The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-03-22
UNIQUE PLAN TO SOLVE COTTON PROBLEM
A Writer Does Not Have Much Confidence in Pres
ent Plan to Reduce Acreage Relates Incident
in Similar Movement a Few Years Ago

The following unique suggestion for
solving the problem in regard to the
cotton crop is taken from Home and
Farm, well known agricultural
journal
The late cotton convention, which
met in New Orleans, had big meet
ing, and they whereased and resolved
to reduce the cotton crop Is per cent.
less than last year. Now, that's good,
but will they do it? Some thirty-fve
years ago we held big state grange
meeting in Mississippi; about 700
grangers were representated, and we
resolved to go home and diversity our
crops and cut the cotton crop one-half
and see that our neighbors did like
wise. SO when planting time came
around every fellow put in all and
even more cotton than they could Gull
tivate, thinking the other fellow would
plant a small crop. One old granger
mounted his mule latter planting big
cotton crop and took the byways to
the back of his neighbors fields to
take a peep, and when he returned he
said: ''Old oman, it's jist as expect
ed; all them other fellers has planted :.
big cotton craps"
We can hardly expect all the far
rners to make much reduction in the
cotton acreage, when we take into
consideration that cotton is our best
money crop, with which to pay taxes,
store accounts, doctor bills and the
many other demands upon the farmer.
In fact, everyone with whom the far
mer deals wants cotton or its equiva-
lent-money. Again, all the business
of the south is based upon cotton, and
if it was bringing its value today-10
cents per pound-there would be no
complaint and everything would be
moving along smoothly.
No, sir, it is not an over produc-
ton, when over half the people are in
rags and needing clothing. But it is
an under consumption, on account of
the producers not getting the value of
their productions.
There never was an production
of anything. So long as the people
have and can get the money with which
to buy they will consume. To illus
trate, if a man eats ''pie" today he'll
want it tomorrow.
Here is my plan to solve this cot
ton problem: Raise your corn, meat
and mules, and then all the cotton
you can. Then ''cut OUT the COM
presses, commission merchants Tor
rather the city coppers), and the
bagging and ties. Then cut down the
presses at the gins to 200 pound bales.
and wrap with cotton cloth and cord
with cotton rope, thus doing away
with the heavy expense of bagging
and ties and saving the "a pounds
figured out of the price of cotton, and
increasing the demand as much as one
and half million of bales to wrap the
crop. And, in the meantime, discour-
age capital from going into merchan-
dising and banking, and encourage it
to seek investment in cotton manufac-
turing, and thus get the spinner closer
to the cotton patch.
There is one thing that will decrease
the crop this year, and that is that
the farmers are not buying commercial
fertilizers, and are not going to-, as
the price has been raised on fertilizers
and cut down on cotton seed. There is
no better fertilizer than killed seed,
the bulk of which is still in the far
mer's hands.
There is one advantage the farmer
has over the men of other professions,
viz: he may ''go broke" but he can
keep on doing business at the same
old stand; whereas, when the other
fellow fails he is put in the hands of a
receiver, and when he comes again it's
generally in his wife's name.
The farmer is like the 'Irishman's
turtle with his head cut off he still
crawled, and Pat said, "Bejassus, ne
is dead, but he don't know it,
"
Millions in Cork Forests.