Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1909-04-15
CUT IT OUT
The Farmers Urged To Reduce
The Cotton Acreage
VERY GOOD ADVICE

Would Only Follow it Out Gen.
orally Throughout the Cotton Pro.
ducing Region.
| Columbia, April S.-President r.
Harris, of the South Carolina State
Farmers Union, has issued the fol-
| lowing address, which he desires that
the county papers of the State should
| copy:
Again I want to call your atten-
ton, farmers, that now is the time
to fix price on the 1909 cotton crop.
VIII you make 1t or 1 8 cents? 1t
Is In your power to make 1t either.
Il want to. II can impress upon
you, that dfversiflcation of your
crops Is the keynote Of the situation.
want to urge every Southern farmer
to plant at least 25 per cent of his
| cotton land in food crops, so as to
let's see If 1t will pay us as farmers
to diversity our crops. To my knowl-
edge, the farmer who has not been
making home self-supporting has
been swapping 81 for SO cents. Now
let's see If this assertion is true.
The farmer who bought corn last
year paid $1.10 cash for 1t. II he
borrowed the money to buy with, 1t
cost him $1.25. as he paid interest
on the money. II he hauled IL home
ten miles 1t cost him 10 cents. 1t
is worth 10 cents per bushel to haul
corn ten miles, so his corn cost him
I
farmer can make all the corn he will
need on his farm for 35 cents per
bushel. You see he gave a dollar
for what he could have raised for
35 cents per bushel. Are any of
the Southern farmers guilty of the
above? IL 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 family use or cents per pound.
Did you buy any hay? you did
you are still at the same old way
of exchanging. If you bought a
horse or a mule you paid from 5000
to $3.50. You can raise one just
as good for less than 500. Now,
brother farmers. do not say that you
can not raise corn for 35 cents. Try
to do it. l have met more than SO
farmers this year that raised 1t for
less than 35 cents per bushel, and
as many as IS who raised 1t for less
than 20 cents.
"The farmer who is raising corn
for 80 cents. bacon for cents. rails
ing 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 % 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 / say to you, sin no
more.
Now, what price will you have for
the 1909 crop? VIII you have 8 or
15 cents? Remember, II is all in
your hands, and you will get what
| ever price you make It, To get Is
crops and stop exchanging 81 for
so cents, or you will never be able
to get a remunerative price. Now,
what is the use of the farmers of
the South to raise 100000 bales
Of cotton and not get for 1t any
more than they can for 1000
or S.000,0 0,000-bale crop? Think of
| the enormous expense of raising the
extra 100000 bales to bear the
market down. And who does this
1t is the farmer. Think and consid-
sr for a moment what you are doing
and you will quit it.
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 littls
good business Judgment and common
good horse sense. / hear some farm
er say Mr.. Jones is going to cut his
cotton acreage and l will just In
crease mine. Sad, but this is toe
true to make a joke Of. This is JUS
what the speculative world says you
will do. The most essential thing
for the farmers to do this year 1!
to plant 35 per cent of cotton lant
in food crops and live at home.
81 took dinner the other day will
man who lives in the country.
can not say that he was a farmer
for his dinner did not satisfy me IL
calling him a farmer. for everythin!
he had on his table was bought
Out of curiosity l asked him how h
cured his bacon. He said Mr.. Ar
mour cured it for him. l aske,
him what tomato he found was bes
for canning. He told me his wer
canned in Baltimore. l asked hin
what kind of turnips he sowed TO
= making salad. He told me he bough
: that also. Then l wanted to knov
what kind of cotton seed bo planted
md he quickly answered.: 4 plan
Toole's and Cooks
80 you can readily see that h
: