Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-02-25
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE.
nov IT ~ AND MUST REMdiN THE
PRINCIPAL sOUTHERN INDUSTRY.
The Method. and Results of the Unfortunately
situated Cotton Growers who Exhaust
Themselves IN Tributes Ia the Merchants,
Manufacturers aud Tax-Is,tcrs.

There has been ~ much WI itten Of tho
New South In its manufacturing aspect that
there is danger that the great agricultural re-
sources of that part Of tho United States may
fail Of receiving its duo attention. Mr. &. l.
hates, of birmingham, Alabama, writes to
the Louisville COVior-JOurhdt which con-
tains much information concerning the South
viewed In tho agricultural light He says:
No estimate of the industrial condition OF u
country which ignores its leading industry
tan be tolerated for ono moment Any esti-
mate of the present or ol tho possible iuturo
industrial condition of the South which does
not give agriculture the leading position Is
falacous and deceptive and amy policy for
the South, either state ar national, which
docs not recognize this iIct, must inevitably
fail of good results
No ono will deny that agriculture is the
leading industry uf the Southern states,
when three fourths uf their population arc
engaged in it, According Ia the census of
1850, there were in eleven Southern statos,
viz, Alabama, Arkansas Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia,
ihtS2l6 persons engaged in all occupa-
tions, 3,lb,572 In agriculture and 3O,,02i
persons engaged in mining and mechanical
aud manufacturing pursuits. Tho value ot
the naked farms alone in those states was,
at that time, st,i3l,15S,6Ii, while the total
capital invested in manufactures was $780,
T5, lSj. These fart1, when considered In
connection with the character of the soil and
climate, and the history, traditions, tatcs
and habits oi the people, stamp the south as
being in a prc-cnincnt sense an agricultural
country.
To hear some enthusiasts talk Of the New
South, one would imagine that our entire
population are To- change their pursuits in
day, and get suddenly and Immensely
wealthy In the mining and manufacturing
business This Is imprcicablo and can not
bc done, -Four years of war, with southern
points blockaded, and unprecedented re-
strictiOns upon trade, failed Ia divert the
southern people from agriculture The col
orod labor of the South IL Injured to the firn
and plantation, and prefers II 10 all other
occupations Another iusupCrablo difficulty
In the way Of such a universal transition
from one puIsuit Ia another b. the want Of
cash capital, which Is necessary 10 establish
these new industries,
IT our friends north uf the Potomac feel
interest enough IN us tn learn our condition
for the purpose of aiding us in the race for
industrial greatness aud Independence, they
should direct their attention to the condition
of southern agriculture and this iS Cspe-
Cially true, as the negroes, upon whom thoy
have spent 50 much hcneyOlCnce and phi
lanthropy, are chiefly engaged in tlling the
soil. II they would kuu" the seat Of the
trouhlcsS and nisiortuncS that hcSct our poo-
pie, let them prosecute their investigation in
the direction here indicated.
Ii is pertinent then, to inquire what il the
present condition Oi Southern agriculture,
md what can be hoped for il in the future
! now propose tn offer some suggestions tend
ing to u solution of this problem, and in do
ing 50 will cnuiinc myself to tho cotton pro
ducing communities hut ! can not hope to
do more than call public attention To what
regard as one of tho most important ccono-
mic problems that can engage American
craftsmanship.
Asa prerequisite Ia an intelligent under
standing OF the subject, it is necessary to
have clear perception Of the business or
hnanCinA system under which farming and
planting operations have been prosecuted in
the cotton states since the war, and also the
system of agriculture which has been gcncr-
ally adopted in these states and the two
being so intimately blended, must bc treated
together.
Ordinarily there are three parties to the
production of n cotton crop, having indopen-
dent and opposing interests IN it. They are,
first, the land owner second, the tenant or
\ renter and, third, the supply merchant
the tenant class being chiefly composed of the
colorcd population. Attho beginning of each
year the land owner rents his land Ia the
labOror for part of the crop or for stipu-
lated rent either in money or kind and
thcreupon, the tenant makes Il contract with
the supply merchant for family and planta-
ton supplies, Ia ho advanced from time tn
time during the year, for which advances the
merchant is secured 10y an incumbranco on
the "crop to bo grown or in the nomcncla-
turc of the Colured tcnantry ofthc South, the
labOrcr gets merchant to run him"
''CRor LIENS"
In most of the cotton states these ncum,
branccs, or crop liens" are authorized by
statute and made available by the execution
of a deed in trust with power Of sale, which
operates to convey the legal title Ia the crop
the rights Of the merchant are enforceable IN
u court of law in the name of the trustee
who is usually a salesman or bOokkCcpcr O
the merchant and who can maintain a posses
sorry action for the products as soon as they
arc gathered. The security afforded by the
crop is supplemented by including i'll th,
deed in trust such wOrk-stock, cattle auC
other personal property as the grantee may
own, and upon the faith of this security ad
YanCcs are made from about the first o
March until the crop is finished. In conse
quenCe of the risk taken by the merchants IN
"making adyancemcuts upon crops TO h,
grown" they are compelled, as IL is alleged
to charge II rather lively profit upon the al
NanccS made, and i'll some instances tn,
profits are eNorbitanL 1t is positively saf
Ia assume that Southern agriculture Ia
paid an average interest OF fifty per cent pc
anuum for every dollar advanced il since tn
war. Such is the business arrangement
which generally prevails, but to it there ar
some exceptions In some instances tn
landowner deals with the merchant AM
supplies his own tenants, and there Is a elias
of small proprctors who cultivate their Owl
lands, and third class who employ labO
for monthly wages In either case, how
ever, tho crop lcin is tho basis of security
though lands, mules and horses are frequentl
included in the deed in trust or mortgage.