The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1914-09-11
KE1TON

KELTON
Kelton, S. c., Sept. I've are hav-
ing some hot weather now. Cotton is
opening very fast and picking will be-
gin in earnest as soon as most of the
fodder will be gathered. Politics is
very quiet on the Ridge and tomor-
row will decide the second primary,
The newspapers boosting Manning
just as they did Smith and guess he
will be the next governor.
The newspapers are full of resolu-
tions, ETC., concerning the cotton stu
alton; almost all kinds of plans are
suggested and it wont amount to a
row of pins unless there is some con-
certed action. With all the cotton
growing states resolutions are like
pie crust, easy broken and for all the
cotton growing states to pass a law to
cut their acreage so or 75' per cent
of last years crop, | don't believe it
would stand the test of the courts.
Yes, there are many that would join
together to carry it into the courts to
test the constitutionality of the law.
/ am no lawyer and never have had a
case in court and don't want one but
I believe if all the cotton states were
to get together and all pass a law
that every farmer could plant all the
land he wanted to in cotton but all
the bales he made to every plow, say
two to five hundred pound bales to
the plow and all over that he made to
tax it $500 per hundred pounds lint
or $25.O0 per bale and this tax mon
ey used to run each government. II
l. ta1xy -,
the courts as good as the road tax law
prive any man from planting all his
land i'm cotton if he chose to do so
This idea of planting half the acre
in cotton next year that he planted
this year is not fair proposition for
many reasons. First, many cotton
farmers have already cut their acre
age SO per cent. 1t would not be
fair for that poor farmer who only
makes to bales to the plow andI
the other fellow who never has re-
duced his crop but rather increased
1t and is making from Is to 20 bales
to the plow and sometimes more and
If every man was to reduce his acre
age SO to rs per cent, the farmers
would try to make as much cotton on
z 1-2 acres as they were making on
15 acres this year and and what
would be benefited. After all there is
over one million bales old cotton
on hand, a 15,5OO,OOO crop making
this year and nearly all of Europe
now and soon will be engaged in one
of the greatest wars the world has
ever known and no one known how
long it will last, the hundreds of
thousands and likely millions of men
Lii nI h. {
wars and the tens of millions of their
families unable to buy the cotton
goods that can be made out of co>'on
we had on hand and yet the United
States may be drawn into this war
before it is ended. There are men in
the United States who want to crown
themselves with glory as generals and
colonels, ETC., little caring how many
privates there are to do the fighting.
We have a wise president and wise
cabinet whom | believe will do all
they can to keep this country out of
the struggle. Some who want to get
some honor will cry our flag has been
| insulted or our nations honor is at
stake. Well just let them tackle our
country and we will give them the
best we have. Well, l will get back
to the cotton situation-unless we can
get some kind of law on the cotton
question that | have outlined, we had
just as well drop the matter and let
every man exercise his own judgment,
granting that we can get all the mon
ey we want and can get storage for
it for one year and then raise another
crop. 1t all would be put on the mar
ket and little demand for it and we
would be glad to get five cents for Il
should the war continue few months.
The best thing the South should do
should the war continue until next
March would be for us to plant not a
seed of cotton. The best piece | have
seen on the cotton question was that
dictated by j. w. Norwood, of Green
vile, in The Columbia State.
Mrs. Gibson, wife of Rev. Gibson,
who has been in a hospital in Spar
tanburg, has returned home
Sunday night closed very inter
esting meeting at Mt Joy Baptist
church. Rev. Wren did the preaching.
He is very forceful speaker. The
result was several joined the church.
Misses Elizabeth and Mary Little
and Mabel Kelly, Messrs Fondren and
Bill Little, and Charley Garner left
this week for Landrum to attend
school, G.. T. G.
Caterpillar Has Reached Greenwood
County.