Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1905-03-11

warehouses are properly conducted,
and your cotton properly classified,
the banks of America will clamor for
your notes. No better collateral,
when properly handled, exists in the
world today than cotton. From the
Occident to the Orient it is the recog-
nized king of commodities. We OF
the South, like sleeping giant, are
unconscious of our strength. Mr.. 5.
M. Inman, one of the worlds great
cotton merchants and director IN
the South's greatest railway, In a re-
cent letter to Hon. Dudley M. Hughes,
the president of the Georgia Agricul-
tural Society, wrote as follows: Lin
tied by climatic conditions to our part
of the Union, the cotton growers OF
America have the most perfect agrl-
cultural monopoly in the world. For
forty years foreign lands have, by
governmental influence and money and
by private capital and enterprise, trleo
to build UP cotton growing in competl-
ton with the South, but the aggregate
foreign crops increased very little, and
to supply the ever-increasing demand
of about 100000 bales a year for an
average increase in the worlds con-
sumption, the world must depend on
our country This years cotton crop,
including the seed, sold for $650,OOO,-
600. Besides furnishing the mills
a. {L@ wifi fhpV
used, we exported enough to bring
| $3.50 ,000,0 900 gold to this country. This
| is one-fourth as much gold as Call
fornia has produced since the discoV-
cry of the precious metal there; $780,
600, 900 w&s enough to buy every bush
ell of wheat raised in the United States
and leave $15O,000,000 to the good.
Iowa is the greatest corn growing
State in the world, yet this year, af-
| ter growing her corn and wheat crop,
Georgia sold her cotton crop for $780,
100000, enough to pay cash for every
bushel of corn grown in Iowa.
Now, If Georgia, with her $4,000
square miles, did this, what in the
name of heaven, with over 100000
square miles, did grand old Texas do?'
Fir. Inman closes his letter with
these hopeful words: 1t should en-
courage us to feel that back of us we
have this imperial money-producing
crop. A perpetual Inheritance hedged
about by climatic conditions and pro-
tected from the worlds competition
which threatens the other crops Once
free from debt, let us stay out of debt
and control our own product and we
will see no more or 6-cent cotton
crops w care getting out of debt;
we are doing better farming, more
manufacturing and Tearing better how
to market our crops. We are manu-
featuring 100000 bales OF cotton a
year, adding yearly $100,000,0O0 to the
value of the raw cotton. The future
Is bright with promises if we are but
true to the high character, the indom-
table energy and great souls of the
fathers and mothers who, coming out
| of the most desolating war Of modern
history, found the country desert,
| and brought it to its present position
of greatness and prosperity"
Great as our strides in commerce
and wealth have been, our States are
as pigmies compared with the other
| States of this Union. The individual
deposits in national and other corpo-
| rations, banks and trust companies
and in private banks of the Unit
| States, according to the statistics COM
| piled in the office of the Comptrolls
| of Currency at Washington, and just
made public, amounted, on June 80,
1904, to $9,9S1, 259,330 OF this be-
wildering amount, only G1s per cent
was in Southern banks. Are you
winyou, gpt ,gmGnn DIN
content with these conditions? l.
you are not, arouse yourselves, for you
hold the key to the treasures of the
South! 1t has been stated that more
than 100000 articles are now in use
among the people, serving thAir com
fort and happiness, that were absolute
ly unknown to our great grandfathers.
In a vast number of these articles, cot.
ton is an important factor. New uses
for it are concantly being found and
new markets for it are springing up
| beyond tn eseas. The Panama Ca.
nal will open up possibilities now un-
dreamed of, and demands for cotton
will eventually come from States I'M
| born, and civilizations now unknown.
Watch the demand-plant for it alone,
and should Providence give you a larg
er crop than you planted for, put your
| cotton in your bonded warehouses, re-
duce your acreage for the following
season, and your faithful friend, the
banker, will see you through Til
financial future of this dear Southland
of ours is entirely with you, my
| friends. You can steep Us in power
| ty, or you can roll us in wealth. Have
every farmer to iOin VOur Or9anjZa