The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1914-09-04
ADVISES COTTON FARMERS
TO SIT STEADY IN BOAT
Watson Urges People to Stop Discus
sing Visionary Schemes and
Hold Crop.
The State, lst.

Let the farmer get 1t out OF MS
head right now that anybody can fix
a price for cotton said E. J. Wat
son, president of the Southern Cot
ton congress, in a statement. issued
yesterday to the cotton growers OF
the South. He discussed the cotton
situation in the South.
'@The greatest trouble said Presi-
dent Watson, "of the moment now
in the South lies in the fact that we
were caught without strong organ
lied machine for controlling what is
really a vast disorganized and untrain-
ed army, and if our people would
stop talking themselves to death over
visionary schemes, make up their
minds to hold the product until the
proper time and sit steady in the
boat, the merchant helping the farm
er and the bank helping the merchant
as far as it is possible to do so, there
is every reason to believe that at least
half of this crop will go to the mar
kets OF the world finally at better
price than was being paid when the
fateful declarations war came with
such startling rapidity.'
Panicky Condition.
THE statement follows:
"On my return from Georgia, where
we have succeeded in steadying the
people who were in a panicky condi-
ton last week, l was astonished to
find that at some points in South Car
olina, despite everything that is being
done to help the producer of cotton
in this emergency, some of our people
had become ihysterical, and in one in
stance at least had dumped cotton on
the market at IL cents a pound.
The men who have done this kind of
thing deserved no more for their cot
ton than they got
"We now have Georgia, South Car
olina and Texas thoroughly organized
under the Southern Cotton congress,
and active preparations are being
made for such organization in North
Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisi-
ana and Mississippi. l know full
we'll that the greatest courage that a
man can display is to sit still under
fire, but that is the kind Of courage
every individual. in the cotton belt
has got to display now or all the
night-and-day efforts that the best
men in the country have been de-
voting to this problem since the 2Sth
day of July may go for nothing.
eff tae man who is now ginning
the cotton will just simply sit still
in the boat for about three weeks
and nobody is going to push him be-
fore then-the South will probably
emerge from this whirlwind of un-
certainty and food OF conventions and
plans into position that will make
her greater South than she has ever
been. The man who lets any other
man have his cotton now for such
price at 5 cents, cents or cents
is not only drawing a razor across his
own throat, but is going around the
community cutting the throats of his
neighbors-economically.
Opened Earlier.
Cotton has opened a little earlier
than any one expected and the con-
tinnal muddling of the public mind by
conventions wherein impossible and
uneconomic propositions ard valoriza-
4ior schemes are aired, ventilated and
sent up Iii S0e air like balloon have
made the thnid start to sacrifice The
New Orleans convention that mas just
adjourned, which l understand was
attended by hardly more than 100
men, has only served to cause greater
confusion 1t could do nothing and it
did nothing, anl the announced pur-
pose now Of having another batch o.
useless meetings instead OF earnest
cooperative, intelligent work, while
the various States are going ahead
with a business-like organization back
into the counties and townships to-
handle the suitaution in a business
like manner, can only do more harm.
LET US view the situation calmly
War has absolutely paralyzed about
half of the industries in this country
and has sent the products of other
industries soaring. There must be a
speedy readjustment. The cotton crop,
!; ~, SC 'noc