The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-09-26
BIJY-A-blLE DAY.

Friday, Oct. 2, Set Aside for Con-
certed Action by Public Schools
in Support OF Great Movement
to Aid Cotton Farmers.
State superintendent T. Fl. Harris
has addressed the following circular
letter to the superintendent OF pub
lie education of every parish in LOU
isiana:
Baton Rouge, La, Sept. 81, 1914.
Dear superintendent:
FRIDAY, Oct. 2. 1914, is hereby set
aside as Buy-a-Bale Lay In all of
the parishes which raise cotton, the
superintendent will please issue a
cali for the assembling at the school
houses of all patrons and citizens at
) .. M, Oct 2 The announc ement
should De published in all the pa
pars OF the parish this week and
the editors should be requested to
urge edltorially the attendance of all
patrons and citizens; and all princi-
pals of schools should be instructed
to see that cordial invitation to
attend the meeting reaches every
citizen in their districts
What to do After the People
Assemble.
Il. Teachers and children should
sing a few patriotic songs.
%. The principal (this applies to
one-teacher schools, as wei as to
larger schools) or citizen should
explain the effect of the European
war upon the cotton market, the
tremendous losses and hardships the
southern cotton farmers are facing,
and the relief offered by the Buy
a-Bale movement.
''3. Have a pupil demonstrate on
the blackboard the loss the south
viii suffer if it sells it's cotton crop
at the present market price, placing
the crop at fourteen million 500
pound bales, and taking ten cents as
the standard price Of cotton. (Any
daily newspaper will give the mar
ket price,.
81. If any chambers Of commerce
Or other organizations in the parish
are promoting the Buy-a-Bale move
ment, the principal should write the
names of the officers on the black
board for the information of the cit
liens present. If no organizations in
the parish are pushing the movement,
the superintendent should get in
touch with all the chambers of COM
merce in his parish and urge them
to take immediate action.
IS. Each farmer present should
give in a statement showing the
number of bales of cotton he has or
will have, the number he can hold,
and the number he finds it absolute
" necessary to sell at. once. The
superintendent should prepare the
blanks for these statements.
yta flk lbs sfohfd have
spaces for name, postoffice, bales
owned, bales the farmer will hold,
and the bales the farmer wishes to
sell at ten cents a pound.
when the blanks have been prop
erly filled out, the principal should
collect them and send them to the
superintendent, who should tabulate
the information and furnish it to
the organizations in his parish which
are pushing the Buy-a-Bala movement
or in the absence Of such organiza-
tions in his parish, to the nearest
organization known to him.
So All farmers present owning
cotton should sign an agreement to
the effect that they will sell no cot
ton CHASING middling for less than
ten cents pound. This signed
agreement should be turned in to
the superintendent and by him pub
lished in the parish papers.
so. Each cotton farmer present
should sign an agreement to the eff
feet that next year he will plant
not more than certain number OF
acres in cotton, reducing the acre
age where the acreage heretofore was
large.
If our cotton farmers are forced
to sell their cotton at present prices,
the suffering resulting from the loss
cannot be estimated There is no
need for the loss. There are suffi-
cient numbers of patriotic citizens
with surplus money to buy at ten
cents a pound the cotton which the
farmers must sell, and to hold same
until the senseless war now raging
in Europe has closed, and cotton
prices have become normal, provld-
ed they can be placed in touch with
the people who have cotton to sell.
The schools can gather in a few
days the necessary information and
I shall be very much disappointed If
superintendents and teachers fail to
give their hearty, enthusiastic sup
port to the suggestions contained in
this letter.
Sincerely yours,
ct H. HARRIS,