Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-08-23


owner as the lands will deteriorate.
and folly for the tenant and work.
err as time prices will certainly follow
and ruin him.
Unwise laws that encourage a sys-
tenn, the operation of which destroys
interested and intelligent control OF
farm lands and enslaves the worker
and his family to the commercial
world.
To develop sufficient sentiment to
overcome and Danish this monster
evil, ! say let Harvey Jordan proceed
with organizing the farmers into pro-
tective associations, and better farm
ers institutes, for we need the elbow
touch of the larger number of farm
ers' to cope with the willy argument
and ways of interested traders and
conmercialism,
During the last ten years one
fourth at least of the lands in the
older states which have been planted
in cotton were SO exhausted that the
yield on this fourth has not paid ex-
penses and the workers rating the
pay of themselves and family assist
ants at two-thirds of fair wages, to
say nothing of less of fertility, etc.
If Others did not carry the risk for
them by credits the workers would
change their methods of cropping
and leave oft planting exhausted
areas continually in cotton and
would endeavor to live more directly
from the farm resources under their
control. We're IL not for credit be-
ing popular, large number of land
owners themselves would leave out
these exhausted areas to resuperation
and thus benefit the lands and pos
terity as well as curtail the cotton
crop. Credit enables too many to
grow cotton who are really not able
to grow il, and on lands that are too
exhausted to pay fair wages. Too
many are thus fooled into the bus;-
ness.
Let avarice cease to mislead the
many merchants and professional men
who engage in growing cotton, maxi
ing in January and February large
crops on paper, yet, in November, be-
sides the trouble of looking after the
operatives, the net proceeds of cotton
yield is only about sufficient to reim-
burse the cash outlay; the rent or
deterioration of land not counted.
Let these be content with their trades
and professions, and have them know
the sin of increasing the crop merely
to depress the prices of the farmers
money crop.
Yes, one of the best means to cur
tail the cotton crop would be to let
exhausted areas rest and recuperate
for the sake of those coming after us,
rather than buy fertilizers on credit
to further exhaust the lands and half
pay the workers.
Scorn the misguided judgment of
those having sufliciency, taking the
money out of their other enterprises
and professions for the purpose of
growing cotton in competition with
their farmer friends, whose opportun-
ity to coin their time into money is
fivefold less than the opportunities of
merchants and men in professions or
Office. Let these keep out of the bust
ness, for they have no right to COM
pete where the farmers have so much
at stake in proper prices, and there
is so little profit to them growing cot
ton by hirelings. Let the cotton crop
be curtailed thus, and by dropping off
the one-fourth exhausted areas which
pay only half wages for the working,
but add considerably to the total
yield we curtail, at least to the ex-
tent of efforts which return some
thing in excess of the outlay.-Lin-
coin p. Elerm. in Agricultural Epito-
mist.