The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-09-17

No communication of q personal character
will be published except as an ADVERTISEMENT
Entered at the Possoface at Manning as Sec
ond Class matter.
FARMERS, LOOK TO YOUR INTERESTS.
We note from the correspon-
dent of the News & Courier in
last Fridays issue that at Ker-
shaw in Lancaster county, the
farmers are receiving 40 cents
per bushel for cotton seed. Why
this price should be paid at Ker-
shaw we cannot understand,
there is no oil mill at that point,
but there are a number of agents
competing for the seed to ship
to their respective mills. Within
this territory of the seven mill
association. the price for seed is
"a cents, the same being paid by
each mill in the association, but
we suppose the farmer is to be
given the benefit of the reduced
price paid, when he goes to buy
his meal. The seven-mill-as-
sociation will no doubt sell the
meal at nearly one half less, than
the mills which paid nearly
twice as much for seed. We
shall wait and see. Perhaps af- :
ter the farmer gets hit real hhald
he Will discover that something
iswrong and a remedy must be
found.
There is but one way to hold
off the cotton oil trust to keep
it from eventually bringing dis
aster to our farming interests,
and that way is, for the farmer
to keep his seed. The landlord
should make it a stipulation in
his rent contracts. that the tenant
must put his seed back into the
ground. A prominent farmer Of
our acquaintance says: Il would
not sell my cotton seed at any
price, but will buy all I can get,
I own stock in an oil mill, be-
cause it is profitable, but the
man who sells his seed, will buy
corn. the man who buys corn,
will mortgage his home, and the
man who mortgages his home,
will sooner or later be walking
the road" There is much to
ponder over in the conclusions
of this man. He speaks words
of wisdom, and we would be the
last to say a word against any
institution making money, be-
cause we want all the enterpris-
es we can get, but when there
comes one upon US a creature
with attractive plumage, and
glittering bill, and we see that it
is a menace to our people, we
but perform an honest duty to
give them our sincere views and
warn them of the danger. In our
opinion no greater curse has ever
come to our farmers than the in
PRODUCTION of these oil mills;they
induce the farmer to sell the very
life-blood of his lands, and
with certificates from hired
chemists, they would try to make
the farmer believe that cotton
seed meal is the very thing, and,
that the seed put into the ground
is a waste. These paid scien-
fists say there is no fertilizing
property in the oil, we do not
believe them, because, from per-
sonal observation we have seen
the effects of the oil. Take a
pile of cotton seed and let it
stand for some time, then scatter
them over the field, the spot
where the pile stood will be no
ticed for several years. why is
thiss Because the oil absorb
ed into the ground, and it is
the oil which enriched that spot.
In our opinion, meal is a temper
ary plant stimulant; its effect
is upon the plant, is like the effect
of morphine upon the human
system; a certain quantity will
exhilarate, an over dose will
supply. Cotton seed meal in
certain quantities will exhilarate
the plant, too much will stunt it,
and as the plant is pushed the
land is weakened because there
is nothing given it, to sustain its
strength. This is the view of
one who is not a farmer, or a
chemist, but who believes he
has sense enough to think for
himself, according to others the
same privilege. We believe it
harmful to every interest for
cotton seed to be sold, and until
convinced to the contrary we
will continue to so believe, and
we will keep on preaching this
doctrine, hoping to have some
influence in arresting the evil.
Some Of our bestfriends have
money invested in these institu-
tions, and are very much delight
ed with the 90 and 80 per cent
dividends on the stock; if
we we're not sincerely convinced
that these enormous profits are
the beginning of a coming ruin,
if not checked, we would rejoice
with our friends in their fast ac-
cumulating wealth, but they are
killing the goose that laid the
oo1lo, oo.o. o,1 tho c,,o f,f low