The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-20
AGRICULTURE IN The SOUTH
In Worse Condition Than Ever p.
fore in COuntry's History,
Vice President Of the Georgia star, A.
rieultursl Society Before the Irs,.
trialCommission-Samsyery
Damaging Legislation.

The Industrial Commission h,s -.
what changed It's plan for TIE va,s .. -
sub-commissions during The s.
months BY reyOking its order f.- .s.
p0intment Of special comm.ss.a-. ..
vestigate the elevator trust and .-. --.-
ing industry west OF the Ml>y.s-.--.. 80
and instead Of authorizing Az tr. -.-..
sUb-COmmiSsiOns 10 sit during r---
August. Under this arraugsmsnt fba a..
ricultural Commission vii lake -,
elevator question. going 20 thr Nor,ru..,-
ern States for this purpose. and ,s. a.,
ing Commission Will 90 West Tor t~s nv.
pose OF looking into the condition, ar.
ing mining in that region. Tn, latter -.--.
mission will hold its FIRST meeting In D.,-
yer on the 18th OF July. The sub-.dmr..-
sion on Manufacturers will make A fg.-
Of New England during the summer
James Barrett. Vice President oF tho
Georgia State Agricultural Society Ma
the only witness before the comm.ss.--
yesterday He spoke upon the agr..g.tg-
raj conditions of the South. saying fH.g
were worse to-day than they had ever
been in the history OF the country. Ha
said the cotton interest was especially Do.
pressed. prices last year amounting 10 a
little over cents a pound. At this rr.-,.
a man could not save himself II he mai.
wages amounting 10 more than s
month. Planters generally pay about s.
a month for wages. and at such rates
they could not prevent loss If they rscs.y-
cd less than cents per pound
Mr.. Barrett said that niue-tauths ~ tho
cotton grown was mortgagei before IL
matured Rates of interest and commits
sion were high. and the merchants we're
gradually coming into possession of the
land.
The banks charge 10 per cant for money
for three months time He advanced ths
idea that the national bank act had don.
vast damage i'm ouJlawing real estate as
security for money loaned 10 these banks
and that all told this act was 20 tae South
the most damaging legislation thar hal
ever been enacted.
The witness said that nearly all The
plantation labor was done by negroes. ami
that there was practically no immigration
because of the cheapness of labor and the
social conditions. The railroad rates were
such as 10 render il impossible 60 longer
make watermelon growing profitable ana
the same was true Of other garden prod
ucts. THE railroads are both the daddy
and the NANNY OF the trusts he as
serted.
Mr.. Barrett said the census % 1890 had
shown that Augusta. where he lives. was
the most illiterate place in the United
States. and he thought the fact was due
To the presence of too much politics In the
schools.
The first witness to be examined when
the Industrial Commission resumes ITS fun
session here in September VIII be AlT p.
C.. Boyle. editor of the Oil City Derrick
of Oil City, Pa. His subject Will be "ln-
dustrial Development and Evolution in
TRANSPORTATION of oil from a Historians
Standpoint" Mr.. Boyle is probably the
best posted man In the oil region on tho
history of petroleum from its discovery
to the present time. and he is expected
to give the commission much interesting
information, based on actual statistics.
His paper the Derrick. has been an au-
thority in oil matters for over quarter
of a century.