The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1878-04-30
All Cotton And Starye.

maue the following terse a"u Poin.o"
remarks in a speech recently deliv-
cred by him in that State. lie
SAID:
1 tell you to day, I care not what
seasons may come, what large crops
you may raise, still under existing
conditions, you will grow poorer.
who produce cotton, and they will
ever grow richer who handle it after
it is produced. Without great
change the Southern States are
destined to become so many plan:a-
tions. practically owned by the
Northern people, and the Southern
people so many hireling slaves to
work them! And in this condition
you will reap scarce the wages, and
not half the respect Of your former
slaves. And yet the very reverse
of this fate is in Your power. Under
the present policy the next genera
ton Of Southern people will become
the poorest, the mast powerless and
the most contemplate Of earth's in"
habitants, while under wise policy
the next generation of Southern
people may become the richest, the
most powerful and the most re-
spected of people. Which destiny
will we choose?
But YOU ask how can this better
destiny be secured ? 1 will tell you.
First-Make cotton your surplus
crop i! In these five words lie the
Samson lscks Of your future power.
Make yonr own fertilizers by rest
ing,egrassing and manuring your
lands. Thus you become independent
of the guano merchants Raise
your own provisions. Thus you
become independent of the pro-
vision merchants. Your cheapest
and safest line of transportation
runs from your own fields and hog
pens to your own barns and meat
houses. With no debts for your
supplies you will need no accommo-
dation credits at two per cent. per
month. Thus you become independ-
emf of brokers. cotton factors and
lien merchants. You con then sell
your cotton at your own time to .,
your own chosen buyers, and will
get your own money. None of these
things can u cotton planter do who
plants on credit, and borrows money
to buy..his provisions. But you say
the Western States raise provisions
so much cheaper, we can make
more money by raising cotton and
buying from them. This is the teach
ing of figures, and a greater lie
never was Taught.
Now affirm it is cheaper for you
to raise your own provisions than
to have them brought from the West
and given to you at the nearest dc"
pot free of cost and charges. How
| is this =? In the first place, if we raise
five millions bales of cotton we will
get no more money for them than
we. would get for one"half thai
number. Then out of the same
amount realized you pay for raising
the FIVE millions jus! double the COS,
of production. Half the labor and
supplies employed in raising five
million bales Of cotton could be
employed in raising supplies without
reducing the value of the cotton
crop one dollar. But half this labor
would raise more than you needed
for supplies. You could employ
much of it also in enrIching your
lands and improving your property
in many ways. Then you would come
to the end Of the year with your crit
full of corn, your smokehouse full
of meat, your families full of smiles
yourselves full of independence, ant
your pockets full of money for in
vestments. And how would you
invest it? In cotton factories on
the waterfalls which God has sem
all through your country to rur
spindles. This would make you in'
dependent of Old and New England
both. Then, also, you would mine
you. farming implements of industry
which would make you Independent
of Pennsylvania foundries and Mas
sachusetts workshops. In a word
every Improvement would be bull
up in your own country, and all the
profits of those improvements would
90 into your own pockets.
Go on as you are now going, max
ing cotton your chief crop, ant
slavery is the doom Of your children
and your childrcn's children for-'
ever. A people who depend or
other people for food and clothing
are and must be slaves.
4 L~-1..1 De-,