The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-03-28
TO THE FARMERS.
APPEAL OF PRESIDENT SMITH
TO THE COTTON GROWERS.

~ L
To p educe the Cotton Acre go and
Raise Their Cwn 70 d Crops
This Year.
Mr.. E. D. Smith, organic T for the
Southern Cotton Association ano
president Of the South Carolina Wis
ion, has given out the following state
ment:
"This is the first time that 1 have
teen able to be cut since my return
from the West. 1 am glad to report
from Louisiana, Arkansas AMI Texas
a very fl ,urishing condition OF the as
ISOLATION. Wherever I have been ano
spoken the people have readily grasp
ed the idea that this Is a pie u"'
ness proposition and that the poet.
to control their crop lies entirely With
in their own hands.
Throughout the State OF Te1a>
there Is quite as much enthusiasm
and determination as there Is in sry
other State in the Union. They DID
not hold their cotton as other States
have done; practically because some
of their LEI ders, not Col. Peters, ao-
vised them against pledging their
9 jtton for Is cents a pound, on the
contrary advised thu m to sell 1t as
long as hey could get IL cents per
pound middling. The conso quence
was that Texas sold her crop.
"The conditions for this State f"r
another year, so far as my observation
and opionion are to be depended upon,
are these: Last year the spring was
30 cold and wet that 1t was impossible
to plant corn and oats In Malc1 ano
April. In this State OF Texas II corr
and oats are not planted In March ano
April it is useless to plant them at all,
for the reason that the excessive not,
dry winds Of June and July practical
" destroy the corn ard blight the
oats. Hence, as said before, the
spring was so backward that the tine
for corn and oats planting had past
before any planting ccu'd be done.
The consequence was that as coGton
could be planted as late as July aIo
still make a fairly good yield, the
pratp lands Of Texas were planted 10
cotton. last year. Tais year, these
two months, February and Marc b,
being ideal for putting In small gralr
and c,rn, the farmers, having On &C
count OF last years failure I'd be buJ'
ing corn now will be apt TO increase
their grain crop for this year. Be
sides this, in eastern and central Z, 1as
there will be q large voluntary reduc-
ton for various reasons, principal:
among which is the organ alton o.
tie Southern Cotton ASSOCIATION q
the practical good sense tf those VIII
will adhere to its tec chllgs.
Ia northern Texas there will De
possibly an increase 10 acreage princl-
pally through the openlng up u ne"
lands.
"In Arkansas I find, much. to m!
astonishmens, that State saying tht
least and doing the most, 30 far a
standing by tie association is COZ.
cerned. They not only have not SOD
their cotton but have provided them
selves with warehouse facilities and
ample means, and are not going to sell
it until it reaches the price for which
{ :ey have pledged to hold. l saw no
indications throughout this S5ata that
there would be any practical increase
of acreage, but a determination on
the part Ct those to whom I spoke.
And from the general impressiot
gathered from this State, l think
that q greater amount OF dstermina
tion will be practical this year than
ever bsfo e.
I'm Louisiana tie conditions are
suca that no one can predic, what the
outcome may be. For the first time
last year the boil wsevll got in his de-
s~tructlve work, and, with the bad
season, Louisiana ms de practically
no crop; neither has she made any
corn crop.
THE price of cotton is unusually
high. The prospect before them Of
having to buy an entire years sup
ply, with the knowledge that their
land will make corn, and On account
Of the boil weevil, the disposition
seems to be rather to increase their
food supply crop.
These are three States that I c2y-
cred in my absence and where l work.
ed night and day. I have not for one
moment lost faith in the movement;
and in the ultimate ~v'ndication OF the
stand that we have taken. Those who
have spot cot on who have resoluteiy
held it in the face of all organized eff
fort to force them to sell at other
than their figures have q brighter
prospect Of victory today than ever
before,
THE ginners' report Of linters, sea
Island cotton, the amount of cotton
which should have been reported in
last years crop, and the d ference IL
the weights of bales this year and last
all deducted from the total, will make
the crop practically 10 900, 600 bales.
With the worlds consumption re-
quiring at least $4,000. 600 bales out OF
the present crop, by the first day Of
September next the condition Of the
spibners can easily be figured out and
the statistical report of cotton easily
a~nnreciatf6.