The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-04-10
PLANT LESS COTTON.
PRESIDENT HARRIS ISSUES AD-
DRESS TO MEMBERS OF
FARMERS UNION,
County Presidents Will Meet Eyecu-
tive Committee to Consider Hand
ling Crop of 1909.

|
B. Harris, of the South Carolina
State Farmers Union has issued the
following address, which he desires
that the county papers Of the State
should copy:
| Again 1 want to call your atten-
ton, farmers, that now is the time
to fix price on the 1909 cotton crop.
Will you make it or Is cents? 1t is
in your power to make it either.
| II want to, if I can, impress upon
you that diversification of your crops
is the keynote of the situation. 1
want to urge every Southern farmer
to plant at least 35 per cent. of his
| cotton land in food crops so as to
make home self-sustaining. Now
let's see If it will pay us as farmers
| to diversity our crops. To my know
| ledge. the farmer who has not been
making home self-supporting has been
swapping 81 for SO cents. Now let's
| see II this assertion is true. The farm
er who bought corn last year paid
| $1.1O cash for 1t. If he borrowed the
money to buy with it cost him $1.25,
as he paid interest on the money If
he hauled 1t home ten miles it cost
him 10 cents. 1t is worth 10 cents per
bushel to haul corn ten miles, so his
corn cost him $1.35. Now, any good,
progressive farmer can make. all the
corn he will need on his farm for "a
cents per bushel. Are any Of the
Southern farmers guilty Of the
above? If so. go and sin no more.
Did you buy any bacon? 1t is selling
now for IL 1-2 cents cash. Still
swapping 81 for so cents. Any good
farmer can raise enough for his fam
lily use for cents per pound. Did
you buy any hay? If you did you are
still at the same old way Of exchang-
ing. If you bought a horse or mule
you paid from 5000 to $50. You can
raise one just as good for less than
800. Now, brother farmer, do not
say that you cannot raise corn for 35
cents. Try to do it. have met more
than so farmers this year that raised
1t for less than IS cents per bushel.
and as many as Is who raised it for
less than 20 cents. The farmer who
is raising corn for 80 cents, bacon for
cents. raising his own horses and
making home self-supporting has
quit swapping 81 for so cents. The
farmer who is buying is still at his
old job. While the farmer who is
buying on a lien and mortgage on his
crop is just swapping 81 for 25 cents,
for the cash buyer is swapping 81 for
SO cents. He can raise it for half
what he pays for it when he buys it.
Brother farmer, If you are guilty of
the above sin I say to you, sin no
more. Now, what price will you have
for the 1909 crop? Will you have
or Is cents? Remember. it is all in
ever price you make it. To get Is
cents you will have to diversity your
crops and stop exchanging 81 for so
cents. or you will never be able to get
remunerative price. Now, what is
the use Of the farmers Of the South
to raise 100000 bales of cotton and
not get for it any more than they can
for 100000 or 5000. .OOO-bale
crop? Think of the enormous ex-
pense Of raising the extra 5000, 900
bales to bear the market down. And
who does this? 1t is the farmer
Think and consider for moment
what you are doing and you will quit
1t. Do you think for a moment that
the manufacturer would do any such
ruinous business as this? No, he
would stop one-half of his machinery
at once and curtail his output one
half and make the same profit. Now,
brother farmers, use a little good bus
mess judgement and common good
horse sense. 1 hear some farmers say
Mr. Jones is going to cut his cotton
acreage and 1 will just increase mine.
Sad, but this is too true to make
joke Of. This is just what the specu-
lative world says you will do. The
most essential thing for the farmers
to do this year is to plant 35 per
cent. Of cotton land in food crops and
live at home.
II took dinner the other day with
man who lives in the country, 7
cannot say that he was a farmer, for
his dinner did not satisfy me in call
ing him farmer, for everything he
had on his table was bought. Out
Of curiosity I asked him how he cured