Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-01-24
SOne Southwest
ern Reflections

6Tn hellccllOIlS /
Last week these reflections were
devoted mainly to the interests
that need to be developed by CO.
operative efforts among all local
Southwest Louisianaians. Some
one interjected the query: what
about the business men,.
Several answers might be given
but probably is it sufficient to day
that the business man i'll an agri-
cultual State who does ut under
stand thoroughly that his success
depends upon the prosperity of the
farmer, isn't going to make bust
ness man so as to hurt anybody
except his CreditorS---very long.
But" SAYS the merchant, |
can't see where | shall reap any
benefit from membership i'll the
Southwest Louisiana Development
Bureau. 1t looks like throwing
money away" That's because
you haven't taken the time to
think seriously over the question.
So many people are roaming over
the country trying to seperate the
man from his money that you have
probably conceived the motion
that this also is scheme of some
Come On" man.
You're wrong, brother. We are
here to help you, Mr.. Merchant;
YOU Mr.. Banker; and you Mr..
Professional Man. How Give us
your attention for a moment.
Only about twenty-five per cent
of Southwest Louisiana lands are
under cultivation. There are less
twenty thousand farms i'll the IL
tire district. Whose is the money
that buys what you have to sell!
The Farmers? From whence comes
the money that supplies the de-
posts that spell prosperity for
your bank? From the Farmers.
Are you getting any deposits
from or selling any goods to, the
seventy-fve per cent of Southwest
Louisiana lands that lie idle? Not
a dollar. Would mt it be a paying
! investment to put this seventy-hve
per cent of land to work producing
making crops? Would mt
it paw you to spend some money
to increase the annual cash re-
ceipts of this section by just three
times what they are today?
How will this be done? Only
today this Bureau sent out a
stack of letters replying to i'll
quiries about Louisiana lands,
coming from home seekers and
} land BUYERS from Canada to the
Canal Zone. Does that fact have
!, any bearing upon increasing the
money production of Southwes
/ Louisiana.
But that is not the most I'M
portant thing. Twenty FIVE pc
cent of your lands are in ACTIVE
cultivation. That twenty five pc
cent is producing less than on
r half what it ought to produce
Young Wardlaw. of Red Rive
Parish, produced over one hundre'
!, and twenty bushels of corn on OH
acre of land last year. What di'
y YOUR farmer-customers produc
J. per acre? of course Wardlaw
, production was exceptional, yo
q say. So it was, but any numbe
F., of members of the Boys Corn Club
produced fifty, seventy-hve, all
IS one hundred bushels per acre. Di
20 the farmers who buy bacon, canine
goods out of your store, borrowin
money out of your banks to do
r. with, realize any such fields
u Would mt it be money i'll yor
= pockets if they should do so?
ID Then join theBureau and let's a
" put our brains, energy and none
tie behind these farmers and hel
IL them to double the quantity al
i, improve the quality of their pr
er duction. This is being done
III all the progressive sections of Il
world TODAY.
III You have faced this probe