Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-04-09
cuI THE ACREAGE.


olina Farmers Union, has issued the
following address:
Again want to call your attention,
farmers, that now Is the time to fix
prices on the 1909 cotton crop. VIII
you make it or Is cents? 1t is in
your power to make 1t either.
II want to, If can, impress upon you
that diversification Of your crops Is the
keynote of the situation. I 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 II 1t
will pay US as farmers to diversity our
crops. To my knowledge, the farmer
who has not been making home self
supporting has been swapping 81 for
so cents. Now let's see IL this asser-
ton Is true. The farmer who bought
cor:I last year paid. $1.10 cash for It,
II he borrowed money to buy with
1t cost him $1.25, as he paid interest
on the money. If he hauled 1t 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 $1.36
Now, any good, progressive 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? If so, go and sin no more.
Did you buy any bacon? 1t Is selling
now for 12a cents cash. Still swap
ping 81 for so cents. Any good farmer
can raise enough for his family use for
cents per pound. Did you buy any
hay? If 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 $100. Now,
brother farmers, do not say that you
cannot raise corn for 35 cents. Try
to do it. I have met more than fifty
farmers this year that raised 1t for
less than 35 cents per bushel, and as
many as fifteen who raised 1t for less
than 20 cents. The farmer who Is rails
ing corn for 80 cents, bacon for cents,
raising his own horses and making
home self supporting has quit swap
ping 81 for SO cents. The farmer who
is buying is still at his old job. While
the farmer who is buying on 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 1t when he
buys it. Brother farmer, If you are
guilty Of the above sin l say to you,
sin no more. Now, what price will
you have for the 1909 crop? Will you
have or Is cents? Remember, 1t is
all in your hands, and you will get
whatever price you make 1t. TO get
Is cents you will have to diversity your
crops and stop exchanging 81 for 50
cents. or you will never be able TO get
remunerative price. Now, what Is
Al 30 ttn 70 C0Ilfh
raise $4,000, 900 bales Of cotton and not
get for it any more than they can for a
100000 or 5000, ,000-bale crop? Think
of the enormous expense of raising the
extra 5000, 900 bales to bear the market
down. And who does this? 1t Is the
farmer. Think and consider for mo-
ment what you are doing and you will
quit 1t. Do you think for 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, broth
er farmers, use a little good business
Judgment and common good horse
sense. l hear some farmer say Mr..
Jones Is going to cut his cotton acre
age and 1 will just Increase mine
Sad, but this is too true to make a
Joke of. This is just what the specu-
iative 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.
Il took dinner the other day with a
man who lives in the country. l can
not say that he was a farmer, for his
dinner did not satisfy me In calling
him a farmer, for everything he had
on his table was bought Out Of curl
osity 1 asked him how he cured his
bacon. He said Mr.. Armour cured 1t
for him. l asked him what tomato ne
found was best for canning. He told
me his were canned In Baltimore. II
asked him what kind Of turnips hel
sowed for making salad. He told me
he bought that also Then wanted to
know what kind Of cotton seed he
planted. and he quickly answered: III
plant Toole's and Cooks So you can
readily see that he was a planter and
not a real, real farmer. This Is the
kind of farming that causes Scent cot
ton. | was in grocery store the oth-
er day and one of these planters came
in to buy some corn, flour, bacon and
hay. He asked the price of corn, $1.1O;
flour, 81 per BARREL bacon, ia cents
per pound, and hay, s23 per ton. He
said to the merchant. Are you going
to rob me?' The merchant told him
he had robbed himself. You did 1t by
planting all the cotton you could last
year.
Now, brother farmer, let's look at
things square in the face and see that
October cotton Is being sold for about
9 cents on the New York Exchange. |
Now, are you going to plant another
big crop when you know that cents
is about the cost of production? SURE
ly not There is just one thing that
will keep you from delivering your
cotton crop of 1909 for 9 cents, and