The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-11-23
CHIPS KEEPS A PROMISE.
Writes of the Crops and the Mer-
chants Temptation to Extrava-
gance-Other News.

Z Bachman Chapel, Nov. 22.-I have
decided to verify promise which I
made to a number of my friends. Last
year while rambling over the country
quite number insisted that I should
scatter few more Of my chips around
among the reading public. I told
them T would try to throw out few
more when the war was ended. have
written. few letters since, but they
have all ben Of sad nature. I am
not going to promise you that this
letter will be so full Of news, but still
I hope that I will be able to say some
thing that will at least interest q few
of the many readers of The Herald
and News.
The principal part of the crop is
gathered, and there is no use to dis
"guise the fact that this is another
short crop. Taking Newberry county
as whole, the average farmer has
sold his cotton as he gathered it and
realized a very fair price for what he
had, notwithstanding the crop is not
going to pay the debt, the merchant
and guano dealers say. They also say
that there is too much money spent
for luSuries. We frankly admit this
to be a fact, but who is to blame but
the merchants themselves. They are
the ones who are leading the people
into temptation and there is no use
for them to blame any one else.
Here comes John. He saw Dan at
church last Sunday driving very nice
horse or mule to beautiful top bug
gy, dressed all up in style. John be-
comes very much dissatisfied with his
mapped up clothes and muddy shoes,
he begins to think about the old mule
at home, which is not fit for a decent
man to drive, so he puts out to town
and it isn't long before he has a two
hundred dollar mule, ninety dollar top
buggy and beautiful fifteen dollar
dress suit Of clothes. Now he is ready
for what. TO make ten cents cottonq
Yes, this is what the merchants
think, or ut least i'll sis the way. He
acts like he thinks, but what does the
average laborin% man make when he
gets an outfit of this kind. lie makes
law suit.
This state Of extravaganza is not al
together confined to the negro. We
find white people are to blame to a
great extent themselves. 1t is fact,
when you make credit easy, put out
all those nice inducements, the temp
tation becomes so great that the aver
age man cannot resist it.
Now, understand that I am not
preaching economy. I am only talk
ing about the state Of affairs as I
hear others talk, but now is the time
to begin to talk about these things.
The way to keep from getting burned
is to stay out of the fire, but some
folks may say, ego ahead boys, cot
ton is bound to bring good price
another fall. You may make good
crop and rise to the top after all. "
If you have to buy a mule and pay
for it with cotton and the mule cost
you $4,000 and you get 10 cents per
pound for your cotton, which you pay
for him with, how much better off
are you than when your mule cost
$4,000 and you only got $ cents for
your cotton.
I believe in the farmers union, or
any other organization that tends to
better the condition of the farmer, So
cially, morally or financially, but the
very best organization on earth for
the farmer is the one which keeps him
out Of debt When the farmers has
plenty to eat, raised on his own farm,
owes nobody anything, he is as we'll
organized as man needs to be to
hold his cotton until the manufacturer
is willing to pay him his price for it,,
but as long as he owes it all before
he gathers it, he is dependant being,
it makes no difference how much
money he can borrow.
Some other news of local nature: !:
Our supervisor, Mr.. j. Monroe Wick
er, has built a splendid bridge across
Cannons Creek on the road leading
from Bachman Chapel to st. Philips
church; known as the Tom Kinard
bridge. Supervisor Wicker knows
his business when it comes to building
bridges and he is saving the county a
lot of money in this way by the use OF
his gang.
Miss Alma Waters opened her
NHa,,Ioxr tho