The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-09-27

sell or exchange our seed unless our
equities in their value and in the
value Of all the by-products are rec
ognized. Now what that equity is
l am not prepared to say, but I do
protest at our people selling thou
sands of tons of seed at s14 or SIG
In the early part OF the season, as
they did this year, and as they did
four years ago, to see the market ad-
vance to $40, $24, s27, $29, $50,
$3.50, $50. AS you have both seen
it do in the last few seasons. and of
course meal and hulls advanced in
proportion--and probably all am
moniates We're advanced as con-
sequence and feed stuffs such as lin
seed and alfalfa hay, etc. were also
marked up because of the high price
CT meal and then have to replace
the seed in meal or other material at
the advance. We are told the corn
crop is short, the oat crop is short;
all by the same department that says
| there is a big crop Of cotton. II
these reports be true, seed will bring
| record price before next May and
| l want our farmers who are SUFFERING
by reasons Of the depressed price of
| cotton to hold on to their seed until
such time as you, the manufacturers.
are warranted in paying a price COM
| mensurate with their importance as
| one of the great food products of the
world.
In view of the corn outlook and
the trend Of prices Of food products,
l still think my advice was timely.
| and that seed should be bringing ap-
proximately last years quotations.
That there has been some advance
| since the matter was called to my at
tention does not invalidate the cor
| rectness Of my position or the gen
eral proportion. l thank you, gem
| tlemen. for the tone Of your letters
and will be glad to hear from you at
any time you have matters that will
be to our mutual help to discuss
Respectfully yours. E. W. Dabbs.
President South Carolina State
Farmers Union.
Postscript-This letter was finished
just before 1 went for the mail, but
did not have time to read il over
and address the envelopes, so it was
held over till tomorrow's mail.
Today's State has very in
teresting letter from you. Mr..
Taylor, on Cattle Feeding on Cotton
Seed Meal" it is not my intention to
follow up your line of argument in
the many phases you present Of the
! subject but I want to touch upon
one statement You make: II do not
hesitate to say that the mills in this
State are willing to pay $40 a ton
Tor cotton seed II the farmers will
| pay corresponding price for meal
and hulls." This presupposes that
| meal and hulls. compared with other
food products, are so valuable that
| they ought to be selling at a price
that will make $40 per ton the right
price for the cotton seed. If that be
! true then why do you say that my
! advice to hold seed for s28 or $50 is
, ill-advised? If the feeding value OF
meal and hulls is so great that the
seed should sell for $40 the ton, my
advice was very conservative. Pay
| us $40 the ton and work up the meal
and hulls to the corresponding price,
take meal entirely out Of the list of
fertilizing materials, take it out Of the
list OF beef feeding stuffs as your article
would indicate should be done, and
put 1t rightly where it belongs. in the
fore front Of the best dairy concen-
trated feed on the market. And give
us our equity in this raw material.
You say the farmers have not CO.
operated with the mills. Did the
mills need any help from the farm
| ers when they were making such div
idends that an oil mill was a small
gold mine? II the business was
overdone whose fault was it? Not
the farmers. surely, but rather the
men who had made big money out
of the farmers raw material. II you
ever paid too much for seed, whose
fault was it? Partly the farmers
education to know the value Of his
material, and your knowledge that
you could do business on a closer
margin Of profit, and in some way
you fell down on the sales end OF
your business.
will ask TIE papers to publish in
the deadly parallel the prices of cot
ton products as quoted in their cot