The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1914-11-03

with which to make the cotton.
ENSLAVE OURSELVES WITH
COTTON.
I'VE have enchained and enslaved
ourselves with cotton instead OF pro-
ducing our own foodstuffs and rails
ing our own live stock. With the
finest advantages In America for
raising foodstuffs, we buy our butter
from Wisconsin, our -four from nil
waukee and our beef from Chicago
and Kansas City. Our $1,00O,00O,-
600 cotton crop money Is largely
spent for these and similar things
before the first bale has reached the
market
And now that this lesson OF The
curse of cotton when 1t becomes Il
slave driver, with the producers as
the slaves, has come to the South
with such force, let us all rejoice
that the profit in the lesson will be
worth far more than the cost. How
trifling will the loss of few hun
dred millions seem, when contrast
ed with the certainty that it will re-
suit i'm an annual saving to the South
for all time to come of far more than
that through forcing us to raise our
own foodstuffs, to diversity cur
crops to economize where we had
been growing eXtravagant and
wasteful, and to break the chain
with which cotton as king had en-
slaved us.
THE Southern farmer now has a
chance to be n freeman, the South
has the chance to think in other
terms than cotton, the chance to
worship another god than cotton and
so out OF the present depression will
come blessing OF unspeakable
value to the whole South Let us
cease to look upon the present situa-
tion as an evil; let us rather see in
1T that Providence which determin-
ed to save the South despite itself.
has permitted us to see the evil OF
our fetch worship OF cotton.
COTTON AS AN AUTOCRAT.
"As subject held in control and
made to do our bidding cotton is one
OF heavens richest blessings to any
country: as an autocrat more domi-
mating than any other ruler on earth.
IL is destructive of our highest pros
peritiy, IL deadens our initiative, il
Kills our self-reliance, it improvishes
our soil, ii holds our progress, ma
terial, educational, religious, i'm
check. Let us therefore sing song
of gladness that the spell has been
broken. that cotton can no longer
rule and ruin us, that everywhere
there shall soon be seen that diver
siiied agriculture which spells pro
gress in capital letters progress i'm
broader thinking, in broader plan
ming and in broader utilization OF
our marvellous advantages
And with this thought in mind.
let us contrast our snow-white fields
OF cotton with the blood-red soil OF
Europe, our rivers as they 20 laugh
ing to the sea. creating the power
to light our cities and run our fac
tories, with the blood reddcncd
rivers OF Europe. choked with the
bodies OF tens OF thousands who
daily go down into the valley Of
death. Let us think OF our mani |
fold blessings and view them against
the background OF Europe's horrors.
where 20.0O0.OOO men are graphing
in death or preparing for the strug-
gle, while 30O,0OO,OOO people look
on in awful agony at the worlds
most stupendous tragedy.
"The plying angels OF heaven
look down upon more agony. mental
and phyical. than they have ever
seen since the world began. while
the devil laughs with hellish glee
such as the Internal regions never
knew before. And here we, i'm
iand or peace, land where abun-
dant crops have rewarded the work
OF the year, where we are free from
all the horrors that burden Europe
with earth's sorrows, are acting and
talking as though our petty troubles
were worthy OF serious considera-
ton. Surely the Almighty might
say TO us, and especially to the far.
mers of the South, Unto whom much
has been given, OF him shall much
be required To the South much
has been given.
How should we answer ques-
ton from the Almighty as to how
we are meeting a Situation on trid