Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-09-01

the president caused CONSERVATION
by the announcement that the union
had already sold the entire cotton
seed crop Of Texas, amounting to
| 100000 tons, outside the State to
foreign mills, that is, mills in other
| States. How well founded his state
ment is has not yet been shown.
| There are two hundred cotton seed
| oil mills in Texas, employing over
thousands Of men and turning out
products over $20,00O,0OO in value
| II Mr.. Neill actually has made the
| deal he says he has made for the
| Texas farmers, it would mean the
closure of these factories for lack of
| material.
The general belief Is that the deal
has not yet been consummated, or
II consummated, only in part; but
the fact that it Is a possibility shows
The great powers of the union and
how it can cause economic and in
duStriai revolutions If 1t carries
through it's commercial plans.
There were several significant fea-
lures Of the Texas meeting. II n,ade
known combination between the
Farmers Union and the labor un-
ions, and the officials of the State
Federation of Labor and the Labor
Council of Galveston took seats
alongside President Neill Such a
combination Of the producers, farm
erS and workmen, never before at
tempted in the South, contains ele-
ments of political strength that can
not be exaggerated.
Again, President Neill was emphat
ic in his declaration of war against
all spectators in cotton and an
nounced that he would spend the
winter in Washington watching legis-
lation and trying to influence Con-
gress in the direction Of the abolish
ing of cotton exchanges and protect
ing the farmers. Indeed, carried
away by his own eloquence, Mr.. Neill
announced his willingness to give
TS'' ioi NNSis man lolIlu
in cotton in Texas. leaving it to be
inferred that the Farmers Union will
see to the arrest, prosecution, con-
viction and punishment of such Of
tenders.
In Mississippi the union, besides
flirting very openly with politics, is
engaged in two great commercial
schemes. While Mr.. Hightower, the
head OF the order, is a member of
the committee, which proposes to
have central cotton warehouse in
New Orleans, where cotton can be
held for higher prices; he is known
to favor the plan of warehouses in
the interior towns also, where the
farmer can have his cotton close at
chant or speculator has appropriated
1t and is using is as a basis for flu
ture dealings.
There are seventy odd cotton ware
houses in Mississippi. some owned by
the county Farmers Union, other by
companies and individuals. The aim
of the union is to get control Of all
these and to turn them over to
central board of managers, who will
thus have control of the entire cot
ton crop Of the State.
The board will put a minimum
price on cotton and will sell the cot
ton from time to time, but at such
times and in such quantities as not
to force the price down. Progress
has been made in the work of con-
solidation and it seems likely that
all the cotton warehouses will be got
under control, although scarcely in
time for the present crop. 1t is also
proposed to adopt some plan of CO.
operative stores or cooperative pur-
chasing agencies that will enable the
farmers to get their supplies at cost
1t is intended to make the Far
mers Union movement a national
one. 1t is already organized through
out the South, but is strongest in
the three Southwestern States. Pres
ident flightower, OF Mississippi went
last week 10 South Carolina to or
ganize the farmers there and teach
them the methods successfully used
in Mississippi.
At the Texas meeting the princi-
pal speech was by representative
of the Tobacco Growers Union of
Kentucky, who told the Texas cot
ton farmers how successful his peo-
pie had been in whipping the Tobac-