The Colfax chronicle., 1904-07-23
FARMER AND PLANTER.
TIE PRESENT COTTON CROP.
The Cotton Grower should Take
With Caution the Advice Of
Interested Parties.

As consequence thereof, the farmers
are getting vast amount of gratuitous
advice. All these different classes Of
men who are Interested in the hand
ling, manufacturing and consumption
OF cotton seem to be greatly interested
In advising the farmers Strange to
say. they seem to feel themselves per-
fectly competent to advise them. But
little close observation shows that
each one of them advises to the inter-
ests OF the class to which he belongs
and all OF them to the injury Of the
farmer. The buying class naturally
want cotton to sell cheap, as it gives
them better chance to speculate in
prices. The manufacturing class want
cotton to sell cheap, because it enables
them 70 make larger margins of profit.
The consumers want cotton to sell
cheap, because it enables them to buy
goods cheaper. Hence all Of these unite
IN hue and cry, urging the farmer to
make every effort to increase the pro-
duction of cotton.
1t Is wcrderful how much interest
these parties seem to feel in the well
tare OF the Indian the Egyptian, the
African and the German, and fear that
the American farmer, in looking after
his own interests, will fail TO look after
the interests Of all these other nations.
They would greatly prefer to see the
toiling southern farmer straining his
credit and his strength in the effort to
cultivate two of three millions of extra
acres Of cotton and producing two or
three million extra bales and selling
the entire output at 10 or ~ cents, and
thereby making about nothing as clear
profit, rather than see him with COM
parative ease and comfort to himself
cultivate the usual amount and produce
the usual 100000 900 or II. 900, 900 bales
and sell it, as they claim, at Is or 20
cents
They seem to be utterly oblivious Of
the fact that the $500, ,000. 900 or $780,
100000 extra which the small crop
would bring to the south and distribute
among the farmers and through them
would produce such a state of business
activity and prosperity as was never
known in the south before. In other
words they ask every farmer to prefer
to raise twelve bales of cotton to the
horse and sell it at 10 cents. rather
than produce ten bales and sell 1t at 18
cents. They do not seem TO care what
becomes of the farmer in all this great
battle In the financial world They
brazenly ask him to forego bis own in
terests. to work to his own injury, to
plant, produce and gather an extra
large crop, simply and solely for the
benefit Of SPECTATORS. manufacturers
and foreigners.
This whole line of argument i'm
presses us as supremely silly. We
hope the southern farmers will have
more sense than to follow any such adj
vice. We hope they will look to their
own interest, and make every effort to
produce only q medium crop of cotton.
Although the cotton crop is about all
planted, and the acreage, large or
small, Is now about settled fact, yet
1t is not. too late for the farmers to con-
slider this question,
1t will pay to run row every twelve
feet directly across the cotton row and
plant It In corn. BY planting any o1
the. early varieties. they can yet have
time to make good corn planted In this
way. Corn raised in this way will
cost nothing except planting and gath
ering, for 1t will be cultivated in culti-
waiting the cotton. You can thus add
ten or twelve bushels to the acre to the
corn crop, and cut down the cotton croI
very little.
There seems to be concerted effor'
on the part Of all the above-named par.
ties to depress the price of cotton. And
they go so far as to persuade the farm
or to sell his cotton now for fall de-
livery. This Is suicidal policy, ant
can result in injury to no one excep
the farmer A few things seem to b.
practically certain. There is a poo
stand Of cotton, except in parts o
Texas. There is poor supply OF la
Dor, and the grass is already maxim,
headway in q large part of Texas. Ths
long protracted winter, and the few
warm nights that we have had hav'
hindered the termination and growth
Of cotton generally. The acreage Is no
sufficiently increased to overcome thee'
injuries. There is no outlook at pres
cnt for bumper crop!" But whethe
the crop be large or small, it Is clearl!
To the farmers interest to make hi