The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1899-11-08
THE COTTON SITUATION

1880 "SS W thS NO. L
cussion OF matters interesting the cot.
ton grower and for the devising of
some plan by which the cotton farmer
may realize more for his product. With
our Southern love for political economy, |
the discussion tended mainly towards |
this aspect of the question, and the
idea of some seemed to be that the cot.
ton growers should form a gigantic sort
OF a trust, to hold and control the sale ,
OF the crop so as o furnish it TO the mar
ket as the demand rec lires. Then, too,
there were those who still are infected
with the ~paternalism that would make
the Government organize bonded ware
houses for the storage of cotton and
the Issuing OF sub-treasury certificates.
What the convention seemed, to the
writer, to have entirely overlooked is
the responsibility of the individual
planter Tor the existing state of affairs.
The inveterate cotton grower looks up
ON cotton as his only resource for non
ey, and regards everything else hat he
may be induced to grow simply as
sssdpplies."
= Sometime ago n of the city pa
pers cited as a bright example for i'm
itation the fact that "Mr. had raised
corn enough to do him 3 years." The
inference seemed to be that it was a
wonderful stroke of business on tho
part OF this farmer to grow corn enough
in n ear to "do him" three years,
and that for three years he could there
fore devote his entire attention to cot
ton. What would be thought of Il
groceryman who boosted that he had
bought flour enough to last his sales
three years and hence would buy no
more flour, no matter what the fuctua-
ton of the market or the depreciation
of the flour, or the keeping of his mon
ey locked up unproductlve ? The farm
er who raised enough corn to "dO him.
three years seemed to think that was
a fine thing. He did not think that
corn had a money value in the market,
that it could be at once turned into a
more valuable product in the shape of
beef or pork, or that he ought to grow
more corn every year and not depend
on the weeVil-eaten corn of the year
before until it was worthless. In fact
though the city editor thought this q
fine example of business foresight, il
was at the bottom one of the reasons
for the present state of the cotton grow
eI.
Systemless farming lies at the roo,
of the whole evil. Too much land il
cotton, too few bales for the acres, toe
many mules and too few breeding mare,
thus forcing the cotton crop to blu,
even the animals that cultivate 1T ar
which bring nothing to the farmer bu
their labor during the crop season
The statement was made at this meeting
that the average cost Of producing cot
ton was over &c. per ID. And right her,
is where that dreadful fellow, the "aver
age" farmer comes in. There are mel
in this State who are growing cotton fol
far less per pound, one man even claim
ing that he grows it for less than &c
per 10. But the average man is th,
"cropper." The man who has nothing
on earth invested but a mule aud a pillow
and his own labor and that of his fam
lily, and is furnished with food and fer
t~ilizers by the merchant or LANDLORD
who hold a mortgage on his crop, ant
secure themselves literally for the in
Vestment. A large part of the cottol
crop in the South is raised by thes,
men, who produce from one hale t,
more each season, and in the aggregate
mako up a total that cuts down tn,
value of hat grown by men who hav'
capital invested in farming.
The tenant system of the South il
responsible with the credit system fu
the condition in which the cotton grow
ers find themselves. Men have NOR,
land than they can cultivate in cotton
and they rent the extra acres to crop
pers to grow cotton on, to come in com
petition with their own crop inc swell
the general dimensions of the whole
They neither farm in II systematic man
nor themselves nor require the tenant
10 farm, but all crop the land in cotton
Inc and owners are creating of theil
WI accord the competition that break.
down the market. 1t would be far bet
ter tor the owner of broad acres to lei
the surplus land lie idle than to kee,
up the tenant 81 stem now so common
and 1T would be still better for them tc
go to farming instead of planting moth
ing but cotton. With a variety of crop.
and stock, cash would be coming in a
different seasons and business methods
could be adopted thai are now impossi
BILE.
The salvation of the cotton farmer
does not rest in legislation. 1t does
not rest in combines to bull the market
1t does not rest in visionary sub-treas
ury schemes. But it does rest in the
improvement of Southern lands, in the
growing of better crops on less mum
Der of acres. 1t does rest IN the carry.
ing on of improved farming all the yeal
through, and the dropping at once and
forever of the one crop idea that keeps
teams and labor lille part of the year
when they might be making money in
other ways. 1t does rest in the feeding
OF more cattle and hogs, in the making
OF home cured bacon both for the home
n IN the market. In brief, it rests
IN the adoption of good farming with
the cotton as the money crop clear of
all expenses now charged against it.
1t rests in making the cropper a per-
manent farmer, and compelling him to
farm instead of merely to grow a crop
of cotton that leaves him poorer at the
end of the, year than he was al the be-
ginning. 1t rests in getting out of the
old ruts, and the abandoning forever
the notion that somebody should carry
the cotton farmer, but will show HIM
that like all other farmers, he must
work out his own salvation. 1t is with
the hope of helping him to a knowledge
of how ha NAV Hn thio fkat ,,o 80