Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-04-12
PRESIDENT SMITH MAKES A STATEMENT.
Tag Tax Figures Provo Nothing-Acrease
Reduced Forty Per Cent.
Tho State, April 6th.]

bia Office of the Southern Cotton
Association. 1t is from the State
president, T.. d. Smith:
"In view of the widespread publi-
cation and the impression made on
the public that the use of fertilizer
has been increased rather than de-
creased, and as it is the object and
office of this association to keep the
public informed as to the situation in
reference to the reduction of acreage
and fertilizers and all matters per-
tanning to the welfare of the farmer,
we wish to state some facts: l. AS
to the report of thei increased use of
fertilizer, l am in receipt of the fol-
lowing from II. M. Stackhouse, sec
retary of the fertilizer department,
Clemson Agricultural College, who
has charge of the tag department.
This letter is in response to the in
quiry made by me of him in refer
ence to the large sale of tags. He
replies as follows:
Clemson College, S. c.,
March %, 1905.
Hon. E. D. Smith, Magnolia, S. O.:
Dear Sir--I see interviews with you
in the papers as to the amount of the
tag tax along the line of your phone
conversation in Columbia few days
ago, but the line was busy at the
time and your voice very indistinct,
was not sure heard you correctly,
and only press of work has hindered
this writing earlier. Am getting
frequent inquiries from boards of
trade, chambers of commerce, ETC.,
of other States as to the amount, but
did not answer, as / believed it for
speculative purposes. However, the
news men get reports from State
treasurer and incorrect reports some
times get in the newspapers.
The amount, however, is not less
than stated and about the same as
last year we think at least $4,000
of this comes from increased sales
for cotton seed meal, which for
"stock food" pays the tax this season
for the first time. Then the sales
men and manufacturers of fertilizers
say that, anticipating orders, they
supply themselves with tags, know
ing that if not needed they can be
redeemed with new ones after No
vember 1st, and they admit aggre-
gate sales to date considerably less
than last year. So you correctly say
these sales are not reliable indication
of the amount of fertilizers really
used any given season. In the effort
to reduce the cotton crop, which
means so much for the South, l
should be sorry to think the farmers
would not "stand pat" on it or let
narrow, selfish considerations of sup
posed present gain wreck their own
and best interests of entire country
for years to come. Yours very truly,
III. M. Stackhouse.
GAS he states, at least $4,000 or
100000 tons comes from increase sale
of cotton seed meal for feed pur-
poses. Up to June, 1904, all meal
used for feed purr oses was exempt
from the privilege tags, Hundreds
of tons were bought for fertilizer
purposes shipped as feed stuff, there
by avoiding the tag tax. His esti-
mate in my estimation is very con-
servative one. Again, farmers this
year have exchanged seed for meal
IN larger quantities than ever known
before in the history of the State.
price of cotton has dropped so low
and the price of guano remaining the
same as it was last year, that they
have substituted meal for the ammo.
mated stuff. Then again we have
made inquiries from the Piedmont
and the Peel sections of the
State, and from the middle sections,
and the replies indicate that the
actual amount of guano bought by
the farmers for this years consump.