The Tupelo journal., 1908-04-03
strong in order that all may be-

man strong in order that all may bs
come strong.
ut is true that the country is ed.
justing along that line,' but very slow.
ly. If conditions are allowed to remain |
as they are, a half century will pass
before the South comes into its own, if
in fact that is ever accomplished. The
constant drain of wealth from this sec
ton and the. concentration of the sam@
in the great wealth centers adds to their
strength and to our weakness, and
widens the chasm year by year.
Your pine forests will he exhausted
in half a century and cotton will be
your source of wealth, so why not CO.
operate now in order that cotton may
hold the commanding position that your
pine forests now hold.
ut may be true that. the man who
borrows money and carries his commodi-
ties is specializing but it is equally true
that the man who carries his commodi-
ties and does not borrow money is specu-
lating; in fact, the farmer is specializing
from the time he puts the seed in the
soil until he turns his product into
money. He is specializing against
weather, seasons, trade conditions, ETC.,
and when by his own act he permits
trade conditions to exist that operate to
his detriment, he speculates very I'M
wisely.
II am glad to note that you are inter
ested in the welfare and prosperity of
the agriculturists, and that you think
they are due more support and sympa-
thy than any other class. I I'm sorry to
say, however, that they do not gener-
ally get that support and sympathy from
men engaged in other avocations. They
produce the wealth of the country, and
yet they are the poorest class of the
country. They feed and clothe the world,
and yet in their present struggle for
self preservation almost every business
man in the South has predicted that cot
ton will go to 8 cents per pound, thus
discouraging the farmer and encourag-
ing those who would prey upon him.
The Southern farmers during the last
few months have waged the most I'M
equal struggle known to man. They have
fought the world in their efforts to Sc
cure just compensation for their toll,
and have had arrayed against them the
majority of the business people of their
own section. 1t is my candid opinion
that if every business man in the South,
during the last four months, had encour-
aged the farmer to hold the position he
has taken, and said to the balance of the
world that you must pay a legitimate
price for the cotton of the South before
you can have it, we would see very diff
ferent conditions IN the cotton trade. The
world gets its impression of the South
from the conduct and utterances of the
business people of the South.
THE impression during the last sea-
son has been that the farmers would not
hold their cotton, but would be caused
to bolt and sell their product for 8 cents
per pound. Late last fall, when the crisis
caused by the approach of settling time
was confronted, the market was raided
in an effort to put the price of cotton to
s cents. The farmer refused to take
that price, and cotton began steadily to
advance, and in February it reached 1914
cents in the local markets. Now we are
confronted with another crisis. Planting
season has come, farmers owe money,
they must have mules, corn and other
supplies. Many of them have to lave
credit. We see now another raid of the
market, trying to force the price down
to 8 cents. This is a very great strain on
our people, and they deserve unstinted
| praise for their sacrifice and self-denial
in al effort to protect their homes. If
they could be driven from their position
now, it would not only mean the loss
they would sustain on the cotton they
have on hand, but it would mean a loss
of not less than 3 cents per pound on the
whole of the next crop. They will not
surrender. Cotton will advance again.
81 thank you for your kind express
sions of goodwill and friendship for the
agricultural class, and I trust you and
your class may in the future not only
make those kind expressions, but that
you may cooperate in this movement for
| the welfare and the up-building of our
beloved Southland.