Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1905-03-11
Mr., HILLYER'S ADDRESS
Delivered Before New Orleans
Meeting Of Cotton Planters.
REDUCE YOUR COTTON ACREAGE

Mr. TIllyeT Gays " 10 lhC AT VI
triotism for the Southern Farmer to
Meet the Issue Face to Face by Pro-
ducing Less Cotton.
The address of Mr.. L. P. Hillyer,
cashier of the American National Bank
of Macon, Ca, on the Southern Bank
ers Financing the South's Cotton
Crop" delivered before the Southern
Interstate Cotton Association at New
| Orleans:
Mr.. President, and Gentlemen OF
| the Southern Interstate Cotton Con-
venton: When ! behold the earnest
and intelligent faces of this convention,
| the faces of men who have come from
every portion of the South, | think |
can truthfully say that the forelock OF
| opportunity was never grasped at
| more suspicious time than now, nor
| have conditions ever been so ripe tor
| the graphing together with hooks OF
steel, the farmer and the banker! De-
signing politicians have attempted TO
array them against each other;
but | say to you that the banker, be
his capital great or small, is wholly
dependent upon the farmer for his
tenure of content. Each is depen-
dent upon the other, but the farmer
can live without the banker, while the
banker cannot exist without the farm
er. While the farmer can flourish to
certain degree without the assist
ance OF capital, he can never hope
| to achieve the Arcadian dream OF COM
| fort and content without the aid OF that
| commerce whose myriad wheels are
kept eternally revolving by the aid OF
the almighty dollar! And for the
banker to increase his surplus, ena-
| bling him to render more efficient ser
vice to those around him, the farmer
must adopt sound principles of business
and must learn that the price Of every
commodity is regulated by the immu-
table law of supply and demand. The
farmers mistakes are reflected in the
published statements Of the banker.
Raise this year another bumper crop,
and YOU can no more withstand the
calamity of 4 cents cotton than could
the Russian Stoessel withstand the
JoVe-like bolts of the terrible Jap.
Bankers and bonded warehouses are
powerful allies, and both should work
in harmony with the FARMER. But
the price of any commodity-no, not
even with the aid of every Legislature
of every State, nor with the united
effort Of all deliberative bodies. We
NAV resolve and deliberate, and delib'
crate and resolve, but when it is dis
covered that the supply for cotton ls
greater than the demand of cotton, the
price will surely fall. But whether
| cotton is selling at five, ten, or fifteen
cents per pound, one fact remains, and
that is that the financing OF the crop
must be done by the Southern banker.
| He must pay the checks of the cotton
| buyecs and make advances to the ware
housemen and If, perchance, the de-
| mand upon his exhausts his reserve
| he must look for assistance to those
| faithful bankers on the northern side
| of Dixie. This assistance has always
| been needed and has always been free
| ly extended. 1t gives me great pleas
IRE to state, however, that the bank
ers of the South are growing stronger
! with the years. If the policy advo'
Gated by the Daily Telegraph, of Ma
| con, Ga, is adopted by the farmers OF
the South, the Southern banks VIII
soon be able to finance the crop with
| out the aid of the money centers across
the line. That policy is to make cot
| ton a surplus crop-"Less cotton and
more provisions-on these two hang
| all the law and the profits" If your
association will thoroughly organize
with every cotton farmer in close
| touch with some active sub-oflicer o.
| the association, the cotton acreage can
| he regulated and the product of the
| crop from seed time to harvest can
be approximately known by your pres
| ident here, long before Wall street OF
| LlNGTDOOl nave CSdSSu lHSAA S9uGoS!lS
| If the efficiency of your organization
| for giving reliable information is
| doubted by the buyers Of cotton, then
| will the bonded warehouses work won
ders for your salvation.
1t is not within my province to dis
| cuss the plan by which these bonded
| warehouses should be conducted. ]
take it for granted that there arc
those among you sufficiently alive tt
your needs, and possessing the requi
site ability and conservatism to organ
ize, capitalize and equip them proper
ly. 1t might not be amiss, however
| to suggest that the bonded ware
houses be made of brick with fireproo
compartments, and with automatic
sprinklers of the latest design, so that
the rate of insurance may be reduced
To the lowest figure. | would also