The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-16
silk iN the South,

To the Editor of the Journal and Courier:
 In your issue of May 30 l noted an editorial headed "The Silk Notion," and as I am referred to in this editorial I take the liberty of addressing you and defending, or rather explaining, the last few lines of your editorial, where it refers to some experts who say that silk cannot be successfully produced without cheaper labor than can be had in this country. What is silk culture? It is nothing but part of agriculture. Are we not to-day the largest agricul- turai nation of the world, producing everything for our own use, and feed ing man and beast with our products in foreign countries? Hence, if Amer ican farmers have labor cheap enough to produce potatoes, corn, wheat, cot ton and the like, why not produce silk on similar basis when it is a matter of fact that climatic conditions are far superior for silk culture in the United States than in any other part of the world? It is true that we lack the knowledge and experience, but are the American people to give up and admit their ignorance that they cannot learn so interesting, simple and beautiful an industry as silk culture is?
 Do you also know that it is a matter of fact that you can go to sections in the cotton belt of Georgia, or for that matter, any other State where cotton is raised, and collect a hundred farmers (of course excluding the few large planters that are scattered here and there)-I refer to the farmer who tolls with his family and has to take care of his fanily-and you will not find that on an average they have earned $50 af ter whole years toll in the cotton field, and, in most cases, mortgaged their patch of land before they com menced their crop in order to secure fertilizers and keep his family with ra tions until the new cotton crop is made? If he comes out even he is thankful, but that is not the case with the ma jority
 Now, why should people who know little about silk culture, and have given very little study to it, express their opinions when it has not been tried in the southern States since it was aban- doned and other conditions have taken place? It is matter of fact that silk was successfully raised in the South, Then why not try it again?
 An esteemed friend of mine, who is in trustful capacity, representing the silk manufacturing element of the United States, in an article expressed himself on the absurdity on the part of those who are agitating silk culture in the South when the labor that is en- gagged in the production of silk in France and Italy does not earn more than twenty-five cents per day. This gentleman has not figured that our cot ton raisers of the South are earning per day. As cotton is the greatest staple it brings the greatest bulk of the money to the southern States. The average earning capacity of cotton raisers is no more, no less, than thirteen cents per day in the great progressive State of Georgia. Then why not add silk cul- ture to their occupation? And then they would earn the twenty-five cents which is accredited to the Italians and Frenchmen, and, in addition to the al- ready earning capacity of thirteen cents per day they would have thirty-eight cents per day, which would enable them to acquire some comforts and in- spire them to higher attainments, edu- cation and progress.
 LOUIS B. MAGID,
 President Silk Culture League of
 America.