Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-21

II Ire Georgia banker and mer-
chant advance money on cotton crops
when the boil weevil is present ami
I the weevil is not properly opposed by
{ the farmer, it means ruin for farmer,
banker and merchant.
Likewise, if the banker and mer-
chant fail,to advance credit when the
weevil is present there is financial
ruin.
But if the banker and merchant
will hnance only limited amount of
| cotton on condition that the weevil is
fought. by the most approved and sue
Fcessful methods, and at the same time
b finance other crops. then will all be
saved loss and be made even more
/ prosperous.
/ Which of these things will the
: bankers and merchants Of Georgia
do? If they know where their inter
ests lie, they will undoubtedly take
the latter course.
:. The banker and merchant, more
. than, anyone else, can save the State
i from financial depression on account
of the boil weevil Theirs is the pow
ier to compel No amount Of effort to
educate, arouse or excite the farmer
lis going to save the day, Ignorance,
I unbelief,1 prejudice. Indifference will
oppose any educational campaign
enough to undo all that a majority of
intelligence farmers may undertake
For BE it understood that it takes but
very few farms in a county to furnish
enough weevils for all.
Indifferent Farmer Is Menace.
1t will be found that the ignorant,
Indifferent and aimless farmer is the
/ one who is dependent upon the mer-
chant and banker to make his crop
| He is within the hands OF the cred
I itors to make do what is necessary
for his own protection, as well as
/ for the protection of his creditors. By
| this compulsion every other farmer
in the region will be saved loss from
weevils.
One weevil killed at first will pre-
vent a handful Of weevils from being
produced to eat cotton later on. A
| handful of weevils can destroy an
immense amount of cotton. See 10 it
that every man is killing weevils and
the tide of destruction is greatly
stemmed.
1t must be apparent that if some
difference. is permitted to let weevils
develop lis premises will soon de-
velop enough weevils to destroy all o;
his cotton and hundreds Of acres OF
his neighbors cotton.
The last man must be whipped into
line in combating the weevn. The
whip is in the hands of the banker
and merchant. II not applied, will
the. merchant and banker not be re-
sponsible for the destruction of prop
crty?
Argue as he may, that he is not
responsible. when all is said, can the
| banker or merchant tell how else the
necessary work is to he done?
- Check, Money Advance.
1t would be wise thing for bank
! ers and merchants to form an organ
/ ization in each county and pledge
| that no money would be advanced for
the raising Of cotton where the as
| surance is not convincing that the
man who proposes to grow it in the
! presence Of weevils. will follow i'm
| plicitly all instructions for holding
the weevil in check.
It would be wise for such organiZa
ton of bankers and merchants to
gree that only a comparatively small
amount OF acreage should be put to
cotton until the farmers have become
acquainted with the weevil and have
learned the best methods OF opposing
it, It may be that in some OF the
poorer sections OF Georgia that the
expense of fighting Weevil will be so
great as to leave no margin OF profit
to the farmer. The banker and mer-
chant ought 10 go slow in crediting
cotton grower until experiments in
limited way demonstrate what can
De reasonably expected OF profit for
each community.
The banker and merchant Of Geor-
sia are not going to find parallel con-
ditions foy their guidance in Louis