The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-05
ADVANCE SYSTEM
s. A. KNAPP DISCUSSES ECONOMIC
 QUESTIONS.
He Points Out that it is Not only Dis astriOus to the Farmer, but to the Merchant
 Toe.

Washington. D. C., Jan. 4-(Special ---S. A. Knapp the special agent in charge of the Farmers Cooperative Demonstration work has written an able article on the Advance System" so prevalent In the South.
 Mfr. Knapp writes:
 For many years it has been the custom of Southern farmers to make their crop upon the advance system" and while this has been regarded as an economic error on the side of tha farmer. by many merchants 1t has been thought that 1t was a very prof itable way of buying cotton.
 '"rhe farmer realized that as a mat ter of safety 1t was better to make the food consumed by his family and his stock upon the farm rather than to purchase 1t and especially when he had to promise payment out of a crop which had not as yet been made. | have been watching this phase of ycoun- try life in the South for many years and have come to the conclusion that the advance system" Is just as great a mistake on the part of tho merchant as 1t is on the part of the farmer, for the following reasons:
 First, the merchant takes great risks, which. of course, he tries to cover by increased charges. But even though these charges are increased. the staples of life are not such articles l as a high percentage of profit will ad here to, and the merchant is practi- cally trading gold for a promise to pay. If the crop falls. he is obliged to carry and carry and carry and pos sibly may ultimately. as in thousands of cases. be obliged to take the farm. for which he has no use, and under boil weevil conditions is difficult to handle proftably upon & tenant system
 Under a cash system there will be a great reduction in the sales Of some staple foods such as bacon, potatoes, beans. lard. vegetables. canned goods hay. corn. etc. all articles that carry low profits. The farmer Is rarely a hoarder of money and if he saves S200 or more by producing all his food sup plies at home he has that much moro to spend when his crop is made, and 1t Is cash.
 Under a cash system the farmer will buy with his surplus more dry-goods clothing. shoes, furniture. etc. for his family, better team, farm implements wagons, buggies etc. on which there is a much greater profit for the mer- chant than on staple articles of food. The merchant can turn his money In thirty days, instead of a year. Ten per cent profit turned monthly Is bet ter than 120 per cent gain received annually. Some or the farmers Tn" creased income goes into permanent improvement to enable the farmer to produce more and spend more an- nually.
 Again. there is something about raising cotton. tobacco. etc. to pay a debt, that saps the vitality of the farmer and affects the quality of his tillage. It really lowers the grade of farming. If upon the other hand the merchants will join with us in urging farmers to raise all their food sup plies and try to produce by better til laga double the crop per acre they now produce, the result as 1t affects the merchant will be this:
 All business will soon be on a cash basis and the volume will be three or four times as large from the farmers alone The advent of more money will bring diversified industries among the farmers and eventually will attract manufactures to the market towns.
 If there are idle farms In the coun- ty, instead of calling meetings for the purpose of raising funds to secure im- migration, call meetings to encourage the farmers who know the country and are loyal to it. to universally adopt the following plan. First. provide their own food supplies from the farm. Second, doublt the average product on