The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-10-06
The FARMERS UNION
is A GRAND ORGANIZATION AND
ALL FARMERS OUGHT

To Be Members of 1t and Work to
Make 1t the Greatest Benefit to
Them.
notwithstanding the fact that they
were seriously handicapped during
the past season in meeting their
financial obligations. and in the reali-
cation Of that prosperity that is
rightfully theirs. by the distressingly
low price Of cotton, yet the farmers
Of the South can easily overcome
these grave difficulties by a more
marked adherence to the principles
| of their different organizations in the
| future than in the past, says Paul
| Williams in the Macon Telegraph.
The fact has been demonstrated
that the thing for the Southern farm
er to do in order to obtain a legiti-
mate price for his cotton is to bring
himself to the point where he can
hold it Just as long as he wants to,
but before this can be done 1t Is
absolutely necessary that he raise
his food products at home. This
Is the main thing to do in order
to make Southern agricultural con-
ditions assume a o satisfactory
aspect.
Let the Southern farmer imme-
diately resort to the wisdom and
advisability Of raising his " food
supplies instead of depending for
them upon the Western farmers, and
a wonderful change will be brought
about In the agricultural situation
down South. In fact, such a wonder
full change that the cotton market
will nearly always present a bullish
aspect, because the control Of the
price Of the leecy staple will have
been wrested from the grasp of the
Wall street manipulators and plac'
ed in the control of the Southern
farmers.
Then there will be no repetition
Of the very unsatisfactory and deplor
able conditions that existed to suct
a striking extent last fall, tremen'
dously handicapping the farmers ir
%cancelling their pecuniary obliga
lions. No bills will have to be car
ried over for another year. but debts
will be paid promptly, and farmers
bankers, merchants and others in
terested will enjoy the splendid pros
perity that is the inevitable result
OF the farmer being his own boss.
Many a farmer joins the Unior
thinking that a membership in tn
organization is an that is necessar!
in obtaining satisfactory results from
their farming operations. The.
don't seem to realize that unles
they carry out their obligation a
representatives Of that organization
they will never come into the pos
session Of the manifold blessing!
and benefits that must inevitabl.
|, result from a full discharge of tn
duties and obligations that rest up
on them as members Of that organi
cation.
Unless they remain s~teadfastly Il
their loyalty to the principles Of tn
Union, every fall they will be con
fronted by the awful realization tina
necessity forces them to surrende
to the cotton manlpulators of Wal
street in order to meet their com
mercial obligations with the banker
and merchants and others with whom
they have dealings. This surrende
means low prices for their cottoI
and the consequent disasters attend
ant upon 1t. The agricultural mir
ror In the South reflects a very sal
state Of affairs, indeed. -.
1t reflects the heart-rending spec
tacle Of thousands upon thousand
of farmers bowling down to the pro
fessional gamblers of Wall street
suffering the terrible and almost un
bearable humiliation and mortified
ton of having others dictate tn
price of the products that they hav'
raised by the sweat of their brows
It reflects the sad picture of tn
+ farmers having to mortgage thei
homes and plantations in order Il
alleviate the terror Of low pricet
cotton.
1t shows the aristocratic gentle
men of Wall street growing rich Of
the labors Of the Southern farmers
buying their cotton of their owl
prices and then coming millions
of the silver wheels by gamblin!
and specializing with the fleecy sta
pie. 1t reflects the sad picture Of the
Southern tillers of the soil losing
millions and millions Of dollars an
nually because Of the d~ictation o.
the price OF cotton by the profes
sional gamblers that dwell. in Wal
street, and it reflects thousands o.
other equally as sad and humiliat
ing pictures.
BY a little more pfogressivenes:
and energy on the part Of our South
ern farmers their mirror could be
made to reflect vastly different pic
lures. It would reflect the noble
commanding spectacle of thousands
upon thousands Of the sturdiest and
most progressive farmers on the face
OF the globe developing and utiliZ'