The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-02
A COTTON FARMERS OPINION.
He Thinks the south Learned n Very
Valuable Lesson Last Year.

He Thinks the south Learned n Very
Valuable Lesson Last Year.
Walter Wellman. in Chicago Times
Herald.
Memphis. May 2h-What relief II some
times is to get away from the politician,
the statesman, the man of theories. and to
talk to a genuine business man. There is
Judge Robinson of Robinsonville Miss.
who was delegate to the sound money
convention. He lives in Louisville, Ky,
and runs big cotton plantation some
fifty miles south of here in the rich delta
country. Judge Robinson gave me some
most interesting facts about farming and
business in the south. The hard times
of the last two years have been worth
everything to the people of the SOUTH"
said the judge. THE people have learned
an invaluable lesson which never could
have been taught us in any other school
than that of adversely. When cotton was
10 cents a pound and everything booming.
the planter down in my section would go
to town, borrow 10000 from his factor or
banker, and spend that in raising his crop
and getting it to market. Two years ago.
when the price of cotton began dropping
walked into bis bankers in the spring for
his $4,000, and was surprised to hear the
man of money say; We are curtailing our
business and can't let you have $4,000 If
you can get along on $780, We can ac
commodate you
But the planter was very sure he could
not get along with 5000. He had always
had $4,000 and $4,000 it must be or moth
ing He would find another banker.
''Wen he looked around for another
banker" continued Judge Robinson; per
maps he found some one willing to lend him
1000 or $1,000, but out of this must come
the balance of $1,000 or $1,000 owing to the
old bankers. Then the planter would get
on his high horse and say he wouldn't put
in any crop at ALL The country was going
to ruin when a man couldn't get $4,000 adj
vance on his cotton crop, and he would just
as soon go down in idleness as in toll He
would go off home, but in day or two,
perhaps, would reappear and tell his fac
tor to make out the papers. IN take
s, 1000, letting the balance stand, and see
what l can do
This came pretty hard to thousands and
thousands of men in the south" said Judge
Robinson; Il know, because / was one of
them We were rebellious and mad at the
world, but it was the best thing that ever
happened to us. We went home to make
the best of a bad bargain. We reduced eX-
amazed to discover how much unnecessary
money we had paid out for one thing or
another simply because it came easy. In
stead of buying bacon, we began to raise
pigs Instead of buying corn for the mules
and meal for the hands, we planted corn.
Instead of buying most of our vegetables
and fruit and things, we began looking
after our gardens, orchards, vines and
bushes.
What was the result? The first year
the majority of us got through with about
half the capital we had previously used,
and the balances against us in town did
not increase. The second year many of us
wiped out the balances. We did this not
withstanding the low price of cotton. This
year, for the first time in their lives, many
southern planters are out of debt Some
are even able to put in their crop and so
through the summer on their own capital.
They are becoming Independent of the fac
tor This year, with cotton up to or s
cents as II looks now 1t might be, will be
the best year many southern planters have
ever known. 1t will be a godsend to the
south if the price does not go up too rap
idly. 1t will be better for us If it goes up
a little this year, and little more next,
for if it were to jump up to 10 cents again
the men who have been forced TO learn
this lesson of thrift will say the boom has
come again and will fall into their old ex-
travagance."
l asked Judge Robinson about the ne
groes, the laborer-how they had Jared.
ut has done them good. too replied
the Judge. "They have learned something
in the school of adversely. 1t is a queer
thing about the average negro laborer that
he will work only as many days a week
as is absolutely necessary to support life.
If he can live on four days work he
will work it and lie idle two days. If he
live On FIVE DAYS 10 will have one daV
for idleness. We used to pay Is cents a
hundred pounds for picking cotton. When
the hard times came we reduced 1t to 50
cents and finally to 40 cents 1t is an
actual fact that the negroes are better on
at 40 cents, and other wages to correspond,
than they were before. Now they have to
work six days a week and have no time for
skylarking The average negro is good
deal like other men-all right when not
idle. With low wages and steady work he
is a good fellow. He has more to eat,
more to wear, gets into fewer fuses and
there are not so many colored men in
iail or on the convict farms.
TT is rather odd thing, isn't it?" asked
Judge Robinson, that low prices and hard
times have been the salvation of the
SOUTH? That is the fact. If we have the
new south that has been so much talked
about in the newspapers, it is because ad-
versity has taught us little northern
thrift We have learned to live at home,
as the northern farmers do, to raise nearly
everything we need, to buy little and to
get out of the clutches Of the money lend
ers. The boom did not make the new.
south, but the hard times, and our people
are now on firmer ground, with more con-
ddence in themselves and the future than
at any time since the war The planters
who have profited by this lesson and made
the most of it are for a sound currency.
The other sort, the shiftless, improvident,
hard-up, in-debt fellows, are bowling for
free silver"