American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-03-27
Gbe Siam Il e5Moen.
Practical Suggestions to the Planters
Of Mississippi.

The farmers of the South are the
great body polite of the Southland
they can, by proper means, have rs
free and full concert of action in all
things. as mercantile hoIse iIf any
city can have. They can say to each
other how many acres shall each
plant to the hand, in any crop; but
this requires unanlmity and concert.
This free communion aud concert can
be had by and through these Agri
cultural Associations. Let every
county in each of the cotton States
organize an Agricultural AsSocia
tion-appoint committees in the
different sections of the county, and
apportioa to each committee its pro.
rata OF townships or territory, AMI
assign to each its several duties
touching all these points.
If crop Of 2,750,000 bales this
season, will realize more money to
the producer than 4,00O,00O, then it
is perfectly suicidal to raise 5000
bales at the expense of a suiiiciency
of readstufIs-beSides the loss of all
the labor employed in raising the
l 100000 that could have been and
should now be appropriated to the
production OF something else besides
cotton.
Z do not even suggest what is best
for each to plant. / leave that to
the circumstances governing III each
particular case; bat, in general terms,
l do suggest breadstulls fruits
vegetables, and stock of all kind
and will suggest mechanical labor of
all kinds before / get through. l am
in earnest, however, in what | say
about planting too much cotton.
The wiSeacres of the North are
now saying that you are now pro-
vidipg for crop of 100000 bales,
and are advising all parties interest
ed to govern themselves and their
business upon that basis and they
are now actually doing so. You are
now sharpening the knife to cnt your
own throat. Let me beg you to
think before you further go. 1t Is
not too late. You can so direct you
labor and time TO make it pay you
better than it it was employed in
producing cotton, even if you should
get Is cents in gold for it, which you
cannot expect to do if you persist in
your present plans. Prudence aud
wisdom say employ the means to ac-
compliSh the ends desired; but ig-
norance and folly, sometimes, induce
us to pursue the very opposite
course.
Now which course will you take +?
If what | have said is not self cvi,
dent, disregard it. If it is true, let
facts control you You are now on
the high road to prosperity. The
right road is plain. The sign-board
of truth is prominently before you.
DO not lie deceived A large crop
of cotton will reduce the price
1000, 900 bales may reduce it ten
cents.
Some farmers object to raising
hogs and cows because of the thefts
committed by the idle and vagrant
negroes. This is true to some ex-
tent in some localities, but is not now
SO bad as it was, aud this objection
will soon cease altogether.
A thorough organization of one or
two States will only partially ac
complish the desired end. There
should be congress of all the cot
ton States held MS early as couven-
lent, at some central point, say at
Montgomery, Ala, or Augusta, Ga,
composed by the Presidents, Vice
Presidents and delegates from all
the States, to agree upon and ar
range a general plan of operation.
For instance, in Georgia they are
organizing thoroughly, but statistics
do not appear in their plans of opera
ton; neither agricultural, mechani.
cal moi manufacturing. Thisis wrong,
altogether wrong. 1t is just as easy
aud as cheap to organize all the cot.
ton States into one general associa-
ton, as 1t is to organize single
county in single State. 1t is true
that one man cannot organize the
whole as easily as he can one county,
but If all will go to work, and each
county in each State will organize
associations, and collect statistics,
furnish these statistics to the State
sOciatiOns, to be furnished by them
to the National association, then to
be all aggregated and cOllated, and
by the National association returned
to each State to send them to each
county, and each county to each
member, each will receive the full
benefit of their joint labors. So you
will see that thorough organization
upon this plan Will furnish each 90 t.
ton planter with full statement of
what every cotton planter, and all
the cotton planters together are do.
lug, and no one has performed any
more services than he woald have
done in organizing his own county.
and yet he is placed in possession of
of table OF facts that would have
cost one man million of dollars to
have gotten mp, and one that may
be worth to the cotton planter alto
gether two hundred million dollars
year, by enabling them to control
the price and production of cotton
up to % fair and remunerative price,
and at the same time employ all
the labor that they can control in
raising other products just as profit.
able as il it had been employed il
the production of cotton. You will
therefore see that all the farmers can
if they will, form great copartner
ship, and consult with each other
just as freely and fully, for the pur.
pose intended, as a mercantile house
in n city can consult with their part
ners touching their business. But
this pre-supposes that each county
Is organized, that each State is or
ganlzed, and that all the cotton
States are organized in one general
congress, for the purpose of obtain.
ing correct informtion as to all the
crops, and all these auxiliary to tb,
national association of planters and
manufacturers.
When all this is done, and perfect
harmony and free communion estab
lish between all the cotton produc
ers, they can set their own price upor
their cotton, and not allow it to vary