Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-09-29
ConpuIsory ACREAGE Reduction.

We desire to say that since getting
the benefit Of the views Of number Of
earnest and able South Carolinians
who have given the subject their most
careful consideration, we have found
our view on the question Of compulsory
reduction of the cotton acreage un-
tennable.
What we have said on the subject
heretofore was based on conditions in
York county, and was with special ref
erence to the fact that such a large
percentage of our York county farm
ers are already following a system that
is pretty close to a realization of the
fine old doctrine-"first raise your own
supplies and then you can raise as
much cotton as you are able to raise"
OF course we have not gotten quito
down to this system yet; but we are
so much nearer it than they are in
many parts of this state and through
out Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and
Texas, that we feel assured that any
acreage reduction law that might be
passed, will if it is equitable, have very
little effect on our locality.
For instance, the writer has just re-
turned from a trip to Marlboro county
where he saw scores of cotton fields of
three and four hundred acres each. In
many of these fields the rows were a
mile or more long, and in all Of them
the promised yields are more often a
bale and a quarter to bale and half
to the acre than less than a bale to the
acre. In some cases four or five of
these fields belong to single planter
and in many cases the owners Of these
fields have not got enough corn planted
to feed their mules till Christmas, not
withstanding the fact that yield of
thirty-five or forty bushels Of corn to
the acre is very common on all Of these
lands. There are some plantations to
be sure, that make corn, hay, wheat,
oats and other food for men and ami
mails in abundance; but they are rare
exceptions.
If Marlboro county crops were pitch
ed on the same basis as York county
crops, we are inclined to think that
the cotton yield Of Marlboro county
would be reduced to less than a fifth of
what it is this year. and we are inclin-
ed to estimate that any uniform acre
age reduction law that will cut the cot
ton crop Of the south in half, will not
affect the cotton acreage OF 20 per
cent of the farmers Of York county.
AS matters now stand, 1t Is reason
ably certain that unless some plan is
found whereby 1t can be financed, this
years cotton crop is going to be sacri-
feed for less than one-third of its
actual value, so far as the producers
are concerned, and it Is simply out of
the question to think Of finding any
plan to finance the present crop on a
basis of reasonable values, which plan
does not provide for reduction of
next years crop.
We do not want to be misunderstood
as admitting that we have taken diff
ferent view Of this compulsory acreage
reduction idea simply because York
will be so nearly exempt from hard
ship on account of any laws that may
be necessary to secure the desired end.
We recognize that the situation Is not
only extraordinary, but 1t is desperate,
and We are quite sure that the people
of York-farmers and all others-stand
ready as they have always stood, to do
their duty TO the rest of the state. the
rest of the south, and the rest Of the
country for that matter; but neverthe-
less it is extremely gratifying to us to
be able to feel that in the eXegencies
of this OCCASION the people Of York are
not going to be seriously inconvenience
ed, especially with regard to this par
ticular measure.