The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-12-28
FARMERS
UNION NEWS
Practical Thoughts for Practical
Farmers.
conducted by t.. W. Dabbs. Pres
ident S. c. Farmers Union.)
SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS.
Wy Not armcrs' Exchange in Real
cigh?

dpOul tHe most practicable forward
step in the line Of corporation for
selling our farm products is the es-
'piishiheht OF a cooperative Farm
ers Exchange in each important
town or city in the South. Now. for
example, we may find On the streets
OF Raleigh today one farmer spending
half day to sell four or five hounds
OF butter; another farmer spending
nall day to sell a couple Of hams:
ahother to sell half dozen chick
ems; another 10 sell few dozen cab
rage, etc, etc. Before our Farmers
Union movement grows old. | expect
10 see at each important town this
cooperative Farmers Exchange.
which will take the farmers products
and handle them in a scientific and
economical manner without requiring
them to waste, frequently, half as
much time as the products themselves
are worth"
Thus Mr. Clarence Poe in his able
address on How Farmers Can CO.
operate" before the North Carolina
State Union recently.
Below is copied from the Raleigh
News & Observer something further
about the great convention Of farm
ers, the North Carolina State Union.
| Will try to have Brother Comas of
Danville, Va, at the Florence County
Union meeting on Tuesday, January
14th, when delegates from every Union
in the tobacco counties of South Car
Olina will be invited to organize the
Eastern South Carolina tobacco grow
ers' association of the Farmers
Union:
As to the Cotton.
The next speaker was President +.
w. Dabbs, the president of the Farm
ers' Union Of South Carolina. His re-
marks were concerning the matter of
the handling Of the cotton crop He
declared that on one million bales of
North Carolina cotton crop there
was lost at a conservative estimate
$40 per bale, or ten million dollars.
Il am told" he said, that cotton is
made in fifty counties. This means
that 5000, 900 less money was brought
into these counties. Do not think of
this in millions of dollars as applied
to all the South, but as what is known
to have been lost in ones own county
and make it our business to see that
every merchant and banker is made
to see his responsibility for helping
the farmer secure this money. 1t is
a fight of every man for the honor
and prosperity of his country, his
State and his section"
MIR. Dabbs' exposition of the cotton
situation was g. most interesting and
able one.
The Question OF Tobacco.
The last talk of the evening was
made by p. NJ. Comas. of Danville.
Va, president of the Farmers Dry
Prizery. He urged the value Of CO.
operative work in handling and mar
keting tobacco, and urged especially
the value of the dry prizery, so as to
preserve the tobacco and not throw
it on the market to be gobbled up at
low prices.
Mr.. Comas reviewed the question
of tobacco prices and showed how it
had been that farmers were at the
mercy of the tobacco trust. He de-
clared that with tobacco selling at
high price the trust would urge there
was no need for the farmers to organ
ize. But he declared that it was be-
cause of cooperation and organiza-
ton that the tobacco farmer is getting
more for his crop. This is a short
crop" he said, and it is time to or
ganize, and it will be learned that
when a man is able To store his to-
bacco he will be able to look out for
it's money value
Mr.. Comas urged that there be thor
ough organization made, that the
farmers of the bright tobacco belt in
Virginia, North Carolina and South
Carolina should be united. that in this
class of tobacco there is given almost
a monopoly in itself, that hence the
producers should get together and
control it. His insistcncc was that
business be done in business-like
way anu i'm closing he urged the val
uc of tobacco farmers Investing in a
tobacco manufacturing plant, as well
as preparing by the dry prizery for
the storing of tobacco, 50 as to protcc,
themselves.