The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-09-26
COTTON GROWERS PROBLEM.
Manufacturers, Record.

Record,
Mr.. n. II. Hutchinson, of La Grange,
secretary of the Georgia Cotton Grow
ers' Protective Association, explains
The object OF the organization as fol-
lows.
"Thcre is a movement now at work
in this State, and being organized in
other States of the South, the oh icct
Of which is to secure to the planters of
cotton profit on their expenditure and
We arc impressed that
under no circumstances ought the pro
duccrs of cotton be forced TO take less
for their product than its cost. After
the cotton leaves the planters hands,
a profit is made 10y every other class OF
business interested in its handling.
Now, why should the planter, who has
the first clam in the matter, often be |
placed in a position that his principal |
money crop brings him in not a cent of |
profit, but, on the contrary, is often a |
source of actual loss to the man who !
raises the stuff ? This is all wrong,
and proper system, which can be cs
tablished only by organization, will lift
the planter out of these difficulties and
give to HIM share Of the profit aris.
ing from this great staple. The average
condition of the men who are engaged |
in making cotton is lamcntablc. In n
great many sections Of the South the
better element of the people have left
the country on account OF the poor re-
turns of farming as business, but
handle the staple as wisely as other
lines of business are handled, and many
who are now squeezing Il poor living
from small salary Will 90 into the
country and help to build up the farm
lands, make money, improve the char
actcr of the people who reside in the
rural districts, and thus strengthen the
foundation of all business affairs in the
South. We claim that nothing that con-
fronts the South at this time possesses
so much Importance as this movement.
AS Il people we are strong only as cv
cry element of our business structure
is strong; being an agricultural people
mainly, we arc weak in proportion as
this class of our population is weak.
"Wc will thank you TO give the effort
| Il lift; show the Immense amount of
capital engaged in this line of work
and the gain TO the planters especially
and TO the business of all other classes
in our section at the same time, If well
| directed energies are enlisted in the
cause Of the raw cotton of the South.
GA profit on the cost of producing
cotton is what we are working for in
this movement, and we believe that ev-
cry man and journal in this section can
do nothing that will pay so handsome
IL 4 I, :.
organization.
With many others who have at heart
the welfare of the cotton growers Us
representing basic element of South,
erin wealth, and who have carefully and
hopefully studied the many movements
in recent years intended for the better
mcni OF raiscrs of the staple, The Man
ufacturCrs' Record is inclined to doub
the practicabihty of organizations cX
pcctcd TO induce cooperation of :hC
farmers in The handling Of such an i'm
mcnsc crop as cotton. The cXpcrimen
has been made so MANY times and witt
such a lack of success that naturally i
is looked upon as rather a hopeless un
dertaking. This objection might no
he insurmountablc did it not have be
Il
crop is raised under varying circum
stances and by widely different classc.
of men by no means allied in sym
pathics, in ten or eleven States and tw,
Territories. That situation makes j
extremely difficult, if not impossible
To organize for any purpose cottor
growers who are an important member
ship of the class, the farmers of tn,
country, least susceptible Of all to tn,
organization idea. This is the ~rca
block in the way, and IT cannot be re
moved by conventions which, to,
frequently for the welfare of the aAr
culturists, have rapidly dcGcncralcd in
TO mere arenas for the display of In,
peculiar talents of willy politicians ol
other self seekers, and which have lc,
practical men to become exceedingly
chary of the convention idea. The
path of Southern history of the past
generation is Strcwn with the
resolutions of such convention rcsolu.
tlons which have had no weight
whatever with The great mass
Of cotton growers. The conventions
however, may have had some influence
in arOusing interest from time to time
in measures and methods which must
be adopted, not by convention rGsOlu-
tions, but by individual resolves stuck
to pcrsistcntly, if the condition Of the
growers is to be improved permanently.
AT the head OF these suggestions
stands the policy Of living ut home to
the utmost ability. Farmers have been
urged, and to some effect, to raise their
home supplies first, and to devote only
their surplus time, labor and expense
to cotton. The accumulation of Ills of
many years, due TO devotion to the
one-crop idea, almost a necessity at the
close o. the war, may for time prevent
many cotton growers from sparng en-
crgics for raising food for their families
and feed for their stock. But it is
possible for many Others to do so.
These must not be guided by what
their less fortunate ncigbbors may do
or by the plans Of growers in regions
where more virgin soil diminlshcs
temporarily the cost of raising the
staple, and may to a small degree APP
pear to Justify adherence to the old
policy. In the end the greater number
of farmers must be brought into the
ranks of independence. Such con-
dition will be induced not by organiza-
ton, but by individual effort alone.
In the meantime another opportunity
is being presented TO the growers IN