The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1905-02-18
The Solid South.

- "hiNh HC SdN tnt
south raised 100000 bales of
cotton last year ard that we car.
rlcd $4,000 bales over from the
crop of 1903, which according to
his statement gives supply to
date of H. 1856 600 bales.
If Mr. Price is correct in his
flgureS we have a surplus of prac
tically 100000 bales of cotton.
This means ruin to the south un.
less We reduce our cotton acreage
and fertilizer % per cent or more
and we indeed have a grave stu
alton to face unless we stand TO.
gether and meet it. The solid
south has stood together on many
grave questions and it can be de
pended upon to stand as a unit on
the cotton situation
Every man i'll the south should
join the Southern Cotton Associa
ton and help keep the price of
cotton up to where it will pay a
legitimate profit over the cost of
production and keep the south in
a prosperous condition.
1t makes no difference whether
you are a banker, merchant, law
yer, doctor, mechanic or laborer,
your business suffers when the
price of cotton goes below the
cost of production. 1t is up to
the whole south to stand togeth.
or as one man in this fight. Use
all the influence you have to in
duce all Of your farmer friends
to raise more corn and food crops
and less cotton. You have the
best Of the argument. They can
not be hurt by it but they can be
hurt, and you can too, if they
help raise another l3, 200, 900 bale
crop Of cotton, and put the price
down to 3 or cents per pound.
am farmer myself and want
to say to my farmer friends that
at least 80 per cent Of the people
in my part Of the country have
signed pledges to plant 20 per
cent less cotton this year. Mr..
Theadore Price of New York in
his circular letter that he has just
sent me land no doubt he has sent
them to many thousands of 9th
ers) suggests that we are not go
ing to be true to ourselves and TO
one another, but that each of us
will think that the other is going
to plant less cotton and acting on
this belief each of us will plant
more, thereby causing a crop of
100000 bales of cotton to be
raised in 1905
Now we all know If Mr.. Price
is correct in his suggestions that
at least 5000, 600 bales of what
we raise in 1905 will have no val
ne at all and that we will be fore
ed to burn or destroy it in some
way to be able to sell the other
9,OOO,O 900 at 3 or 1 cents per pound.
The surplus that Mr. Price tells
you about Of 100000 bales be-
ing carried over from last year will
also weigh heavily on the market
and you readily see what a sad
predicament we are going to be
placed in according to Mr.. Prices
figures and his opinion Of us. To
suggest that the farmers OF the
south are going to plant more cot.
ton after having signed an agree
ment to plant less is to suggest
that they are all dishonest and
this do not believe. l believe
that every man who signed the
agreement to reduce his acreage
intends to do so and will do so
even if the price Of cotton reached
10 cents per pound before plant
ing time. We have had a lesson
that we cannot soon forget and
many of you are going to have to
buy $1.OO per bushel corn to farm
with this year when you could
have raised the corn much cheap
er and thereby have received more
money tor your cotton.
A farmer cannot hurt himself
raising plenty of corn and food
crops but he can hurt himself If
he helps to raise another 13,OOO,-
600 bale cotton crop. {.