Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-11-13

ana lOSt lnelT ldTInS, Wlllle diiIOSl
without exception those who set out to
raise cotton only as a surplus after
the necessary food crops had been
provided for, managed to keep their
heads above water and eventually be-
come independent.
There is still toe much corn and
meat shipped into this country though
nothing like as much as there once
was.
While our people have made Won
derful improvement as to corn raising
they have done very little as to wheat
raising. Some Of our farmers raise
enough bread to do them; but most OF
them depend upon the granaries of the
west and continue to pay far more for
their bread than it would cost them to
raise it at home.
According to the way we see 1t, the
man who pays one dollar for bushel
of wheat that could be raised at home
at a cost Of cents, is out very nearly
81 1t is hardly worth while to ella
borate the proposition beyond the wise
old saying which runs: "a dollar saw
ed is a dollar made" The correctness
of this saying has already been proved
out in the matter of corn and meat
and it will prove out in the matter OF
wheat.
Then again it is we'll to remember
that in the old days before the Civil Wal
cotton was not the only money crop
Of this section. Wheat stood 1t close
second and some years was first. In
those days nobody thought of buying
foreign flour or grain Of any kind
They raised at home all they needed
except in the one year Of 1S45, when
there was a general crop failure, and
both corn and wheat had to be bought
from North Carolina and Tennessee
and the Mississippi valley.
Although the fact has been publish
ed before, it may be interesting to
many nevertheless, that the flour sack
is actually York county invention.
Previous to the building Of the Kings
Mountain railroad to York county in
1852, all shipments Of flour were made
in barrels. The late T. S. Jefferys of
Yorkville, once had a shipment Of -four
to make, and having no barrels to ship
it in, put it up in cotton sacks. From
that beginning the flour sack has in
creased until it has multiplied in mil
lions.
But the thing that Is interesting us
now is, why are we raising so little
wheat? OF course no one would claim
that we can raise wheat any more as
an article Of general commerce; but
every one should be able to see that
we cannot buy flour from abroad as
cheaply as we can raise it at home.
And there is another thing. Why can
we not have a grain elevator in York
county? Marlboro county, which has
never raised as much wheat as York,
is making an elevator experiment. AS
to whether it will pay or not remains
to be seen; but it will depend only
upon whether the farmers of Marlboro
will raise enough wheat to fill it. This
idea Is recommended to the farmers Of
Bethel township. They probably pro-
duce more grain than any other town
ship in the county, and the establish
ment of an elevator in that township
would tend to further stimulate wheat
production to the profit of the entire
community.
Whether an elevator is established
in York county or not, we want to
commend the idea of more wheat to
the serious consideration Of York coun-
ty people. We want those who think
wheat growing won't pay to get the
notion out of their minds. We want
every farmer who is buying flour and
that means most Of them, to think how
much better off they would be If they
had raised their own wheat. And we
want those who see that it would have
paid them to SOW wheat last fall to
consider how much better prospect
they have for profit if they will SOW
this fall.