The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1914-12-31
EUROPEAN WAR SHAT.
TIERS KING COTT0N'S
THRONE
FLEEcY STAPLE MUST PAY RAN.
SOM INTO THE GOLFERS OF
WAR.
Nation Rings With Cries Of Stricken
Industry.
BY Peter Radfand

INDUSTRY.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union
King Cotton has suffered more from
the European war than any other ag-
ricultural product on the American
continent. The shells of the belliger-
ents have bursted over his throne,
frightening his subjects and shatter-
ing his markets, and, panic-stricken,
the nation cries out God save the
kingi"
People from every walk of life have
contributed their mite toward rescue
work. Society has danced before the
king; milady has decreed that the
family wardrobe shall contain only
cotton goods; the press has plead
with the public to "bcy a BALE;
bankers have been formulating hold
ing plans; congress and legislative
bodies have deliberated over relief
measures; statesmen and writer's
have grown eloquent expounding the
inalienable rights of ''His Majesty"
and presenting schemes for preserv-
ing the financial integrity of the
stricken staple, but the sword of Eu-
rope has proved mightier than the pen
of America in fixing value upon this
product Of the sunny south. Prices
have been bayoneted, values riddled
and markets decimated by the battling
hosts of the eastern hemisphere until
the American farmer has suffered a
war loss of $4,000 900, and a tale
of cotton brave enough to enter a
European port must pay ransom of
half it's value or go to prison until the
war is over.
Hope Of the Future Lies In co-opera-
ton.
! The Farmers Union, through the
columns of the press, wants to thank
the American people for the friend
ship, sympathy and assistance given
the cotton farmers in the hour of dis
tress and to direct attention to co.
operative methods necessary to per
manent1y assist the marketing of all
! farm products.
The present emergency presents as
grave situation as evs<-s cor fronteG
the American farmer and from the
viewpoint of the producer, would seen
to Justify extraordinary relief meas
ures, even to the point of bending the
constitution and straining business
rules in order to lift a portion of the
burden off the backs of the farmer
for unless something is done to checl
the invasion of the war forces upor
the cotton fields, the pathway of tn,
| EH11r0 io
will be strewn with mortgaged homes
and famine and poverty will stalk owe
the southland, filling the highways O
industry with refugees and the bank
ruptcy court with prisoners.
Ali calamities teach us lessons an
the present crisis serves to illuminat
the frailties of our marketing meth
DDS and the weakness of our credi
system, and out of the financial ar
guish and travail of the cotton farme
will come a volume of discussion an
mass of suggestions and finally
solution of this, the biggest probler
in the economic life of America, Il
indeed, we have not already laid tn
foundation for at least temporary RI
lief.
More Pharaohs Needed in Agriculture
Farm products have no credit an
perhaps can never have ON a perms
nent and satisfactory basis unless W
build warehouses, cold storage plant:
elevators, ETC., for without storage an
credit facilities, the south is con
PEELED to dump its crop on the marke
at harvest time. The Farmers Onion
in the cotton producing states hav
for the past ten years persistently al
vocated the construction of storag
facilities. We have built during thi
period 1000 warehouses with a c:
pacity of approximately 100000 bale
and looking backward the result
would seem encouraging, but lookin
forward, we are able to house les
than one-third of the crop and war
houses without credit system los
80 per cent of their usefulness. Th
problem is gigantic one-too gres
for the farmer to solve unaided H
must have the assistance OF the ban]
er, the merchant and the governmen
- In production we have reached tn
:, high water mark of perfection in th
=. worlds history, but our marketin
- methods are most primitive. In til
, :, dawn of history we find agricultu1
. plowing with forked stick but wit
- system of warehouses under gover1
= mental supervision that made tt
- Egyptians the marvel of civilization
- :, for who has not admired the vision
4 Joseph and applauded the wisdom
= =. Pharaoh for storing the surplus unit
:, =, demanded by the consumer, but
this ago we have too many JOSEPH
% who dream and not enough Pharaoh
y who build.
y. Extremes Of Nervousness.
~ Baggs and Jaggs met, and Bag
y. and Jaggs got yarning.
- Il once knew a man, dear boy b
gan Baggs, "who was SO ticklish (
:. + the soles of his feet that whenever
~ took a bath he had to walk about afte
wards on big piece Of blotting. pape
It was the only method of foot-dryil
that wouldn't throw him into fits"
"a That's nothing, my dear fellow" !
Il torted Jaggs. Il used to board at
,e place where the landlady was so mel
a,o tbof u,hopovor tho uy}ud h1ovu al