The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-18
The VIEWS
AREDIVE:.RiS';E.
Scarcity Of Labor VIII Make In
crease Of South's Cotton
Crop Difficult.
NO DETERIORATION |! SEEN 81: \
Soil and Seed Good as Ever and
Short Crop Due Only to
Weather Conditions VA
NO DETERIORATION
Special 10 Tho ,rimcs-Dlspatch.)

| y
BALTIMORE. Md. Dec 1.-THE Man
ufacturcrs' Record. In continuance of Its
discussion Of the cotton crop as present
Cd last week. has submitted to tho conf
,nIssioners Of agriculture nnd the prcsi-
dents Of nil the agricultural colleges IN
the south.to several hundred leading cot
ton manufacturers. oil mill mon. commits
sion merchants. bankers. growers and 9th
ers. the following inquiry:
/ Is there danger of permanent de-
crease in cotton production In the South?
If so. Is 1t duo q
Il l.. 10 deterioration of seed by reason Of
1.-THE best seed being sold to oil mills or f.
| 2. 10 decline III the fertility Of tho
| FOIL by reason Of bad cultivation under
| the tenantry system. or
5 10 lack Of farm labor since tho
Industrial development Of tho South mas
drawn many hands from, the country TO
the cities. or. are all three of these factors
to be reckoned swith7
The Manufacturers Record begins the
publication Of replies In this weeks Issue
and expects to continue for several weeks
to present tho views of the best Informed
reople OF the South on these questions, SO
vital not only to this section. but to the
whole world.
SCARCITY OF LABOR
Dealing with the replies, It says
THE letters published to-day deal main
~ with the conditions which prevail IN
the Carolnas and Georgia. Following
these will come next week letters from
the far South, in which the conditions
may be presented as entirely different
from those in the upper South. The let.
tiers published show O wide diversity or
views, but the predominant note IN all
scarcity of farm labor will make 1t diff
ficult for the South to Increase it's pro-
duction OF cotton. This scarcity is due
In part to the tendency Of the white ten
ant farmer to cotton mill employment.
most pronounced IN the older textile COM
munitles, where he and his family secure
more profitable work than on the farm,
mo in part to the trend Of more active
negro laborers away from agriculture TO
mining, railroad and kindred work. IT
Is pointed out that this condition. which
is becoming more pronounced every year
would make It difficult for the South to
pick a larger crop, even If 1t could Dc
raised. This condition presents an ur-
gent need for Immigration to the South
10 fill in the gap left by the increased
employment Of whites In the cotton mills
and of negroes In mining and In rail-
read construction, and in the general
trend Of negroes away from farms to
| cities. @iHlf5 6At4 ssHf
USE BEST SEED.
"With but few exceptions 1t IS claimed
that there is no deterioration Of seed, but
that, on the contrary, farmers have been
careful to use the best seed for planting,
, though a. few writer's insist very strongly
: that there Is q deterioration In seed,
| claiming that the best seed are sold to
| the mills, and that the fertilizers used
| are not equal to the seed for the min
I 80 n col n ~ RI
! that thus the consumption OF seed oy
! I'll mills Is a disadvantage In tho long
| run.
"Comparat lively few admit any deterIora-
ton In soil, and where this Is re-
ported, 1t is claimed 80 be duo to the
4 thrftlessness of the negro tenants. VINO
du not appreciate the Importance of MAIN
tanning the fertility of the land. With
| scarcely an exception. however, the small
crops OF the last few years are claimed
| to be due not to any OF these causes.
but to abnormal weather conditions
which cut short the yield. While some
think that the South has practically
reached under present conditions its
| maximum output of cotton, there are
/ other equally as we'll Informed men who
! claim that there Is scarcely any limit
| TO tho Increase Of the cotton crop Of the
| South. This side OF the case Is pre-
scented by one of the most careful tnves-
tigators of tho South, who says that
ttero has been no deterioration In the
seed, and mono In tho soil, and to this
adds:
1--WE have made two short crops from
causes that have in the past and will
ntinuo to recur from time to time. We
may next year make 225 pounds Of cotton
per acre. The average will probably be
100000. This will give us crop Of
something like 100000 bales. Manufac-
turers haye taken many people from
farms Those left on farms work bet
ter, because of better condtionS and re-
wards. The South is not yet seriously
suffering from lack of farm TABOR, but