The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-12-08
To Solve the Cotton Problem.

cotton. AZ the present pricr Of that
staple and the rriec- Of everything
that goes toward maxim cotton
cror, il really ,c,in- iooii.ardY fla
aDy one to rlanl rnitpn anoilicr year.
But whal arc vr spins 10 lug CO..
ton j. H. l4.~- If cr,1ii IN til ~orll
BY yitt!D vlgels .! Southern com
merec l.r; Capitai Of the Noril
and Fs-l ,liailcl npon the lalcls
y catin PLANTERS. ihi, cart.l is
ru: iuio iii, Hand If farucl+ for The
80, rurpo-o rl llantins cotton Tic
contracts bciwcon the borrower and
The Ionic. ,,iruiatc Iii, fact
Now, 'l,at boire he method by
which the major portion If ilic cotton
cror is produced do vo wonder that
the price If cotton il down To nero,
and tat 4 plethora If that STAPLE has
glnttcd TIE marts Of tie world? We
cannot; and until The final crisis
comes, which sooner or later will
come, without proyidential intcrycn-
ton, We ma; expect to grow poorer
each succeeding year until we have
reached the end Of the tcthcr which
binds us with plutonic chains Of ada
mant.
Nearly every man YOU meet or hear
from has panacca for the cotton
planters, or IL scheme more visionary
than the fabulous Shckinah, by which
the price Of cotton can be made to 90
up with leaps and bounds to the high
water mark.
OF these free silver is the most
popular and thrcadbare cry. Then
there is talk Of Southern Cotton
Association, corner in cotton,
trust: pure and simple. There also is
the cry of reduction Of acreage.
have also seen it suggested that the
farmers borrow all the money posi-
BILE, invess it in cotton, plant none
next season, and sell the cotton thus
purchased and held when the market
warrants it. The plans are all as Wis
ionary az the works of Dean Swift,
Rider Haggard, Edgar Poe or any
any other dreamer-not only vision
ary, but impractical, and while the
impossib;lity is easily demonstrated,
| will give each only passing notice.
First. Free silver was an issue in
the last national campaign, and the
RESULT is too we'll known to mention
here.
Second. Trusts are abominablc, to
say the least, and the tcmper Of the
American people is not going to toler-
ate long any gigantic trust, be it in
cotton, corn, wheat or any other
product. If mistake not, Congress
has passed an anti trust measure. SO
a cotton association is neither right or
legal
Third. The reduction OF acreage or
the mere talk Of reduction greatly in
cites the acreage and production. 1t
is one Of the surest ways to over-pro-
dnction.
Last. The buying and storing Of
actual cotton by the farmers is too
foolish to notice. Farmers ncycr buy
,nt<o,,. +1,o,, coll .,Dttnr
Let us now como down to the prob
lem, and let us undertake solution
Of it. Every problem has q correct
solution. Though it may be ever so
intricate, wrapt in darkest mystery,
yelled in deepest doubt, yet to it is
key and when found the mystory is
made plain, the intricacics disappear.
To the vcxcd cotton problem there is
key, and if you will pardon my. vani
ty hereby place it in your hands,
and when you get it you can eliminate
the adverb from tho ScTiptural phrase
and write it: ''Tell it in Gath and
publish it in Askalcn,'
Under the present syatem OF cotton
planting, with no legal restrictions
upon the acreage, the volume of cot
ton is sure to grow larger each sue
cccdins year, until the final crisis
comes. How long under present con-
ditions the farmers can stay the ire
sistibie hour is hard 10 say, but un-
less there comes sudden and pcrma-
nent change for the better, in few
years few farmers will own the lands
upon which they live. The system of
Europe, the peasant system, is knock
ing loudly at our doors, and it is only
question of time ere it il irrevoca-
bly, established here. Take up the
County papers of South Carolina and
observe the legal sales Of land being
made each month. It is truly appall-
ing and alarming. True, by some fic-
tion of the law, some Of these lands
-