Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1906-01-10
A Farmers Wise Warning to Farmers.
TAtlanta News.1

| Iul fOr Cue SOOu prices OOCalueu CnuS lar
for cotton of the 1905 crop.
We now have the matter of prices
pretty we'll in hand and if cotton declines
we think we have only ourselves to
blame. But good prices tempt farmers
to plaut more cotton in their eagerness
to make money, and more cotton means
lower prices and less money.
Never have we had more decided illus
trations of this fact than is shown by the
course of prices the last three years
1908, 1904 and 1905. Nineteen hundred
and three was short crop year and
prices went above 10 cents. Nineteen
hundred and four was large crop year
and prices went below T'cents.
There was difference of 10 cents be-
tween the price in the small and large
crop year, and the price was actually
more by about 81 cents than the entire
price in the large crop year; the differ
ence between the price being 10 cents
and the entire price at the lowest in the
large crop year only 81 cents.
Is there farmer in the cotton belt
who is so simple that he can't or won't
learn u uSeIul lesson nereI
In 1905, while not yet definitely known,
the crop promises to be short, due in
part to the encouragement of farmers
over 6-cent cotton in the spring after the
big crop year, partly due to the effort of
the Southern Cotton Association to re-
duce acreage and largely-I expect
mainly-due to Providential causes,
IL. H. e. 4
AS result of these three things we
have lin spite of the efforts of many to
the contrary a rather short crop, good
, prices and plenty of money.
If Providence had not interfered, we
think we would have had large guam
, tty of cotton, small price and very lit
tie money.
To those who are now holding spot
cotton for better prices we would sug-
: gest that your every movement is being
watched. Anything that would indicate
a disposition on your part to increase, to
any extent, the crop of 1905 will help to
hold down the price of the cotton you
now have on hand. To those who have
) sold at lower prices than the present and
have none of the 1905 crop on hand, we
would say, let not the present high price
, of an article which you do not now pos
, sess, tempt you to act 80 ignorantly and
r foolishly as to.plant largely and bring its
value down by the time you make your
, crop and do have it for sale.
, Heavy sales of mules ind fertilizers
, in the cotton States is an index to the
size of the cotton crop. Look out for
this for 1906. This will tell the world
what we are going to try to do.
, If we invest excessively in mules and
fertilizers (no matter what we say we are
going to raise with them) the world is
going to believe that Providence alone
can keep us from raising another big
cotton crop. Here is the great danger.
Here is where the farmers own course
can be a menace to all chance for better
prices or even to maintaing the prices we
have.
The farmers can do more than every
thing else combined to give the bears an
opportunity to depress prices, but with
the experience we have had and the
prosperous condition we are now in, we
can but hope we have all learned good
lessons which will not soon be forgotten
We can only repeat the old, old story
Let every individual farmer in the cotton
belt make his farm sef-sustaining by
raising at home everything needed for
man and beast and then make what cot
ton he can. If all will do this we need
have no fear about low priced cotton and
hard times. Providence ct us have our
own way in 1904. We tried to make a
big crop and the Lord let us succeed and
certainly the simplest of us saw the dis
astrous consequences of our folly in the
low prices received.
In 1905 we reduced acreage some and
Providence helped out our efforts by
sending unfavorable weather and cut the
crop again, and the simplest of us now
received. Why not in 1906 be wise
enough to diversity sensibly and then
trust Providence to bless us as in 1904
with good crops, no one of which will be
a burden, but all alike blessing to us?
If we act our part wisely the more
abundant our crops, the more prosperous
we will be, but If we foolishly plant too
largely of cotton, our very success means
failure, for the more we make the less
we will get for it.
Our own folly can turn even the bless
ings of Providence into sorrowful disap-
pointments and bring poverty and want
out of superabundance. Il. A. Barnett.
!. Washington, Wilkes County.