advisers
Declare That H e
j Has Virtually De
cided to Order Op
eration of Trains
Under Government
Protection
Washington. Aug. 15.?President
Harding, having abandoned all ef
| forts at mediation in the rail
I strike, was declared today by 'his
i advisers to have virtually decided to
I inform the railroad executives that
I in the operation of trains they wiH
j be given the^-full protection and-aid
! of the government. President
'Harding, it .was stated, has de
termined that the only course the
i government now could pursue was
I the path followed in coal strike?
(the extension of an invitation to
; the employers to operate their
! prope rty and the federal govern
I ment, with the cooperation of the
j states would stand .behind them in
; their efforts so far as they were
directed to serving the public.
! Consideration is being given by
! the president, it was asserted, to
j going before congress within a* few
; days with a comprehensive sfate
: ment of the whole rail situation,
including the rebuffs that- have
met the government's attempts at
i effecting^ settlement.
? ? ? ?
! poincare is i
opposed tq m
moratorium
London, Aug. 14 (By the Asso
ciated Press).?The 13th allied
conference on German reparations
broke down today, "agreeing to'dis
agree," as the spokesmen for'both
[ France and Great Britain tfut^it,
there having been a complete lack
; of unanimity on the important
points discussed.
. From its commencement the
conference seemed predestined' to
j failure, according to the views ex
pressed by close observers of the
j situation.and these observers to
I night are of the opinion that the
' failure indicates utter incompatibil
: ity between the policie of Great
? Britain and France to Germany.
I To what extent the recent note
' of Earl Balfour contributed to to
i day's results is partly evidenced by
: the line of the 11th hour attempts
J by Signor Schanzer, the leading
j Italian delegate, at mediation with
Premier Lloyd George at Chequers
j Court Sunday, when the Italian
foreign minister proposed that dis
i cussion of a moratorium for Ger
j many should be adjourned until the
j various countries had carried out
I their debt funding negotiations
with the United States.
Mr. Lloyd George submitted this
proposition to the conference to
day but, although it was supported
: by the . other delegates, it was op
| posed by Premier Poincare and
j thereupon Mr. Lloyd George declar
| ed he was unable to agree to an
j adjournment of the conference
j without a moratorium.
The situation now appears that
J the conference has separated with
i out any ideai of a new conference.
The British government insists up
on a moratorium as an imperative
precedent to any further negotia
tions. On the ohter hand, M.
! Poincare resolutely refuses a mora
J torium, unless it is accompanied
j by what he calls "guarantees.''
j The English critics of the sritua
I tion as between England and
i France saw no other outcome from
the first. They held that M. Poin
care feared his parliament and ap
prehended a fall like that of form
er^ Premier Briand if he yielded to
British persuasion. The previous
j allied conferences concerning Ger
Imany generally have ended with
j some show of a surface agree
j ment between the policies of Great
j Britain and France. This was al
j most the first occasion on whicn
j the delegates "agreed to differ."
I The situation is considered all
j the more serious, viewing the con
tinuous fall in the mark and the
[fact that nothing whatever has
j been decided upon beyond a tern-,
j porary suspension of the repa
? rations payment due by Germans
{tomorrow. The whole question
j again is thrown into the hands of
; the reparations commission and to
i night neither from the French nor
I British delegations could anything
i be gleaned concerning the next
] step to be taken. Both sides are
I awaiting further discussions in
j their respective cabinets.
; Paris. Aug. 14 (By the Associac
; ed Press).? Premier Poincare has
called a meeting of the Frenen
i cabinet for Wednseday to consider
[the international situation, it was
announced today. The premier will
( renew his instructions to M. Loins
I Dubois-, president of the repara
' tions commission, to oppose the
proposed moratorium for Germany,
it also was learned.
New V<?rk. Aua. 17.?Samaieo
Correio took off from the waters
of Jamaica bay at 7.20 this morn
ing for Charleston, the first stop in
a 8,500 mile flight from New York
to Rio de Janeiro.
at be thy Country's, Thy God's and
irday, August 19, 1922
THE STATE
i HIGHWAY
1
I Monthly Meeting Held
Tuesda y?Large
Number of Delega
tions Appear. Road
Location in Saluda
Decided
i , ?
I Columbia, Aug. 16.?Numerous
' delegations appeared before the
j state highway commission at its
I monthly session here yesterday, in
; nearly every instance aid being
'sought for road work or a change
; in some plan being desired. The
; commission was in session from
early morning until 5 o'clock in
I the afternoon.
i The commission allotted $15,00.0
i federal aid to Chester county for
j the road from Richburg to the riy
' er. A delegation appeared to ask
{for this aid as well as $10,000 to
{complete the road to Lockhart. A
I delegation from Chester and Lan
I caster appeared before the com
j mission to ask the commission for'
i federal aid on a bridge across the j
jCatawba river. This bridge is es
timated "to cost between $150,000
land $170,000, but no federal aid
? funds are available now. Among
] those appearing in interest of this
request were Senator David Ham
j ilton of Chester, J. Lyles Glenn,
! Jr., John T. Stevens, T. Y. Williams i
j and H. H. Kester.
J. S. Stark, chairman of the Ab
j beville commission, and H. B.
Humbert, county engineer, asked
aid for a road to run from Ware
Shoals via Hodges and Donalds to
the Anderson county line near
Honea Path. This road is to be
; built partly to give work to hail
? storm, sufferers. The commission
pointed out that it was unable to
allot federal aid to the project, but
thaj it would furnish all equip
ment necessary free of charge in
an effort to assist. Mr. Stark and
Mr. Humbert also called to tho
attention of the commission the j
need of bridges in Abbeville coun
ty on theCalhoun highway estimat-!
> ed to eost around 30,000. v
j . vBatesburg? Leesville and Lexing
: ton county in general were well |
i represented in an effort to reach a
j decision on the location of the Co-|
j lumbia-Augusta road through Sa-J
iluda county. Two delegations were j
j heard at different times, one favor- j
I ing the location on the northern !
! side of the railroad track and the \
! other favoring the old roadbed I
] south of the railroad track. After j
'alk'sides had been heard the com- j
j mission approved the old roadbed
! route south of the railroad track
land allotted $2.000 additional fed
j eral aid to Saluda county if so
i much be necessary to assist in
i building an underpass at Hibernia,
j this being part of the plan for the
old route. The delegation favoring
i the old route was composed of 22
? citizens, led by Dr. E- C. Rigdell.
iC. E. Jones and Senator D. M.
j Crosson. This delegation presented
a petition signed by 100 citizens,
a letter from Senator Wightman
and other papers favoring their
; selection. They presented a stron:r
: case. All the Saluda officials will
: support the old roadbed route, it
\ was declared. The other delegation
jcame to ascertain what was holding
! up the work on the route north of
jthe railroad track as surveyed
i sometime ago. ' Heading this dele
I gation were Dr. W. P. Timmer
! man. Isaac Edwards, Col. E. L.
lAsbill and Frank Hendrix.
j Representatives J. W. Moon and
I John G. Geer of Greenville headed
! a delegation from that county to
?straighten out certain matters rela
| tive to a $75.000 bond issue pass
? ed by the county to be used on
three roads, the Dunham's bridge
? road, the Brevard or Jones Gap
' road and the Kay's bridge road.
! This delegation reported that an
'act had been passed this year pro
viding for the expenditure of the
! $75.000 on the three roads and the
! men could not understand why the
$75.000 federal aid appropriated J
J recently by the highway commls
jsion had been allotted to the
'Jones Gap road alone. After the
j commission had heard from the
; Greenville men a resolution was
passed authorizing Engineer Moore
] field to confer with the county of
Lficials and to see that the money
j was spent in a manner agreeable
i to the county authorities.
V J. H. McLaurin. chairman of the
I Dillon county highway commission.
; and R. S. Rogers, unopposed can
j didate for the state senate from
jthat county, asked for $20.000 fed
eral aid out of the 1023 appropria
! tion for the road from Dillon to the
: North Carolina line near Lumber
! ton and to complete the gravel
j highway from Dillon to the Marl
boro county line. They also re
I quested the commission to place
i the road from Dillon to two miles
; beyond Lakeview in the state sys
tem as well as the federal aid sys
tem. This latter request was re
ferred to Engineer Moorefield and j
Frank Manning. Jr.. commission-'
er. to investigate and act upon.
J. E. Adgerton of the Chester
field county commission appeared
to ask that his county be placed on
the same basis a.* Lancaster in the
plan to erect a bridge at Cook's
mill over the Catawba. Mr. Adger
ton said Chesterfield wanted fed
eral aid for a road leading up to
t
Truth's."
CONSUMPTION
EXCEEDSCOHON
PRODUCTION
World's Mills Used
1,717,000 More Bales
of Cotton Than Was
Produced in 1921
Washington, * August 16?The
world's production of commercial
cotton, exclusive of linters, grown
in 1921, was approximately 15,
197,000 bales of 478 pounds lint,
while the consumption exclusive of
linters in the United States was
approximately 16,914,000 the census
bureau announced. The consump
tion during July was 304,936 bales,
compared with 336,387 in June and
244,843 in July of last year.
American consumption of cotton
for the year was 5,911,914 bales,
exclusive of linters of which there
were over a million bales more
than consumed in the cotton year
of 1921.
Farmer May Get
Special Discount
Federal Reserve Board Con
sidering Proposal for Low
Discount Rate on Agricul
tural Paper
.Washington. Aug. 15.?Estab
lishment of a special rediscount
rate of 3 1-2 per cent on agricul
tural paper is under consideration
by the federal reserve board, offi
cials said today. The proposal has
been laid before the federal re
serve banks, it was explained, and
action by the board Is being with
held pending their replies, al
though, officials indicated, the sug
gestion was not meeting with favor
generally.
As suggested, officials explained,
the special farm rate would enable
banks which made loans for agri
cultural purposes?upon the se
curity of farm products?to re
discount at 3 1-2 per cent, which
is one-half per cent below the low
est reserve rate now in effect, if the
rate charged by the banks to the
j original - b^^owerr,<&cfc "not- exceed .6
per cent.. A special farm products
rate, officials recalled, was ' in ef
fect in 1915, but was discontinued.
Paris, August 17.?Premier Poin
caire has ordered the French Debt
Commission, headed by Jean V.
Parmentier, to return to Paris from
Washington Immediately, it was
learned today, to report the results
of the conversation with American
officials regarding the liquidation of
the French debt in the United
States.
_ * ? ?!
the bridge if Lancaster received!
such aid. The commission inform- j
ed Mr. Adgerton that as soon as |
the two counties were prepared to j
match federal aid it would be ap- 1
propriated when funds were avail
able;
Senator L. A.' Hutson of Orange- j
burg and Senator A. M- Kennedy of I
Barnwell came before the commis-!
sion in an effort to arrange fori
federal aid to match the two coun-j
ties in building a bridge over the
South Edisto river' on the road
leading from Springfield to Wil
liston and on to Augusta. The
bridge would cost around 26,000. i
it was estimated. ^Co funds are;
available and no action was taken, j
Dr. A. R. Johnston of St. George!
was present, being interested in the
matter. P. E. Dukes of Branchville j
also appeared in interest of speed- ]
ing up the county in getting started
on the road from Branchville to !
Dorange. The county has prorn- j
ised to build this road without state
aid. this being done to get a trans- j
fer of federal aid to the bridge [
over the Edisto at the city limits I
of Orangeburg. The commission ]
was unable to do anything for Mr.
D?kes as the county has assured it i
that the road will be built by next I
year.
The commission allotted $10,000:
federal aid to Marlboro county for
the construction of a gravel road j
from Bennettsvilfe to the Dillon 1
county line. It also appropriated
$2,000 aid to Horry county for a j
road from Socastee to MurreiFs j
Inlet, this to be paid as soon as!
available out of the special fund ;
for aid to county roads and!
bridges from the 20 per cent, of
the motor vehicle license fund.
A resolution was passed asking j
the state health officer to investi- j
gate working conditions in the San- !
tee river swamp with a view to j
protecting men working on the j
Santee bridge from malaria.
Charles Hi Moorefield, the state I
highway engineer, was asked to,
call upon all maintenance forces |
to cooperate with county officials, j
the American Legion and any and :
all other organizations in planting,
trees to beautify any memorial or
other road in the state.
The commission agreed to allow j
Spartanburg county $8.000 out of j
the 1922 motor vehicle license ac- j
fiuals for county road purposes.
A request from Clarendon coun- j
ty that the road from Manning to
Florence by way of Turbeville and
Olanta be added to the state sys-'
tern was referred to Engineer,
Moorefield for investigation. i
All members of the commission '
were present at the meeting. I
THE TRUE SOU
INIQUITOUS
i WOOL TARIFF
i TAX ON POOR
i -
j Republican Contribu
tion to Wool Grow
ers and Manufac
| turers $310,000,000
a Year
i ? ? i
i Washington, Aug. 14.?For.sev
i eral years the average American
family has been fighting and seek
ing to evade the encroachments of
the high cost of living, has been
I economizing and pursuing the elu
j sive bargain sale, mending, clean
; ing. patching and hoping for bet
ter days, when a dollar might be
j expected to buy a dollar's worth of
j food or clothing. Some material
? decreases have aroused a hope
I which the pending tariff bill is des
tinued to utterly destroy. The cost
of living, which has been some
: what reduced, is about to take a
I turn upward. In the things we eat
! this will hardly be noticed, for the
j producer of things which grow out
! of the ground will get no more for
j his products by reason of the tariff,
j but in all of the manufactured ar
ticles the increases will be consid
erable. For every group and class
I of manufacturers there will be a
I tax on one class?the consumers.
J These unfortunates, in their capac
j ity as consumers, will receive no
j benefits themselves but will have
? to contribute to the increased in
| come of every man benefited by
: this special class legislation. The
new high tariff rates, always de
structive in their past history, will
again impoverish the * buyers and
: thus take the market away from
! the sellers, who will consequently
I be unable to buy from manufac
?turers their wares for which there
j has come a diminished market,,
land when these things befall,'less.
J labor is required in the factories,
i hence general unemployment, hard
j times and all of _ the miseries at
j tendant thereon. -
j One of the worst iniquities of the
j Smoot bill is the wool tariff, laid
? upon the backs or more than one
\ hundred millions of users of wool
(for the. benefit of less than half a
J million growers of wool. Under.
I the present (Underwood) tariff law
j there is no import tax on raw
I wool. We use 220,000.000 pounds
I of this product per year, and tariff
j or no tariff, in the past we have
? not, on average, produced in this
j country more than about half of
; the amount we user Hence, the
j new tariff rate of 33 cents per
j pound on the scoured wool means
; that this will be added to each
I pound of the 120,000,000 pounds
j imported and will go into the
j treasury, but it will also be added
to the home product and go into
I the pockets of the American wooV
j growers, some of the wealthiest ef
j whoih are occupying seats in the
j senate and have just succeeded in
j killing Senator Caraway's resolu
j tion to investigate their pocket
i book interest in the legislation
i they are fastening on the people.
; It would %not be so serious a bur
I den if the increase in the cost of
! articles made of wool should end
I with the tax of. 33 cents per
pound, but the truth is that it only
I begins there. After the wool is
scoured it becomes subject to a
sliding scale of increased tariffs,
each intended to fatten the manu
facturer who puts it through the
next process, so that the carder,
yarn manufacturer, cloth weaver
and clothing maker will get their
slice out of the diminshed dollar of
the public. The tariff protection
of . the clothing manufacturer alone
is fifty cents, so that by the time
the suit of clothes gets to the deal
i er it is calculated by - Senator
Walsh of Massachusetts, who is in
?harge of the wool schedule for
the Democrats, that about five
dollars will be added to the cost of
a suit. Of course the dealer bases
his selling price on the cost to him,
which involves another raise; de
pending on what percentage he
adds for overhead and profit. On
.a heavy overcoat the increase will
be considerably greater. On a
woman's suit or coat it will be al
most as great.
The wool tariff which will add j
about forty millions to the pockets!
of the wool growers will take from
the pockets of the wool users, in
tax and profits to manufacturers in
addition to the tax that goes into
the treasury, about $310.000.000 per
year. This is enough to stagger
the man who is lying awake
nights trying to figure out a way to
make ends meet. It is well to re
member that this new tax is laid
under the excuse of increasing the
prosperity of a class of men al-.
ready prosperous, the big wool
growers of a few western states.
Incidentally and through the
c ourage of Senator Caraway in ex
posing the personal interests of
half a dozen western Republican
senators, it develops that the po
litical control of these states, the
senate seats which they hold and
hence control'of the senate itself,
are all involved in this new iniquity,
a 33-eents duty on wool.
How the consuming public will,
view this new tariff bill, every
schedule of which contains as
great scandals as that involved in
the wool tax, will hardly have time
VOL. LHI. NO. 2
? ' ?
IFARMERS SIGN
fjNTRACTS
Enthusiastic Mass
Meeting Held at
Wilson in Interest
of Cooperative Mar
keting Association
Wilson, Aug. 15.?Hundreds, of
farmers who had followed the pol
icy of wait and see In the hope of
unusually high prices on the open
ing sales of the warehouse. floors
in Wilson were doomed., to disr
appointment today.
In spite of a tendency to raise
the prices on the' lowest grades
there was evident disappointment
that the: better grades did not
bring higher prices, in very few
instances reaching 50 cents. More
marketing contracts were signed in
the town of j Wilson today than in
the history of the Tobacco Grow
ers' Cooperative Association. Fol
lowing the insistent demand of the
growers, a mass meeting of farm
ers was called in the court house* ,
and the court room was filled .to
overflowing with every seat, aisle
and window sin occupied by tobac?
co growers who listened' intently
and broke into shouts of applause
at the messages of R. M. Work*;
and Mr. Blanks, the Kentuckians,
who were' hastily summoned.- from
Iother points to make their last ap
peal today to the farmers of East?
era Carolina, gathered at Wilson,
Never in the entire campaign of
the big cooperative have tobacco~
growers ^hown such enthusiasm
forN cooperative marketing as that
expressed in the cheers of..
growers, which echoed from the
court.-house windows in the streets
of Wilson. The loyal members of
the Association crowded so fast into
the* court >: room that many noa^
signers* Were unable to gain en
trance,- and when' a show of hands
were called'for, 90 per cent of .
those preaeni were seen to ,be
members of the marketing associ
ation! More than half of those
who failed to raise the^r. hands ?s'
numbers joined, the association on
this last day;?of the campaign.
*k<M?M<&^. JCentucky mem
ber oTJKe BSrJey" pool, said "in
1920 we chntifcued to give our to
bacco awa>* & the tune of 10 cents
a pouni-Sfrii^.it'cost us 26* cents
to make It: baf today, we havered
dried our green tobaccos, kept a
good per cent of our best tobacco
and sold , ? targe lot of the com
mon gr^en tobaccos which wonld
have gone" for 3 and 4 cents at auc
tion, for ,2$ cents and millions -of
pounds more for 18 cents. That Is
cooperative marketing."
John Blanks, another Kentucky
grower and member of the Burley
pool said, "the tobacco companies
are our frWlids. and customers. The.
reason theyYhave taken our tobac
co for tow prices is that we have
dumped it ,&own and begged them
to pay us what they could instead
of merchandising it like business*
men as the' cooperative associa
tions have 'how begun to *do/?
A glowing report of the opera
tion of th^ .border markets was
brought tp^the mass r meeting Jot
tobacco growers in Wilson by J/iL
Barnes, tbbacco farmer, of Kenly,
N. C, who witnessed the coopera
tive waerhouse at Lumberton- itt
action last Monday. *T hate .had
sixteen or seventeen years ei^er^-.
ence in marketing tobacco in Wil
son as my friends in this meeting (
know.*'-laid Mr. Ken ley, and he de
clared cooperative marketing is the
cleanest, nicest system of handling
tobacco "I have ever seen, and the
grading the. fairest."
The first day's operation of the
auction markets has unquestion
ably started a strong movement of
the unsigned farmers of Eastern
Carolina' towards cooperative mar
keting. ~ .
Surrendered to Sheriff
Augusta, Ga., August 17.?Corrie
Caldwell, the 5'outh who shot and
killed John Davis, a merchant, in
an altercation yesterday in the Da
vis' Place." &dros3 the river from
here, surrendered to the sheriff of
Aiken. county, S. C, late last night,
according to Information this morn
ing.
- ' \ . .as
to make itself evident at the No
vember election, as the rates will
hardly be in operation before that
time and consequently the burdens
will not be realized, but following
the passage of high tariff bills in
the past the public reaction has
been swift and effective for the
time. But always, after a few
years, the beneficiaries of the high
tariff, trusting to the short mem
ories of the people, again come
back demanding more. In the days
of Benjamin'Harrison the Republi
can congress passed the McKinley
bill and was promptly driven from
po wer. 1892 Cleveland was
elected oh a .pledge to reduce the
tariff: the interests managed to de
feat the will of the people in that
respect and Cleveland was repudiat
ed. Then followed the DIngley bill
and the Republicans were barely
saved from- defeat by the coming
of the * Spaiwsh war. Then the
Payne-Aldrich hill drove them out
again. ' Will the Smoot bill prove
a case of history repeating itself?.?.