The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1892-02-06
TO BETTER THE CONDITION or THE
COUNTRY.

uef-tOlShinpilOn, OF WndlcNFl
other high sounding title may b,
given to the cause of the decline il
the price Of cotton below the cos
of production, Is bringing many
/ Southern planters face to face witt
ruin, divers suggestions are being
m ,de rs to the best remedy for tic
evil
The latest suggestion to receive
attention and organized recogni.
ton is the one proposing the re-
duction in production through a
dimnution of the area plante to
co ton. In furthcrance of this
plan convention Of planters was
last week called to meet ia the city
OF Memphis.
The rest practical solution to
low prices ems to us to lie III
the cost Of production. Aud in
the effort to do that, il will be
found necessary, perhaps, on a
majority Of plantations, TO reduce
the cotton acreage by iucre ising
the acreage devoted to grain,
grasses, ctr. To reduce the cost
of production, the planter or farm
er, and we use the terms inter-
changeably, must determine frs,
| if we may use vulgarIsm 10
tersely express the idea, "to live
at home and board at the same
place. Having so determined, lie
should make the farm self-Sustiin-
ing. Ii should be made to pro-
duce its own hay. gr lin, meat, aud
livestock. How to do that Is the
all important question. The S and
ard thinks it can be done, il ought
to be dohr aud it VIII be doue Ia
many eases, or the 'iast ctll" Of
the auctioneer crying sales for the
sheriff will be the mourntul dirge
to which the home passes from the
hands Of the farmer while hope
dies in his heart as he bids adien
forever to the old homestead and
the happy Sc nes enacted there in
which the loved wife aud her sweet
bab played the leading parts.
The sad truth about the matter is.
il is not every farmer who can sue
reed. That IS a painful fact, the
declaration Of the preamble to the
Cnnatitullon of the United States,
'that all men are created equal" !"
to the contrary Notwithstanding.
Men are not born with equal nat
ural gifts. Men are not by nature
endowed with the same courage
and the same will power--the
same resolu ion, fortitude and
ability to practice self-denial.
But the Standaid d maintains that
every farmer who has the will
power may succeed, He who has
determined to succeed must, how
ever, realize in the Ouiset that
there is for an impoverished per-
sou no royal road to wealth.. Per-
sistent rcOnnmy, persevering en-
rrgy, intelligent unceasing atten.
tion and srlf-denial are required
for he attainment OF his object.
To practice rigid econ my, he
mus, as far AS pOssl BILE, steer clear
of debt. The temptation to over
buy, when < ,odS are i'll on time,
espccia ly where a running account
is kept throughout the year, is IL.
most Irresistible to the average
man. We believe that the Gaze
with whi h, for the past twenty
five years, tue average man has
obtained credit in the South is u
principle cause Of the impover.
ishrd condition of the Southern
,'ountry. That is a broad assertion,
but it can be maintained. Debt
easily contracted, is menaee TO
the peace aud prosperity Of the
man OF average intelligence, en-
ergy and enterprise. lt often
makes large promises and poor
performances 1t has sapped the
substances and destroyed he en-
terprise of untold thousands Of
Southern men. who, had they been
denied credit and forced to do
without, or pay cash, for nnneces.
sary objects OF desire, would to-
day be live, wide awake, energetic,
prosperous and enterprising citi-
zens. Debt then must, as far as
p ssiole, be avoided. If articlt 5
are to be bought on credit, let the
purchases be confined TO those
things which are absolutely indis
pensable. Credit, if used, slonlh
be used judiriously. Road-carts,
buggies, fancy bridles and harness,
lign herled shoes, expensiv- Sun
day clothes, new bonnets. tlOunees
and tnrbelOws, and all the D tfy
paraphernalia deman led by prme
or fashion must BE- dispensed with
until debts are all paid and cash
is in hand with which 10 pay for
all nt cesslrie. and have a surplus
in hand with which t. purchase
iuxurirs. The man who uses year
~ credit, is almost sure t. abuse
il. Not one ia a thousand who
buys on time can be just to his
creditors before being generous 10
his family. The Standard does
not mean to disparage the South
ern farmer. He has in all ages
and at all times been the h1pr an,f