The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-03-02
a RINGING LETTER.
To The Farmers on the Dangers OF
Too Much Cotton.

To The Farmers on the Dangers OF
Too Much Cotton.
To the Farmers Of the South:
You are having a practical demon
stration of the fact that medium
size crop of cotton will net more money
to the farmers of the South than a
large enc. The present crop OF cot
ton will be about ten million bales,
and has been marketed at an average
price Of about II l-2 cents pound to
the planters, which has yielded them
about s625, 900. 900.
Now, suppose the present crop had
reached 100000 bales. Then the
price would have been forced down to
about six cents per pound, which would
have yielded the planters s450,e00.-
900, or S175, 000,0 less than the TO-
100000 bale crop.
Now, when you take into considera-
ton the expenses Of fertilizers, labor
in cultivating and picking, cost Of
ginning, bagging and ties; cost OF
hauling, freight and commissions, on
the additional 100000 oales, and
deduct the same from the s45O, ,0OO,-
900 for the Is, 100000 bale crop, you
can then begin to appreciate the ln-
creased value of a moderate cotton
crop over large one.
In tie face Of these facts, which
can not be gainsaid, you will find some
of our planters advising the planting
Of all the cotton you possibly can
plant, claiming that you cannot pro-
duce too much cotton. l have MOTTO
ed that Mr.. Massengale, Of Norwood,
Ca, has given this advice. In face
Of this advice, l want to sound the
alarm in time, and beg the planters
of the South to stop and consider be-
fore it is too late. I want to tell you,
that you can
BY neglecting. your cereal crops,
Or by reducing the acreage in same,
Or planting same on poorer land, so
as to allow you to increase the cotton
acreage,
Or by planting cotton on all Of your
best land,
Or neglecting the proper cultiva-
tion of your corn, so as to enable you
to better cultivate your cotton,
Or neglect to fertilize your corn
crops, so as to enable you to use fer
tilizers more freely on your cotton
I say, without fear Of successful
contradiction, that under these con.
ditions you can produce too much cot
ton for your good. You can produce
sufficient Gotten under these condi-
tions to drag the price down again to
seven cents per pounds.
Stop and think over the situation.
Is it profitable, or wise to bring about
such a state of aff,lirs? Haven't you
had enough Of cheap cotton and high
meat aud bread2 Do yon want to re-
turn to those days, through which we
passed only few years ago, when
every farmers face was Swallowed in
gloom? Have you 50 soon forgotten
those terrible days:
l'on't make the mistake Of trying
to put every acre possible in cotton,
thinking that you are the only one
doing it, for every planter thinks
alike, and every planter is trying to
fool all tie other planters, but at the
end, he will lind that he himself is
the only one he has succeeded in fool
ing.
The only way to hold the price OF
cotton up, is to hold the size OF the
crop down. If we can hold the crop
down to 1000. 900 bales, cotton will
be worth u l-2 cents all the time,
and this would be best for the spin
ners, as well as the farmers.
1t is not cheap cotton that the
mills are after, but'a regular market
On which they can base a regular
price for these goods. 1t is dactuat-
ing market that works havoc among
the mills. Give them steady mar
ket for cotton and they can make the
price of their goods to correspond, and
20 on making dividends for their stock
holders.
NO WISDOM IN BIG CROP.
There is no wisdom in trying to plant
a big crop Of cotton; most especially
is it foolish to do so, at the expense Of
your food crops. The war between
Japan and Russia is now on, in dead
earnest, and my last a couple OF years;
in fact, other nations may be drawn
into the struggle. II SO you will see
corn sell for sl.25 per bushel in the
South and flour at IS per barrel, and
meat at Is cents per pound during the
year 1905, while cotton will be de-
pressed to the lowest price possible.
If this should be so, what will be
your condition with a large cotton
crop to sell at a very low price, and
all of your food to buy at very high
price?
I am not indulginy in an idle
dream, for these conditions are just
as sure to come about if this war con-
tinues and a large cotton crop is
made, at tie expense Of the food
crops, as we are living.
l tell you, that you can make too
much cotton under favorable ciIcum-
stances, in times Of peace, if you re-
duce the acreage in corn and other
food crops to do it; and when the
trade in cotton goods is depressed by
the effects Of war, it is an easy matter
to produce too much cotton.
l want to appeal to you not to be