Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-18
Mistellauruils Rsadina.
HOLD FOR IS CENTS,
President Barrett Issues Address to
Farmers Union.

President Barrett Issues Address te
Farmers Union.
To the Members Of the Farmers Un.
ion Throughout the Cotton Belt
Just after the annual convention al
Little Rock had named Is cents 9
pound as the minimum price which
the southern farmer should receive
for his cotton during the ensuing
year, the spectators In the cotton
ranks have managed to depress the
market and to beat down prices.
1 address to you this line as a fra
ternal appeal to hold steadfast to the
counsel of your annual convention
and with heroic fidelity abide its ulti-
matum to the markets Of the world
Hold your cotton for Is cents and
hold 1t until 1t brings the price.
The committee which fixed the min
imum at Little Rock represents all
the cotton states and many Of the
best farmers of the south.
The National Union. when 1t fixed
that minimum, knew more about the
situation than any cotton gambler or
combination of cotton gamblers. II
was not fixed upon an impulse or an
uncertainty, but after deliberate study
and investigation. With all my heart
and with all my mind, urge you to
the last limit Of your ability to hold
steadfast to this policy adopted by
your National Union.
The present status makes a definite
and decisive crisis In the history OF
our great organization. UP to this
date the farmer has worked against
opposition and the possibility Of de-
feat.
We have won victory after victory
by this splendid policy. We stand
now face to face with a combination
which affords us an opportunity to
show the world that the southern far
mer is resolutely determined to main
tain his rights. The eyes Of the world
are upon him as never before. and
the history Of the organization in the
future will depend in no small degree
upon the courage and fidelity with
which he meets the present situation.
FOR three years you have won out in
every proposition that you have pre-
sented to the business world.
Win once more In this important
issne and 1t will be henceforth easier
sailing for us all. Loyalty at this
time will be more to attract the thou
sands who are outside the ranks than
any argument we can present or any
enpeal that we can make. Let US win
this victory and we will achieve the
fear of our enemies and the respect.
confidence and admiration Of the
world
The act of the last national eonven-
ton pulsed the whole union with fresh
and virile hope. Perfect harmony and
perfect unity prevailed in all our
councils, and the Farmers union
stands today as solid phalanx before
the forces of greed.
Cotton Is Key to Situation.
You hold the key to the situation.
You have the cotton. you have the
warehouses, and II to these you only
add the courage, the business stamina
and the common sense to hold your
own, you need not fear the future.
Do not be scared by the conspiracy
which has been begun to make you
part with your cotton for less than
the minimum price. You have behind
you the greatest power of the age
in which we live. the power Of num-
bers and the power Of organization.
Only realize your strength, only be
faithful to your principle. only stand
with the shoulder to shoulder touch
with your comrades. and the victory
will more than atone for the incon-
venience and the waiting. I do not
ask you to hold your cotton to the
injury of your creditors Every far
mer's duty is to pay his debts, but
this is a period when the individual
farmer, and the Farmers union can
use their influence with their mer-
chant friends to induce them to bear
for a little while with any farming
debtor whom the local union may
recommend to their confidence and
regard.
Be Loyal to tho Union.
In this emergency every farmer Is
an evangel. Let him go out among
his fellows to cheer them up-to
stiffen their backbone-to show
them the way to the union ware
houses and to the friendly merchant
and to the loyal way of waiting.
The year that is before US simply
waits to crown the the farm who In
this period is loyal to his union,
faithful to its messages and resolute
in maintaining the standard Whlcn II
has fixed for the price OF his nooiesl
product. I feel that rarely before mas
the integrity and strength or the Far
mers' union faced a greater crisis
than in the courage and character
with which he meets this assault OF
the conspirators to force surrender
upon the minimum price which 1t has
declared.
Let every farmer face the situation
without fear, and as God has pros
pered him in other years and as MS
union has prepared for him In the
storehouses for his crop, let him put
his shoulder to the shoulder or his
brother, and, breathing courage, con-
fidence and determination. let him re-
neat to the world the statement that
the man who buys his cotton must
pay him Is cents pound.
c. 8. Barrett.