The Carlisle independent., 1909-12-02
SEES FIFTEEN-CENT COTTON
Farmers of the South Congratulated on Long Deferred Hopes and Ex-
 pectations in Price.

ot the south-at least those engaged Tn the culture of cotton-on the at talnment of their hopes and expecta. lions of 15 cents for cotton At any rate, l do so most heartily, while at l the same time nursing a feeling of ap- prehension that many farmers will Ego
 wild next year and will seek to ex- ! tend the area in cotton to the limit of labor supply and available land. Eff 1 teen cents is a very seductive price Tor cotton; not that it is absolutely high, but because it looks big and sounds big to the farmer who has been 1 setting around" eight and nine cents l for few years past, and who has 2 feeling reflection of further back years, when the ruling prices were between 4 F and 612 cents. I note that there l is a prevailing idea-indeed, it has i been positively asserted, that there i Will be no more ten-cent cotton and no more wheat for less than a dollar, 1 writes k. J. Bedding in Atlanta Consti- i tuition. On the other hand, it might just as truly be prophesied that neither will there. be any more 75- ] cents-a-bushel corn, or ten-cents-a- l pound bacon, and 50-cents-a-day labor | inc farmer has to pay more for his 1 store-bought clothing; more for his 1 blows and hoes, and hammers and nails; more for his horses and mules. In short, the farmer who has nothing to sell but cotton gets more for that one article, but has to pay more for nearly, ii not quite everything that he buys, to say nothing of the advance in | the price of labor, which must come, and certainly is coming. It is true that the price of cotton has gone up some what more rapidly than have the l prices of these other things, but we may be sure that the latter will fol- low in due time and on the way pos 1 sibly meet cotton prices coming down.
 Now this is not the vail of pessi- mism, but is the simple note of eau tion and the warning voice of pru- dence. History repeats itself" is an old proverb and is just as applicable tc the course of the cotton market as l to other things. It is claimed that i prosperity has come at last, but grant ing and not denying the claim, it may 1 be urged in reply that as the tide ebbs and flows twice in every 24 hours, | so prosperity and hard times change places every few years. That has been l the history of the times as far back as the oldest inhabitant" can remem- Der. There has been no radical change in the relation of the industries of life to each other There has been no l fundamental reform that should work out and maintain a constant perma- nent condition of prosperity, and prob l ably there will not be-in this genera tion at most.
 The moral of this short discussion is that the farmer should sit steady in the boat" and not lose his head, or, as some might express it turn fool" The farmer who may read this knows just what I mean and may an ticipate what further might be said in the way of application to details.
 In general the cost of making cot ton has gone up with the market price of cotton, not quite so fast or to such an extent, but it will catch up in due time. Why, don't we recall the years 1S66-67-6869-70, when cotton was between 20 and 30 cents per pound, while at the same time bacon was 12 to 15 cents, corn $1.25 to $1.50, flour $10 to SIP per barrel, and so on. But granting for the moment that the next years cotton crop will sell around 15 cents, that fact would by no means justify the farmer in going in for big crop next year and neg lecting the production of all needed supplies for the farm. It is said that the limited supply of labor will pre- vent any considerable increase in the area to be planted in cotton. But let farmers go to bidding against each | other for laborers and we will at once see response to the demand, by the half-occupied and wholly unemployed | of our towns and cities High prices for labor will inevitably increase the supply of laborers as they have always done and always will do.
 The safe course is for the farmer to pursue the even tenor of his way and not permit himself to be tempted from a safe and sane" policy of home-pro
 duction of such supplies as corn and oats, bacon and lard, beef and butter, fruits and vegetables, and-it must not be omitted-that policy of conser- vation of home resources, rotation of crops and the restoration and preser- vation of his soil
 | It is gratifying to note that the Farmers union is strenuously advo- eating this very policy I am endeav- bring to feebly outline. The union is
 composed entirely of farmers and its leaders are intelligent, safe and con- servative. These leaders know the farmers failings-how easily they are
 led from the path of safety by high
 prices of cotton-and are earnestly striving to keep their brethren from deserting the colors, or struggling into the heretofore oft-trodden by-ways
 that lead to debt, disappointment and