The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-02-26
FARMERS
UNION NEWS
Practical Thoughts for Practical
Farme -.
Conducted by e. w. Dabbs, Pres
ident 5. c. Farmers Union.)
some Random Thoughts.

HHI let me say To my old friend
and former neighbor Hard Times"
or DRY joe" as he is pleased to
call himself, "Sidra" as he WAS
known in the old days when Dew"
was prolific writer for tne
Watchman and Southron, that
then it was source of
amusement and recreatiGn: Some
thing to while away a pleasant hour,
or drive dull care" from my
thoughts. In recent years it has be-
come part of my business and, con-
sequently, must write in a more Sc
rious vein. Also, it is harder to
write when you have to than just as
the spirit moves" In assuming
charge of this page, having in mind
the hard work it would sometimes
mean, to write something of interest
and worth while, l decided to write
under the title of Some Random
Thoughts" writing short paragraphs
more or less related, so that the read
er could see at a glance what he
wished to skip. Lately having un-
dertaken a page in the Progressive
Farmer and the publishers Of both
papers not wishing the same copy.
my task has been made harder. But
| want to say to my old friend DRY
joe keep on as long as your fingers
can push a pencil. May your tribe
increase, for such nighborhood jot-
tings is what makes a county paper
valuable. In my work on the Pro-
gressive Farmer l have called on the
local secretaries to write short let
ters telling of what their union is
doing. The management pays S1O0
for each letter that l pass upon ia
vorably and / know from experience
how much it helps me out to have
these letters, to urge the county cor
respondents of the Watchman and
Southron to make Editor Osteen's
heart glad by keeping him fully in
formed of the neighborhood news.
The other day I was stopped on
the street by a former member of
the Union, and asked What does
this mean that we must pay 25 cents
before we can sell bale of cotton ?"
| asked him, Who pays the % cents
per ton on fertili2er?" He said the
farmer" Are you sure?" 20 yes.
the 20 cents on cotton 1 replied, Il
do not doubt it if you stay unorgan-
tzed. But now we pay from two to
three dollars per bale in various ways
that We do not know anything of
and this will not improve unless we
organize, and handle our business in
business-like way. His parting
thrust was: You will never organize
farmers" OF course, that settles it.
4 y
Yesterday ! received from a friend
in the cotton mills The Textile
American" a high-class trade jour
nal published in Boston, Mass, with
two significant paragraphs marked.
One was an editorial should mills
buy cotton in advance" and said in
one place "A new era has begun in
cotton farming. The planter offers
his cotton at his own price, and
knowing the market value is able to
dictate to the prospective buyer, and
the careful New Englander sees a
nice Offering of high-grade cotton
slip away from him on account of
cupidity and lack of enterprise" l
at once thought how like our South
ern mills, who have many times in
past years allowed the best parts of
our crop to be exported and laid
down in Europe at less price than
they finally paid for their cotton.
want to ask my doubling friend
what brought about this improved
position Of the southern farmer?
The Union-yes, the very imperfect
organization We have has wrought
revolution in the cotton trade-Are
We satisfied?
* =
ON page 81 of the same joUrnol
under "Whats What, and Why" a
correspondent tells an inquirer what
city cotton is: the samples accumulat-
ed by the buyers. Ask any man Who
is informed how many bales Of cot
ton the Sumter buyers s,II annually
all from samples. why the Farmers
Union had one enthusiastic member