Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-09-17
PRESIDENT DABBs SAYS HOLD.
He Thinks that Both Cotton and Seed
viii BE Higher.
To the Farmers OF the State:

To the Farmers OF the State:
Letters and kilograms have been
coming to me, as the head Of the Far
merS' Union, requesting action about
the eXtortiOnate price Of cotton bag
| ging and ties and the low price of
cotton seed, coupled with what are
thought to be discriminating regula-
tionS agreed on by the Crushers' AS
sOCatiOn and the Commissioner of
Agriculture. | have tried to answer
them all, but as my answers go only
to the inquirers, wish to say
| through the papers that | see only
| two things TO do.
As to bagging and ties: Buy only
enough to wrap the first green cot
| ton, sell the same at current prices
of 70 y to l3 cents, and arrange to
| quit until such time as the bagging
and tics can be bought at fair prices.
| Pick the mature cotton dry and store
in the seed until you win he fight
two fights to win by this, lower bag
! ging and ties and higher cotton.
! Spend all the time YOU can saving
hay and sowing winter cover crops
FOR hay next year to come in the last
OF March and the first Of April. or
| two months before the Oat crOp.
! AS to cotton seed: Sell the seed
! that arc in danger Of heating as fast
as ginncd. store in dry places all
| the balance so as to have them abSO-
lutclN sound and wait until we see
| how much the market for the meal,
oil and hullS will warrant the mills
| paying. 1t looks to me like $40 will
soon be fair price for sound seed
and the market may go higher. "Pco-
! pie must eat; they must be clothed" >"
| DO NOT be in any hurry. brother far
| merS, to market your crops. Take
time to put them in the most at
tractiVe shapes. And while you. on
the one hand, refuse to glut the mar
kets. on the other, remember that
the people must eat and they must
be clothed and see to it that as far
as YOU are concerned they have a
sutlciency Of your products to satisfy
their needs, at reasonable prices.
In all your planning, take time to
organize your local unions, and time
to meet, from week to week, at the
local school house to study and dis
cusS these and kindred subjects that
| pertain to your welfare and the pros
| perty OF the country. Such individ-
ual and neighbOrhood work is worth
| more than all the conventions that
can be held. And it is by such work
| that the Farmers Union can best aid
| you, and that my efforts and the ef-
forts of the State and National I'm
ions can be made effective in the
business world.
But some one will say, 1--WE can
not hold our seed or our cotton; we
need money to pay our debts.'
have heard this often before and ex-
pect to hear it again. Sometimes, as
an individual, you cannot borrow the
money to withhold your crops.
know this to be a fact as we'll as any
one does. But have you tried to or
ganize? Have you tried to pool your
crops and have some good business
man among you, or committee of
your best men, make these arrange
ments for you? | know Of instances
where this has been done to the sat
isfaction of all concerned. | know
that the oil mills would like to deal
directly with the farmer, If he will
join with his neighbOrs to make the
deals OF size to warrant. If you can
not or will not, do this-if you can
not, or will not, organize and stick
| togeth er-there is no use for you to
call on ME, or on the State and Ma
! tional Unions, or the members Of
/ Congress, to help you.
The State and national officials of
the Farmers Union are ready to give
you all the help you need towards
organization, but we must insist that
you, upon whom these burdens are
falling, take steps to meet us half
way. We are planning for the or
gani2ation Of a rural credit system in
South Carolina that will give our
people everything that is best in the
old world systems, adapted to our
conditions. We are planning for a
practical purchasing agency that will
give to every member the benefits of
! buying in quantities.
We are planning for practical mar
keting Of your produce, and a Sys-
| TEN Of warehouses to handle your
| cotton and seed. We have much
worked out along these lines. Your
attitude will determine whether we
succeed or not. II you are interested,
send State Secretary J. Whitner Reid
| Columh hia, n list Of your neighbOrs
who will join to organize a local
union. FIc will then arrange to go
or to send an organizer at the most
convenient times to cover the most
app0intm ents with the least travel.
We have the goods. Will you let
us deliver them? A word to the wise
is sufficient. r.. w. Dabbs,
President S. C.. Farmers Union.
MaEcsville, S. c., Sept. 10, 1913.