Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-12-30
FARMER OR SPECULATOG ,

Are you farmer or SpeculatOr for
l909f In other words, are you
preparing your lands for sound
business cotton crop in 1909, or q
speculative crop? Are you going to
plant such acreage in cotton as you
know will materially reduce your in
diVidual product, as compared with
1908, or are you going to once more
. plant large acreage In the hope that
the price Will rise and that you will
thereby profit materially?
We hear great deal these days
about the cotton speculator, and
there Is no doubt in our minds that
the depressed condition Of the cot
ton market to-day Is due to specula-
tion-gambling If you choose in
futures. The Southern farmer, how
ever, has much less to fear at the
hands OF the stock exchange future
speculator than he has at the hands
of the agricultural spectators in cot
ton futures.
You never bought any cotton flu
lures? Never sold any? No, but you
plant them year after year to your
own undoing. You farmers of the
South know how much cotton Is
going to be needed. and each year
you tell one another how much you
are going to cut your acreage, and
thus reduce the crop to point within
the needs OF commerce. How many
actually do decrease the acreage,
About one out of ten-and the other
nine plant each a little more, and
the crop is finally picked-larger and
lower priced than before.
No speculative business Is safe
business. The nine speculative far
mers'-those who figured that their
nelSnDors were going to do the
cutting in acreage, and that they
should, therefore, increase theirs and
reap the great profits Of the short
crop--are the ones that suffer most.
Each figured short crop and plant
ed long one. Each invested his
Z thard-earned dollars in twice as much
h cotton fertilizer as he ought to have
fought, neglected the food crops in
Cone hope that his big cotton yield
lille all otheis would be short, would
ENABLE him to buy food for his fam
ably and feed for his stock The
result? There was another bumper
crop, and each Of the nine speculative
farmers has his full share OF the
blame for the conditions existing to-
day, and the specializing farmers are
more to blame than the speculating
rordes of Wall street.
Now, the question arises, What are
you going 10 40 next year? Are you
going to howl loud and publish to the
world that you are going to cut you
acreage % per cent, then turn ba, x
to your fields and Increase your cot
tor land Is per cent? Who do you
deceive? Certainly not the specula-
tor, for when your crop is in the
ground he knows 1t. He has his re-
ports from every cotton State as to
the acreage, and when he knows that
hundred acres are planted In cot
ton you can howl yourself black in
the face that it is only rs acres, and
1t doesn't alter the fact. He knows,
and you only deceive yourself.
The remedy lies at the farmers
hands. They have got to get down
to actual business and drop out Of
the speculative field. When the Sou
thern farmer learns to raise what he
consumes at home. and plants cot
ton as surplus, he can leave the
exchange speculator out OF his cal
culations, and he himself will be
master OF the situation
There will be at least 100000