The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-04-24
NEW ORDER OF THINGS NEEDED.

= |
III spite Of long drought, long, col,
winters with sudden changes in tenn
peraturc and other conditions of eli
mate and disadvantages that seen
TO us most unfavorablc for protita
Dle business, Stock-raiSing is one Oi
the chief bases of wealth, adding
lNearly to the balance OF trade IN
thcir favor, enabling those sections
III Il measure. to feed Il good portion
or the United States and to shin
great quantities Of meat abroad, we
are forced to draw comparisons be-
tween these ScctiouS (Which have cvi-
denccd grratnrSS) and our own
favored country. Carried to its last
analysis, grass is the foundation of
this element of the prosperity Of the
mlddle'weSt, the great west and the
southwest. And there is NOT u rr,.
son, nrlthcr Is there an excuse for
| the backwardncSS of the southern
states in this respect. The most
| favored section us to cIimntc with.
| winters short and subsistence for
| cattle, and in adequate supply horses
also, from April lst to December lst.
| th's country, If properly in line and
| III earnest about the stock and cattle
business, might achieve wonders.
| Lands which are now cultivated i'm
Il half-handcd way and allowed tn
run down. by reason of Door rul,i-
| vation and lack of fertilization in
the constant and uneven struggle TO
grow cotton could br made to briu,r
returns their tillcrS never hone or
| dream OF making as they now work.
ne attention paid to growing the
rradlly markrtahlr crop of cotton is
almost all abSorbing--thr supplies
SnI l,, 4
some foreign source and the southern
planter iogs along. often making his
crop on credit and paying credit
prices for the nrcrSSnrirS of life
when those nrcrSSarirS are alrrady
within the control Of people who are
making them for 1hr profit there is
III the making. The system Of buSi.
ness followed by the ma ioritv OF
farmers in South CarnIinn. IL, lraS,
IN the upper section. is without tho
first essentials of Il successful bust
moss.
Farming ought TO be based on bust
ness principles, as every other ocr,-
patton is. in order to bring returns
lhat will measure up to business sue
cess. Economy is The first step TO be
iakrn by our people to work Il much
needed revolution to the farming in
idea OF economy, is the necessary
fact that our people must hcuin to
live at home and, having commenced
that plan, live up to il and save the
profits yearly spent for the nrcrS-
SnrirS Of life
lhrrr is neither reason nor blSi- |
ness prospect in paying profits TO
tn" west for meat and bread. and to
the fertilizer factories for fertilizer
with which to have the opportunity
of Il species OF speculation with n
doubtful cotton crop which repre-
SentS the fun complement of Il year
Of labor.
II is trnc that cotton brings ready
money. yet il is also true that con-
tracts for supplies are fixed and their
falling due does NOT await the pleas
nrc of the cotton market. The holder
of cotton must sell when his obli-
CATIONS press and he has no option,
and the result is that by the time the
price Of cotton is forced in order to
induce the planting OF Il still larger
area the next year. the body Of the
crop has passed from the hands Of
the people most needing the increase.
Cotton is not only King but Tyrant,
and continued exclusive adherence to
il will work irrcpnrablc decay. Di-
versify and intenSify are the com
mnnds that necessity is forcing
southern people to heed. Thcy will
come to realize the force Of this
ncccSSity--thry are feeling it, Cot
ton, as Il surplus crop, is the solution
of the cotton problem in the south,
so far as the planter is concerned,
and when all the good elements Of
successful farming shall have been
20 ~, Nl,ip1 IL int
still be sufficient cotton 10 supply the
worlds needs and, as surplus crop,
with all the supplies necessary at
home and supplies to sell abroad,
bring surplus money sufficient to de-
velop the country to better realities,
opening the prospect to more cndur-
ing development.
We said that grass is one OF the
elements which, if properly utilized,
may work Il material change in the
business Of the south. No more
favored section can be found for
stock-raiSing and there is no better
part OF the south, taken all in ALL
than this Piedmont section Of South
Carolina. Short and mild winters
| mean a saving in feed to thc stock
raiser; long summers with good sea
sons mean abundant yields OF hay
WnNn, win improved machinery ana
warm sunshine, can be cut and cured
with little expense. The hay stubblc
Il lfords most excellent grazing and
the property cured hay finds ready
market. on If stored costs very little
to keep. The rotation of crops more
over helps the lands, and every help
given to the lands tends TO work Il
fulfilmcnt Of the true advice John
Randolph's mother guvo him, when
showing him the estate soon TO be
his: "Kccp thy lands, and thy lands
will keep thee
In the Piedmont section almost
everything needed grows, and moth
ing grows better than grass, as all
who have laborud with cotton crop;
will attest This grass raised and
made into hay can be converted into
beef cattle and horse flesh and later
into money, while tho lands, all the
while, arc made the richer.
"All cotton" has been thoroughly
tesctd and found insufficient, but we
need not go to the other extreme and
make all grass. Farmers are farm
ing to make livings and to make
| money, If they can. Some succeed
| and some even lose their lands. They
| need to divest themselves of some of
1