Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-10-13

| shares of SIS each. These were sold at
| personal subscription, and small in
| vestora were urged to take them on the
basis CT building and loan payments.
| They paid 10 per cent down and 81 a
| month thereafter so long as the assess
1 meuts should be needed or until the
| stock was at par. 1t is estimated by
promoters of the mill that it will pay
30 to so per cent per annum on its cost
| through having the hearty local sup
port of the people of the town. This is
what other towns can do, and it may
be that Oklahoma City will see the ad-
\ vantage of such a plan after awhile,
but not this year."
The opening of the Comanche and
Kiowa reservation will add about ToO,-
600 acres of cotton land to Oklahoma.
| This land all lies south of the Washita
| river and borders on Texas. Wichita
mountains take up some OF the land,
| but their influence OF the climate, sof
| tening the high south winds, is consid-
| cred. 1t is the judgment of expert
enced surveyors and cattlemen who
know the country thoroughly that,
| though farther west than the eastern
half of Oklahoma, the new reservation
will be fully as fertile and raise as
good cotton as any section of the terri
tory. The Texan knows this, and he is
coming across the Red river in num-
bers. He is a cotton raiser and will
make a part of every farm on which
he settles when the grand rush takes
place a cotton field.
This means much to the cotton in
dustry, for it adds to the probabilities
of cotton mills and warrants growth
N the number of gins. Scores of coun-
try gins are now found in operation,
nearly every neighborhood having one.
The farmer thus gets his cotton in
bales before taking it to the railway
station to market.
Very picturesque are some of the
teams that come in with the product.
Land that will not produce one-half
bale to the acre is the exception, while
full bales are common yields. AS a
bale is 500 pounds, the profit is consid-
cradle. Few of the wheat farmers can
get so much for their land. Cotton at
8 cents is a bonanza.
In Norman, FL Reno. this city and
other places are cottonseed mills.
These mills take the seed that the gin
removes from the cotton, extract the
oil and grind up the remainder into an
excellent cattle food. The feeders, who
find it difficult to get enough cora at a
price to make beef, utilize this excel
lent fattener. Nearly all mix it with
their cattle ration and find it invalua-
BILE. 1t is shipped all over the nation,
and its use is, especially in the west,
becoming more and more common.
The cottonseed mills gin the cotton
for the farmer, retaining the seed and
giving him n bonus, 81 a bag usually.
He is more apt to take it to a gin, how
ever and either feed his seed or sell
it at onc-half cent or more pound.
The compress puts the - cubic feet of
the gin bale into q space Of 90 cubic
feet, and then it goes on its mission.
having furnished both wealth and food
to the producer. Out of no other crop
does the farmer receive so much real
good while prices remain as now.
The future of cotton depends largely
on price. but with fair figure Okla
h0ma will, with its virgin soil and ex-
banding territory, have much advan-
tage over the southern states. When
the new reservations are added TO it's
boundaries, it is estimated that the
territory can. if properly developed
raise as much cotton as Georgia. though
1t will be more difficult, owing to the
necessity of hand labor and the expen-
siveness Of it in the territory.