The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-09-15
Organization Made Permanent.

!
ed warehouses.
Organization Made Permanent.
Declaring that organization among
the farmers, and cooperation among
u;22il with the bankers and fnanciers,
was the solution of the problem, the
convention resolved itself into per
manent organization, to be known as
the Southern Cotton congress, and
adjourned to meet in Atlanta at the
call of the president, E. J. Watson,
! commissioner of agriculture OF South
Carolina.
: The meeting in Montgomery is to be
followed by a similar convention in ev-
erv Southern State, to be called by
the commissioner of agriculture OF
each State. By these conventions the
action of the congress is to be ratified
and reinforced by further steps toward
securing a better price for cotton.
Smith Speaks Again.
Among the speakers at the conven-
ton today were Senator E. D. Smith,
of South Carolina, who received the
thanks Of the congress for his attitude
in congress toward the government
cotton report; Congressman Thomas
j. Hefin, of Alabama; Congressman
Henry D. Clayton, of Alabama, and
Dudley NJ. Hughes, Congressman from
the Sd district of Georgia; Oscar W.
Underwood, majority leader of the
house of representatives., and chairman
of the ways and means committee, sat
! in the audience.
Smith Carried the Day.
1t was Senator Smith who perhaps
made the speech which decided the
congress in its. naming the price of
cotton at IS cents, for Congressman
Heffin wanted to make the price Il or
Is cents, with IA cents as the mini
mum. Congressman Clayton, in his
speech, declared his belief that in ten
years. time the world would be using
25,000o00 or 30,OOO,OOO bales of Amer
lean cotton.
President C. S. Barrett, of the Far
liners Educational and COOPERATIVE
Union, delivered an address On CO.
operation. He denounced as baseless
the reports of a bumper cotton crop,
denied the charge that the Farmers
union was combine to hold up civi1i-
zation, and asserted that there is a
|'ccmbination for the purpose Of ham
mering down the price Of cotton.
Financing the Crop.
W. G. Harden, president Of the First
National bank Of Birmingham, spoke
on FINANCING the Cotton Crop" Dur
ing his speech he declared that the
present crop could at best be only
an average one. He advised against
fixing a minimum price at which cot
ton should be sold, but urged farmers
to market their cotton slowly and
gradually.
DR.. W. E. Kinds, State entomologist,
delivered very instructive address
On the destructive work done by the
cotton caterpillars.
The government was severely crit
1clsed at the committee session this
morning for alleged inaccuracies in
crop estimates and ginning reports.
1t was the opinion Of The committee
that the South no longer should rely
On the national government for it's
crop reports, but make them out at
home.
E. J. Watson Speaks.
Commissioner of Agriculture Wat
son, of South Carolina and President
Dabbs, Of the South Carolina Farm
ers' union, were severe in their ar
raignment Of the United States depart
ment of agriculture in gathering cot
ton statistics. Commissioner Watson
stated that the government has had a
statistician in his State for the past
ten years, gathering data for the gov
ernmentis crop reports, and that dur
ing his administration he had never
met the gentleman, or had never seen
him, nor had any OF his sixty-five
agents in the State seen him.
"The whole thing is a farce" he
said, with indignation, "and We should
no longer rely on the government for
a correct report"
! Congressman Henry D. Clayton, of
Alabama, stated that the government
crop reports we're based on the best