The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-09-10
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:: THE PEOPLES FORUM 8:
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all the people of our cotton raising sec
tions. Now, the question is, not who
got us into this condition, but how
best to handle it. If market can
not be found for this cotton, not only
will the farmer suffer, but ruin also
stares our business men in the face,
and incidentally, the common labor
ers will have to share the misfortune.
There is not a man in Carter county,
who is not interested in getting a
high price for cotton, unless it be a
half dozen buyers, and they have no
money with which to take it at low
price and hold it for raise Then
there is no sense in the farmer, or
any one else being out of humOr about
it. 1t is simply a misfortune for
which none of us are responsible, and
for which, so far, none of us have been
able to find a remedy 1t is to our in
terest to all to keep cool, pull to-
gether and do our best to find a way
out of the dilemma. All the wisdom,
experience, and money of the country
should work in harmony, and the man
would take advantage of the confu-
sion to stir up strife and distrust
among neghbors, is as great traitor
to his country and his race, as the
one who would in the hour of battle
fire into the backs of the soldiers de-
Tending his country.
When any man goes among our
farmers with incendiary words, and
no feasible pan to remedy the evil,
he should be rudely hustled out as an
enemy to humanity. If he has some
scheme that calls for a donation from
the farmer, with no tangible return in
sight, and he has no money to put into
his scheme, he should be regarded as
fakir and severely left alone. This
cotton market is big thing-too big
for local men to handle, and we should
have nothing to do with the scheme
of any man who has not the money, or
can not command the money to back
it up.
We are in a dangerous position. Our
mir oil of
income is the cotton crop. Not only
our farmers, but our merchants, bank
ers and laboring men depend upon it.
\ large per cent of our farmers are
tenants, and have already drawn about
all the cotton would bring at a fair
price after their rents are paid so the
merchant who has sold them goods, OF
the banker who has loaned them the
money with which to make the crop is
as badly in the hole as the farmer
And a good per cent of the farmers
will be unable to gather the cotton
without help, as most of them are out
, of means. and it costs as much to feed
their families while gathering the crop
as it did while growing it.
| Now, the creditor who feels that
| he has advanced all the crop will
/ bear, or has not the money to make
| further advances, will be up against
it, If he should refuse to help, and
/ should send the constable to collect
| by the time he got through, neither
| he, nor the farmer would get anything
and even the landlord might have
! trouble in finding his rent. So we see
! the only thing to do is to put our
! heads together, and do the best we
can. 1t is to be hoped that our wisest
and most successful men will be able
yet to devise some way to avoid alb
solute collapse. And the danger fol
next year looms up dark on the hori
zon. If one-half of this years croE
| is carried over, and we make another
crop in 1915, we will have the same
trouble, seven or eight million bales
more than the market can take. Will
all these things before us, it is nc
time for discord among us. Let us
quit lambasting the socialists who are
honestly toiling to earn their living
and join forces with them in finding
some remedy for the trouble. 1t is nc
time for discord, a common danger
should draw us together. Socialists
democrats, republicans, and common
sinners are all in the same boat, and
we should try to reach the shore be
fore fighting among ourselves.