The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-02-15
WHERE THE MONEY GOEs-.uTHE
CREIgTT BUSINESS.

The cotton crop of this parish for
1871, was about eight thousand bales,
and the corn crop was probably pro-
portionately less. The cotton crop Of
1872, is estimated at eighteen thousand
bales-more than double that of the
preceding year-and the corn crops in
the same, if not greater proportion. The
cotton has been steadily going to mar
ket since last August, a period Of six
months, and should have brought to the
parish a corresponding return in money.
MISUNDERSTANDING these facts, mon
ey has been al scarce, or scarcer, with
us this winter as last winter. The
question naturally arises, since sc much
| cotton has been produced and sold,
where has the money gomez The Ques-
ton was put recently to a commission
merchant in New Orleans, who does a
large business in advancing plantation
supplies and selling cotton, and who,
consequently, had favorable OppOrtuni-
ties for knowing what becomes of
the money of our planters and farmers.
His answer was that the greater part of
it went for bread and forage for labor
rers and teams (farm horses and mules
are called teams here] in making the
last crop. AS but little corn and cot
ton was made in 1871, the suppliesfor 1879
had to be advanced, payable out of the
crop. These advances were so great as
to take nearly all the cotton. The West
gets our cotton for its bread and meat,
and the balance is generally against us,
especially in the case Of what are called
large planters-they seldom pay ex-
penses.
Raising corn enough adds but little
more expense to the years operations,
while the gain makes the planter per-
fectly independent of Western pro-
duce and gives him a return for the
greater part of his cotton in cash.
AS long as the system is followed of
raising cotton and neglecting corn, our
planters and farmers will be as they
Observation-Disclosures supplies and
the money to bury them with. They
will be beggars of credit, and on the
sure road to financial ruin-which
many of them have already reached,
simply because they carried on ex-
tensive planting operations OF q credit
by mean of Advanced supplies-which
they failed to make enough cotton OF
sugar to pay. This credit, advancing
business, with the e~xtravagant living
superinduced by it, has been the curse
of the country. We have had a great
many new and inexperienced planters
since the war and many of them, with
out being theoretically dishonest, but
impressed with the idea that they could
accomplishwonders in the way of large
crops, made purchases, on a credit, in
proportion'to the expected size of the
crop. Failures in this respect have
been inumerable; still our people will
not learn, and turn from this evil way.
So long as commission merchants make
advances to them, they will cling to it
like grim death. The only hope is that
the merchants viii stop it, in their own
self defence. A merchant in New Or
leans can notsafely make advancest0 par
ties in the country, without some more
substantial security than the promise of
d future crop. The local merchant will
have to attend to this kind Of business,
because he is acquainted with the char
acter and means of his customer. Al
ready several of the most prominent
commission merchants in the city have
failed, and it has been caused, it is
said, by the failure 6fethe large planters
to pay for advanced supplies. Small
planters OF farmers generally raise theil
own supplies large planters have them
advanced by their commission mer,
chants.
When the large planters, or large
merchants, one or both are broken, there
will be an end to this evil: The South.
ern people + naturally extravagant in
living, and credit makes them more so
The only way to cure them is to conpe,
them to live within their income by re.
fusing them credit beyond it. AS goor
as this is accomplished, the community
viii be financially healthy.
sf5t