The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-05-19
MARVELLOUS PROSPERITY
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COL. WATSON REVIEWS AGRICUL
TCRAL ACHIEVEMENTS.
CiteS Figures Given Out By National
Department of Agriculture and
Adds Further Facts.

EtOO1Snl upon the prosperous cOnO1-
tons in South Carolina as revealed
Fpardally in the reports sent out from
ashington. Commissioner Watson
goes further than the Washington dis
patches and gives to this State her due
credit for the splendid showing. Com
missioner Watson said:
'sThe press dispatch from Washing
ton yesterday, giving the Federal gov
eminent figures on the agricultural
production of all the States of the un-
ion, should make every South Carolin-
ian, and particularly every man that
is engaged in the work Of rehaDilita-
ing the agricultural industry of the
State, feel proud of the old State and
her people, Today we received COM
plete official figures at this depart
ment for all of the States in the I'm
ion. The Washington dispatch did not
reveal all of the glory and premier
ship that the Palmetto State has won
in national competition.
Her Latest Achievement.
,,"Already this little triangular wedge
of 10000 square miles on the Atlantic
coast has taken second place in tex
tile manufacturing in the nation, and
now, always a leader, she forges ahead
in more important and fundamental
branch Of industry and takes the lead
of all the States in the Union, with !
the exception of Wyoming and Neva-
da, which, respectively rank forty
third and forty-fourth in volume OF
production and are new States in ag-
riculture and, therefore, are not wor-
thy of consideration in the percentage
Of increase in agricultural production
between 1909 and 1910.
''She further takes rank Of second
among all the older producing States
in the Union in the percentage of in
crease in agricultural products in the
decade between 1900 and 1910. She
still further, in volume of production,
outanks every Southern State, ex-
cept Texas and Georgia, and in value
per square mile of territory she out
ranks both of those States, her value
being s4,518, against s1,369 for Texas
and s3,373 for Georgia.
Among all of the ranking States of
the Union, South Cardinals value per
acre is next only to Illinois, with S5,-i
122, and Indiana, with S4,736. The lit
tie Palmetto State easily outranks
Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and all the
other la-g. oiucing States in this
regard. None of the other Southern
States, except Georgia, come up to the
$4,000 mark, and the value in one at
least is as low as S297.
Looking at the matter in cold
biooded dollars and cents, South Car
olina's increase of 29.4 per cent in
value of. farm products in the past year
represents in round numbers S31;0GO,-
900. Georgia's total increase, not
withstanding her almost double terri
tory. was S34,015,000 for the year. Co.
ing back a decade, South Carolina's
increase in value of agricultural pro-
ducts of 173 per cent means IN cold
cash an iucr Ease ever 1900, when the
value was s51. .324, 900, of sSS,685,000.
It should be borne in mind, too, that
up to about 1900 no real material ad-
vance had been made during the de-
cade. and, as indicated by the figures
for the year just closed, the real ad-
vance has been made in the past few
years.
Not From High Cotton Prices.
cit should be borne in mind, too,
that this great increase Of S3bOO0,0OO
in one year has not been due to; the
high price of cotton, for in 1903 the
average price per pound paid for co.,
ton in South Carolina was 14.4, while
Il 1910 If was l4.'; cents. The fact
that a little State like South Carolina
can Jump from the rank of q. in pro-
duction among the States of the Union
in one years time, to the rank OF Is
and be one only of three Southern
States standing IN the list between l
and 13, and those other two Southern
States having an area Of 265,S96 and
5s.265 square miles, respectively,
against her 3O,sS9 square miles, shows
that effective work has been done
somewhere, and yet the real agricul-
tural development of the matchless
resources of this State has but just
begun.
III +~i1 FL