The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-06-24
Crop Damage Hysteria.

Louisville Courier-Journal: Judging
from the attitude of the Wall street
speoulators, the entire wheat, cotton,
corn, hay and oats cops have been de-
stroyed. In the Southwest and in the
West foods and long protracted rain
fall have been credited with the pros
pe:tiye elimination of our principal
agricultural products and in the Eas-
tern States it has been the drouth,
though this, by the way, was broken
up with general rains Sunday. Here
tofore it has been the conviction that
the territories of the United States
are SO diversified in climate and soil
that what was bad for one part of the
country was good for another, and
hence there could be no general crop
failure. Now the assertion is being
freely made and seems to be credited
that either road the season takes leads
to destruction. It reminds one Of the
dilemma of the old darkey who heard
g stentorian revivalist make the state
ment that the broad way leads to hades
and the narrow path to eternal damna-
ton. In dat case, said he prompt
", "dis darkey'n take to de woods. >,
No alternative now appears to be
presented to the man who reads the re-
ports in the daily press or, what is
worse, listens to the flying rumors OF
the street. And yet we are now pass
ing through only the crop scares that
come every year. Rain has fallen and
drought has smitten since the day OF
Adam, and yet in spite of occasional
famine the Scriptural promise that
seed time and harvest shall not fail
has been verified.
The truth is that while in isolated
sections damage has been done by
foods and storms the heavy rainfalls
have greatly benefited the whole
country. The ground has been so
charged with moisture as to strengthen
the young plants against the hot, dry
days that must yet come through the
Summer just beginning. This is true
of cotton, corn and even oats. Mean
time the harvesting of Winter wheat
has now begun, and the lowest es-
innate is of greater production than
last year, while the Spring wheat
crop is in the best of condition. The
American Agricuulturist Of June 9Th
fixes the average percentage OF the
Winter wheat crop at SS.9 against 93.9
on April lst. The Spring wheat acre
age Is about the same as last year,
being 20, 176, 900 acres against 20, l25,
coo for 1902, but the condition on. June
LIST was 94.7- per cent. a remarkably
good average
at st. Louis dispatch was published
yesterday from an observer who said
he had travelled carefully over the
great agricultural States Of Texas,
Kansas and Missouri, also the Indian
Territory. The writer, after admit
ting that thousands of acres of bottom
land in missouri, Kanas, Iowa, Ne
braska and Texas had been swept
away, added that the net result OF the
rains would be the addition Of mil
lions of bushels of wheat and corn,
and he never saw better conditions for
cotton. In particular is the crop out
look good in Texas. Wheat has made
double the yield Of last year and corn
could not be excelled. Oklahoma has
also the largest wheat crop her fertile
soil has ever produced, and the III,
creased acreage in wheat, cotton and
corn is very marked.
The Financial Chronicle, which has
been collecting cotton crop statistics
for forty years, takes the same op-
timistic view. It holds that condi-
tions are much better than in 1901,
and that the season is such that by no
means can it. be certain the yield will
be late or small. The acreage, it says,
has been increased per cent. and the
possibilities favor a large yield. The
Chronicle is one of the most conserva-
tive of journals, and its conclusions
with regard to the other staples are
the same as with cotton, and are much
more entitled to credit than the
hysterical utterances of amateur OBJ
servers and Wall street bears. Some
how or other we shall have plenty to
eat and to wear just as we have al
ways had in former yers. Finally let
it be remembered that Norman b.
Ream, the great grain merchant,
said: whenever | hear the bridges
have been washed away [ sell my
corn.
Norfolk, Va, June 19.-Advice from
| North Carolina to Virginia revenue