The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-04-17
j. Y. JoYNER.

learned the lesson Until the era of
full enlightenment comes. the speaker
conceded. commercial fertilizers will
have to remain more or less of nco>s
s;ty.
Tenancy blight to south.
The tenant evil and it's blighting in
huence on the South was the subject
OF a stirring address BY DR.. f. G. Bran
son, OF the Georgia State Normal Col
lese. who charged to this economic
condition the butchery of Southern
lands instead of their preservation
Farming by proxy" as he called it,
was responsible for diminishing re-
| turns and for the growing incubus Of
the fertilizer bill.
DR.. Branson submitted figures show
/ Ing that IS per cent Of the titled lands
| in Georgia are in tho hands OF tenants
whose only concern is to get as much
as possible from the land and to re-
turn as little as possible. Tenancy, he
said, is increa sing in several of the
Southern States, and is problem
OF growing proportions. II is threat
cning the South with lanhlordism
Until philosophical owners shall
provide means by which the frugal
tenant may become landholder. said
the speaker. there Will always be a
serious obstacle in the way of better
farming methods and general educa-
ton. In their present status. the ten
ants Of the Southern States are little
better than nomads, with abiding inter
est in neither church nor school, drift
ing from place to place-a forgotten
people.
Remedy I'm Education.
Pressed by members of the confer
ence to suggest possible solution. DR.
Branson said that liberal spirit
among land owners and the spread Of
education and consequent higher
hope of relief. AS the dignity of land
ownership is realized by the tenant
holding classes, he thought. their prov
idence and frugality VIII increase.
| When these tendencies are met with
encoura cement by land holders and
may be borrowed on good terms. the
evil will gradually disappear.
j.. j. Watson, of South Carolina, who
] spoke early in the morning session on
| the subject. why Are We Not Getting
| Adequate Yields?" attributed that fail
! ing to the tenancy system. to the reck
less butchery of the soil. and to mis-
! directed use of commercial fertilizers
/ The correct use of these was so little
known, he said, that two-thirds of the
commercial fertilizers applied to farm
lands in the South are absolutely
/ wasted.
! The statement WAS construed by a
/ representative of the fertilizer manu-
! featuring industry present as an at
! tack on the value Of fertilizers, and he
made vigorous protest. MIR. Watson
! explained that his quarrel was not with
the product. but with the incorrect use
of 1T. and the protest was withdrawn
state Cotton Warehouses.
! State Senator John l.. McLaurin. OF
! South Carolina. discussing the cotton
| problem, gave il as his opinion that
| the chief trouble lies not in the pro-
| duction OF the staple. but In its dis
! tribution. Under present conditions. he
! said. the cotton grower is practically
at the mercy of the man who holds a
| lien on his crop. If he is an indepen-
dent planter, he is still Mt the mercy OF
| his local banker, whose course Is die
tated by the reserve banks In the large
| cities.
The remedy for the condition. said
/ Senator McLaurin. lies In the creation
/ by the State of warehouse repositories
! which will receive the cotton from the
| planter. Issuing warehouse receipts for
| it, which. with the guarantee OF the
state behind them. will be easily nego-
| table In any money centre. Farmers
| unions and cooperative alliances or
| ganizcd for the same and similar nur.
| poses. he said. have proved of no avail
In solving the problem, and the onl!
remedy is IN State intervention.
| Senator McLaurin told the conference
that he has already framed bill EN-
| bodying the warehouse plan outlined
ana that the Senate of South Carolina
had passed 1t. He expected 1t to. he
come law In the near future. The plan
he said, will give the South Caroline
/ planter a chance to get one crop ahead
and otice In that position the other re
forms will follow easily.
Co-Dpernffyc Marketing.
j. C.. Caldwell, of Lakewood, MINI.