The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-01-18


Is what want to talk about. It's ter
rible. 1t has caught more farmers un-
der the crash in the South than has
ever been known to be caught under a
slump. Precious few left out to laugh
and they are afraid to, seeing they are
in fearful minority. 1t amounts to
throwing away about half the crop we
have on hand. have read quite q
number Of articles written IN the sub
ject-some wise and some otherwise.
Sam Jones strikes nearer the core than
anything [ have read. Among other
things he says, "When you make too
many potatoes they sell for % cents,
when you make too few they sell for
81: When you make too much cotton
it sells for twelve and fifteen oens."
Then he says, "There ia no use of the
Southern farmers to play the fool and
raise too much cotton and then raise
sand with everybody else because they
themselves have played the fool n n
Just grin and endure it-there Is no
use TO kick abou. it, unless you k ck
yourselves"
Amt It so? 1t makes fellAw feel
mighty like kicking somebody, Enough,
yet he feels that for his own part, he
has had quite enough. L wish 1 had
somebody to kick awhile. When got
through with the job 1 feel that /
could draw big sigh Of relief, and
sakes awe how / need it. All this talk
about holding cotton is we'll enough If
it can be done, provided we cut down
the acreage one-fourth. BY this policy
we could raise the pr'ce to 10 cents by
the first Of June. But when cotton be-
gins to rise there is no power on earth
to make the farmer cut acresgs, and
pity 'tis so. have said before, and
don't mind saying it now, that If the
Southern people would elect me dicta-
tor for the South and empower me to
say just how much cotton farmers
should plant and how much ferti izers
they should use under said Gotten, i
could save the South $i5o 600, 900 10
SO, 900, 900 annually. Now THU is the
solid truth and I will acc pit the Office
for the small salary of al o9o, 900 per
annum. hanged If don't.
While penning the last sentence
above, my attention was diver ed by
the mail riders cali | stepped out
and found roll long as my arm ad-
dressed 20 myself from Theo II. Price,
II Wall street, N. Y. The Thought first
suggested to my mind was hat | had
received my commission.
But then, no, it was from the wrong
side Of the house. Maybe it is bribe in
tuitively Inspired to stop my pen. Then
tearing into it | found thir y-two pho
tographs of cotton fields in different
parts OF the Sou h and fronts OF ware
houses where bales of cotton were piled
up for want OF storage room. Then
thought had found the man | should
just like to kick little in spots
SO you see have been disturbed in
my reflections and diverted from my
line of thought. Bat to resume Some
one has suggested as a relief measure
the burning of one million bales of CT
ton. He has been criticised and de-
nounced as crank and oil. In urg.
ing the O. lection to his folly some one
has s4id that IL one has right to burn
his cotton against the Gains of his
creditors he has the right to hold it in
definitely. So he has. But the truth
OF the matter is to hold cotton inde-
finitely does not meet the issue. So
long as the spectators know there is
six and half millions of cotton already
sold and six and half or over In the