The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-09-16
From The Ne.3 Yo.k Independent, aug. q. }
KING COTTON'S SLAVES"
EMANCIPATED.
BY WILLIAM II EDMcSDS

\ remarkable article, hea ring the
caption, king Cotton's Slaves, "
and from the pen of a Georgia news
paper writer, was printed in the In
dependen, of July 80 The purport
of the article was that the Southern
farmer Within TIE cotton belt must Of
necessity, make cotton his leading
crop; that he is and must remain in
debt to the couatry merchant. who,
as unrelenting as Shylock, holds him
in perpetual bondage; that if he grow
other crops than cotton there is no
market for them; that he cannot sell
vegetables or fruits; that Northern
and Western farmers who have
moved into the cotton region have
found "their superior methods and
their ability to pay cash for labor and
supplies" of nc avail TO them, but
have in few years grown disheart-
ened and have gradually sunk into a
condition of serfdom; that, speci6ca!-
iy, ".here is uot an instance on re-
cord of Northern farmer who has
prospered to any great extent In the
South since the war
If the author of the article had sal
that Southern farmers, along with
those in ether parts of 'h" country,
are suffering because "f low prices OF
ali agriculture! products he woaid
have tod the truth If he had said
that farrners in the cotton belt pur-
sued, fox the most pant, ior many
wears after the war, the fatuous poll
cy of growing cotton exclusively and
importing their food stufs, and that
this policy kept them hope!essIy IN
debt to the country merchants and
city factors, he would have stated a
condition that did undoubtedly exist
But when he makes the averment that
this condition obtains generally in
the South now; when he claims that
this ali cotton policy is necessity,
growing out Of natural conditions;
when he makes the astounding state
mens that no Northern farmers have
prospered to any great extent in the
cotton region, he centradicts facts.
The writer has travelled over near
ly every part of the South frequently
during the past ten years. He has
been in every part of the cotton sec
ton several times within the past two
years 1t has been his business to
study agricultural conditions and mat
ters pertaining to agricultural immi-
grafton He has observed closely,
he has talked With all classes Of peo
pie, he has maintained all extensive
and continuous correspondence with
the best sources of information in all
parts of the South, In January,
1896. he secured reports from more
than 500 trustworthy correspondents,
representing every part Of the cotton
region These reports, supplement
ing and supporting his own observa.
tions and the testimony had from
bankers, merchants, railroad officials,
travelling representatives of Northern
business houses, from the most care
ful editors oflocal papers and from
the farmers themselves. both native
and immigrant. were published with
an editorial introduction, from which
the following paragraphs are takep:
"When cotton brought such prices
as prevailed for many years after the
war, it seemed to the planter much
more profitable to devo himself en-
tirely to cotton and buy his food sup.
plies than to raise these at the cost
of raising less cotto.,. < 3 3 The
usw;sdom of this course as fixed
policy became evident when cotton
continually declined in value until it
reached price lower than what it
cost great majority Of the growers
to produce It. * SS With
the price at which cotton has been
selling for several years past this
method could not continue, of course,
and farmers began to realize that to
keep from starving they must raise
things to eat.
"Gradually fron, year to year the
number of hogs raised and the acre.
age given up to corn and other
cereals and to hay and sorgham have
increased. and in 1894, lii many parts
of the South, these products, with
fruits and vegetables. were given
predominant attention. while cotton
was made subordinate crop. AS a
consequence, the farmers who adopt
ed this policy had plenty to eat and
possibly something to sell, and
what money their cotton brought
them was in large part a surplus ;,
s'The manifestly good effects of
this method led to its wider adoption