The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-04-03

DABBS ON CROP MARKETING.
FARMERS UNION HEAD URGES
SCIENTIFIC PLAN AT STATE
UNIVERSITY.
Students Asked to Help Solve an I'm
pOrtant QuestiOn-Interestin and
Instructive.


I'VE must learn how to market"
said e. w. Dabbs, president Of the
State Farmers union yesterday, ad-
dressing the students Of the Univer-
sity Of South Carolina on the ques-
ton of scientific marketing Of crops.
His address was one Of the best and
most instructive that has been de-
livered at the university this year.
President Dabbs made a strong ap-
peal to the college Of the State to
help answer the question as to how
the farmers shall market scientifcal-
ly all Of their crops.
1T Is pleasure to me-" said Pres
ident Dabbs, Ito be in your presence
today to speak to you in as few words
as possible on a matter Of practical
import, and in asking your assistance
In solving one Of the greatest prob
lens that confront us in our social and
economic relations.
"In our declaration of the purposes
of the Farmers union we say, in the
course Of modern industrial develop
ment We find 1t necessary that the
farmer not only apply the principles
OF scientific agriculture, but that he
systematize his business by coopera-
tlon and apply the principles of scien-
tifc commerce. Heretofore, our eff
forts have beer along the line Of
saving In our purchases, not realizing
that II We are an agricultural people,
We are producers. and should be more
Interested in securing a just return
for the products Of our labor and our
soil than in the saving OF few cents
or dollars on our purchases. I have
found In my experience that the
g eatest reason why our farmers do
moi take kindly TO a diversified sys-
tenn of agriculture is that we have
no system Of marketing our crops.
Men will tell me that IL they were to-
farm as the experts Of the various
departments suggest. that they would
not know what to do with the corn,
the oats, the cotton and the hogs
that they might grow. Feeling that
We have been laying entirely too
much stress upon the subject of pro-
duction and none whatever upon the
subject Of marketing, 1 have made
1t the burden Of the message that
have carried to the people Of this
State In the last three years that we
must learn how to market.
Realizing that you gentlemen Of
the faculty are now the moulders
OF the opinions of these young minds.
and that you young gentlemen Of the
student-body will bo the moulders
Of the minds Of the State in the years
Of the near future. it has been borne
In upon me more and more that we
must call you to our assistance and
ask you to study this problem of
scientific marketing, and give us the
results Of your Investigations. Pro-
duction without distribution is often
times curse. We have an apt illus
tration Of this In the tremendous cot
ton crop Of 1911, when the South, as
a whole. paid something like three
hundreds of millions Of dollars for
the privilege Of producing three or
four million bales more than nor
NAL crop. Greater evidence that we
do not produce too much cotton is
shown in the trend Of prices during
the last 80 days when cotton that re-
mained in the field open to all the
elements for six months has, in
some instances, brought as much as
middling cotton did last November
when our people were demoralized
In my humble judgment there has
never been reproduction in the
history of the world since the days
when Joseph was called into power
In the land Of Egypt during those
seven years Of plenty. And what did
they do with those bountiful crops?
Did they throw them upon the mar
kets Of the world regardless OF the
demand? Rather did they not build
storehouses under the direction Of the
Almighty and keep the surplus Of
those crops for the lean years which
He had told them would follow? We
do not now have direct revelation of
what size our crops will be. but we
do know that years OF plenty are fol-
lowed by lean years, and that years
OF leanness are followed by years Of
plenty. and Will probably continue so
In the years to come In our vears