The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-03-29
Hard Times in Texas.

Texas is magnificent country, so We
are told, almost boundless in area, limit
less in productions, and capable Of sup
porting all the people that ever come into
IL. Periodically, perhaps we may say
annually, sort of spirit of emigration
takes hold of the farming communities of
the older Southern States, and at once
they take the Texas fever. During the
past winter 30 many have gone into the
Lone Star State that we see it stated the
Immigrants could not at times! be sup
piled with food on arrival. The newspa-
pers have advised the newcomers to bring
something to eat with them as we'll as
money, for when they get there there are
no provisions to buy even if. they have
Golfers of money. If there are any of our
readers itching to 60 to Texas, let us beg
them to bear the ills they have awhile
longer, and as sort of sedative read the
following extract from the annual ad-
dress of the Master Of the State Grange
of Texas, which met month or more ago
at.Tyler, Texas. He says:
"It is useless to deny the fact that gen.
eral want of thrift and consequent de-
preston pervades the tillers of the soil
in. our country. They are not accumula-
ting money the years financial state
ment shows the balance against them
The scarcity Of money among the masses
and in the commercial centres demands
reform. Everywhere the cry is 'hard
times Why>is this p Is>it due to the
maladministration of government and Of
fetal corruption Is it due to a bad
financial system of government? +? lis it
due to costly transportation? 1t is due
in part to these causes, bnt mainly to
misdirected individual enterprise, specu-
lative farming and ruinous credit sys-,
TEN. Let US examine ourselves, and not
charge our faults upon others. What is
the needed reformY Restlesssp speculative
farming, must be abandoned for a more
conservative, frugal and cautious system,
conducted by solid cash basis. High
interest and credit have been q baneful
influence upon Southern agriculture.
These have hung Ikea mighty pail upon
the hopes, and have paralyzed the ener-
gies Of our people. We were left poor
after the war. Cotton was the most mar
ketable product by which we could raise
money. Its high value induced US to de-
vote our attention to;its production to
the exclusion of all other crops, thus
neglecting home supplies. I'VE could, at
20 cents per pound, with disorganized.
labor, realize some money in its produc-
tion, but by paying high rate of interest
for moneyto defray the current expenses
of the farm, we became involved, and
have continued to raise cotton, with the
hope of meeting our obligations, but find
ourselves sinking deeper and deeper in
our embarrassments, with each revolving
year. 1.-THE price has gone below the
usual cost of production. We are left
with our farms going to difapidation-
our homes are without supplies-and we
are growing poorer and poorer from year
to year.
-. "From the best information at my com.
mand, being unaided by any system OF
statistics, can safely say that over $780,,
100000 of farm supplies were imported
into this State during the last year, ex-
elusive of live stock, sugar, coffee and dry
goods. We have bought rice and tobac-
CO at twice the cost of raising here; we
have paid this large amount, draining
our country to enrich another.
ISIS not reform necessary here, and is
not the individual farm the place to sup
plyit? We are devoting our time, our
energy and our all to make cotton, which
brings in the market what it costto make
it, Never was there in the history of
any agricultural people 4 greater neces-
sitY for REFORM"