The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-26

MI j. II. Atdle, VINO is kiiVNii
throughout this state in connection
with his great peach orchards at Fort
Valley, says the low price Of farm la
Dor in the South is a serious handi-
cap to our prosperity" In a letter to
the Atlanta Constitution, in reply to
something which that paper published
from the Houston Post, he takes the
position that the reason why none Of
the immigrants from foreign lands
comes South is the low wages paid on
the farms.
There is an impression among South
ern farmers, and a pretty strong one,
too, that they wouldn't be able to make
cotton at all at less than eight cents
a pound if farm labor were higher
than it is. Mr.. Hale contends that
this impression is an erroneous one. He
has large farms in this state and in
Connecticut. In this state he pays "a
low rate of wages and in Connecticut
a high rate-at least, he pays about
twice as much for ten hours work in
the latter state as he pays in the for
mer for fourteen hours work. He says
he has made very careful study of
the labor question in both states, and
is convinced that the South would be
much more prosperous if much higher
wages were paid.
And how does he arrive at that opin-
ion? In this way; If the cost of farm
ing, due to higher wages, were greater,
farmers would have to get more from
their land. Instead, therefore, of farm
ing great tracts of land and getting but
a small yield per acre, they would farm
small tracts, but would make the land
so fertile, and cultivate it so thorough
ly, that the yield per acre would be
twice or three times what it is now.
In other words, the intensive system
of farming would be adopted. The
farmers would have to adopt it in Or
der to make their farms pay.
According to Mr.. Hale's view, how
ever, they would get from fifty acres
more than they get from "a hundred
and fifty now. They would pay more
per day for their labor, but they
would get better service, and, besides,
the total amount paid out for labor in
the course of year wouldn't be as
much as they now pay out in farming
a hundred and fifty-acre farm. What
he means to say is that crop of cot
ton, say sevently-fiVe bales, could be
than the same amount of cotton is now
produced on one hundred and fifty
acres, and, that, too, if wages were
twice what they are now.
Mr., Hale is confident that by the in
tensive system of farming the South
could produce from 100000 900 to 100000
600 bales of cotton a year just as cas-
lily as she now produces 10000 900 bales
And if she paid better wages there
would be a movement of immigrants
to the Southern States. and these i'm
migrants would quickly bring the I'M
occupied lands under cultivation.
These views of Mr.. Hale are worth
considering. They are the views of a
practical man who has made sue
cess of farming and fruit growing
Ihere is no DOUBT a great waste OF
time and money in farming sterile
land. All of the land in this state, for
instance, could be brought to high
state of fertility by the adoption of
proper methods. Georgia's cotton crop
could be made 100000 bales just as
well as not, and, that, too, without ex-
pending any more for labor in making
the crop. The picking would, of course,
cost more. But if the land were made
to produce to it's fullest capacity there
would be big yields of other crops,
amount of stock raised. The Com
missioner of Agriculture should in
struct the people how to get better re-
turns from their farms.