The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-02-06
NOTES OF TRUCKERS MEETING.
Some Statements of Interest to Sum-
ter County Farmers Heard at Satdr-
days Session.


that crop" said Mr.. j. a. Evans in
his address.
You farmers think times are hard
now" said Mr.. Evans, but don't
know yet what hard times are. / have
seen the time when farmers could
not get credit from merchants nor
borrow money at the banks, no matter
what kind of security they put up. l
have seen farmers and their families,
stances. go without meat on their
tables for six months at q time, be-
cause they had no money and could
not get credit. And il all came Of
the one-crop system. the same as you
have here i'm South Carolina. oh no,
you have not seen hard tin.es yet, but
YOU will see it yet, if you stick to cot
ton and cotton alone. The boil Wee
vii will do for you what it has done
to others. / saw counties in Texas
which usually produced 10000 bales
of cotton drop down to two or three
thousand bales. and that is what your
county will do. / saw those same
counties, where the farmers had faced
starvation. two years later. when b.
planting truck and raising their own
food supplies conditions were chang
cd. There was more mnoey in the
banks. merchants did larger cash
business than ever before and the
farmers themselves had more money
in the banks and were more prosper
Gus than they had ever been before"
Il have heard in travelling over the
state. and it is with regret that
heard it. that the farmers are regard
ing present conditions as mere
transient depression and expect to
plant cotton this year, the same as
they have previously. II you farmers
go back to cotton and depend on II as
your sole crop. you will surely face
bankruptcy and starvation in the fu-
ture- and that at no distant date"
ANY State whose fertilizer bill has
increased ten million dollars, as yours
has. since 1911 is bound to face
bankruptcy"
Mr.. l.. l.. Baker, district demonstra-
/ tion agent, stated that diversification
of crops was a necessity. He advised
the growing of truck, especially po-
tatoes and peanuts. This was cotton
country. he said and it would stay n
cotton country. but this was no rea-
son why every farmer should not raise
sufficient on his own farm to supply
the needs of his family.
Men are divided into three class
es." said MIR. Evans. "wise men. fools
and damn fools" Those who belong
cd to the first class took advice and
prepared for an evil day; those who
belonged to the second class. failed
TO take advice and learned only by cx-
perience; those belonging to the third
class were those who neither took ad-
vice nor learned by experience and he
thought that some farmers would find
themselves in this third class, IL they
so back to cotton. as their only mon
ey crop"
Some of these farmers may stick
until there are dues TO be paid" said
y. w. Dabbs. "but then they are apt
TO quit the organization. They must
stick together IL they expect 10 ac-
complish results to their own good
and they must stick better than some
of them have done TO the Farmers
Union"
mo. will not buy your produce.
but ] will guarantee to get you the
highest market price for it," said w,
II. Nixon, seed and fruit dealer or
Charleston.
mo, / can't guarante you n price
for your potatoes. nor will anyone else
except fool" Mr.. Nixon stated in
answer to an inquiry if he would
promise certain price if potatoes
were planted.
The Northwestern Rose and the
Improved Cobbler were two kinds of
potatoes Mr.. Nixon advised the sum
ter county farmers to plant. These
made large yields, had large bushes
which projected the land and stood
shipment we'll He could get the seed
here in ten days from date Of ship
ment.
one ton of 1875 fertilizer TO the
acre was what Mr. Nixon recommend
ed as the best fertilizer for potatoes.
all of which should be placed under
the plant.
There must he 150 acres of potatoes
planted i'm territory contiguous 10
Stfpufgr for NIr Nfivn, a., 80,