The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-10-18
AS he SEES It
Commissioner Watson Says the Far
mers Must Hold Cotton.
HOW IT APPEARS TO HIN

Tells OF His Observations on a Trip
Through the South, and Gives 1t
.as His Opinion that the Farmers
Are Making a Mistake to Sell
Their Cotton Now.
81 don't hesitate to say that the
man who is now taking his cotton
to market is the most gigantic fool
that the world has any record Of, and,
speaking in all seriousness, there
ought to be some law that would pun
ish him for deliberately robbing his
wife and children from what they are
entitled by the law of supply and de-
mand."
This statement was made recently
by E. J. Watson, commissioner Of ag-
riculture of South Carolina and pres
ident OF the permanent cotton con-
gress of the South, in discussing the
situation in reference to the market
ing of cotton. He is of the opinion
that the cotton caterpillar is bless
ing in disguise.
''To me, as president Of the South
ern Cotton congress-" said Mr.. Wat
son, ''in the last week, while cotton
has been falling in price to the vicin-
ity Of nine cents, have come many
and varied communications bearing
upon the situation. On top of it all
has come the appearance Of the cot
ton boil worm, commonly known as
the cotton caterpillar, and mistaken
ly described as the army worm"
This last l regard as blessing in
disguise. Why the farmers Of the
State should become panic stricken
over the appearance Of the worm at
this stage of the game, when he can
not possibly cause loss of over S50,-
600 for the entire State in his work
upon late planted cotton, while two
such counties as Orangeburg and
Newberry can cause greater loss by
their farmers taking their cotton to
market at this time, is something
that it is hard to understand from
the standpoint of business.
81 regard the appearance Of the
cotton worm as blessing, in that it
shows how quickly the farmer will
respond to present moment danger
when it appears upon his own door
step. Multiply the cotton boil worm
thousands of times and set him upon
the doorstep Of the average farmer
and perhaps you will see realization
of what it means to play into the
hands of the bears, upon perfectly
natural lines, and give away S25 per
bale on cotton by taking it to market
at present. I don't hesitate to say
that the man who is now taking his
cotton to market is the most gigantic
fool that the world has any record of,
and, speaking in all seriousness, there
ought to be some law that would
punish MIN for deliberately robbing
his wife and children from what they
are entitled to by the law OF supply
and demand. 1t is indeed a pitiable
spectacle that lot of ignorant and
frightened farmers are making OF
themselves and their country by rush
ing their cotton to market.
''The bears in New Pork, most OF
them Southern men, I am sorry to
say, who are traitors for money, to
their country, and mean the nation
at large, have simply done what in.
telligent men would do. They have
taken advantage Of the fact that the
crop has opened all over the belt
and they had good sense enough to
put their buyers in the field and show
to the world larger receipts at inter
for points and ports than have ever
been known before. Watch them
reach the harvest on the spots just
obtained in this way. And you can't
blame them. Any man would have
done the same thing.
''They know full well that the
world demands at present 100000
bales of cotton, and they have sim
ply collected the premium on ignor-
ance that the Southern producer has
fN fhSc hnA-, =
willing to pay. The truth of the
matter is that the average farmer
doesn't give a continental about the
economic side of his crop. He don't
even know what becomes of it when
he sells it to a cotton buyer at an ay-
erage of two grade less than it really
is, and the pity of it all he doesn t
care. He believes any lie that is sent
out from any old cotton firm, and !
don't hesitate to say it, from even
the United States government, as wit
messed by recent reports, and doesn t
give the snap of his lnger ABOUT the
business end of the proposition.
''I picked up the New York Ameri-
can of Sunday and looked at Ranlett's IS
summary of the cotton situation. The
head lines told the story, saying sell
ing by the South alone responsible for
decline in the last few months Mr..
Ranlett, very properly, charges the
South itself with being alcEe respon-
sible for the decline in price in the
last few month, and the Southern
producer ought to hang his head in
shame at the cowardice he has dis
played in rushing his cotton to mar
ket.
"Over in Montgomery, the other
day, several thousand men-Southern
men-interested in cotton assembled
to take action looking to al intelli-
gent marketing of the crop. At that
time it was not even partially appar-
ent that cotton would omen three