The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1915-04-29
A Timely Word OF Waning.

Every Lee county flfmef wills
We feel sure, pay heed t. the word
III warming that has recently been
uttered BY state Commissioners Of
Agriculture Price. In speaking Of
tile tendency 10 some farmers to
disregard the pledge 70 reduce
acreage, Mr.. Price said that no
farmer could afford q do other
thar keep bis pledge.
An Of this extremely disheaIt-
ening 10 tie Department, states
Commissioner J. y. Price : ! even
hal 4 man call me on the long dis
lance phone the other day to ask
about acreage reduction ard fertili-
zer sales. told him thai up to Il
few weeks ago it looked as if there
would be a reductiod Of 20 TOPS per
cent. and that | thought the fertili-
zer tag sales would be ghoot 70 per
cent. less than last year Then he
asked me, Don't sou think I'd
better plant cotton2 told him it
was simply question as to whether
he wanted to 90 ahead and do like
all tile other fool planters who
believed everybody else was going
to reduce while they increased. It
rcminaed me very much Of the ac-
ton Of the Grange several wears ago,
when that organization agreed to re-
duce tic cotton acreage. They all
thought everybody else would re-
duee, So every one Of them went
ahead and planted a full crop. The
trouble was everybody did the same
thing, and it spelled disaster as to
price.
While | do not predict this sort
Of thing this gear, am fearful that
the rise in the price Of cotton Is go
ing Is make the producer forget the
high price Of foodstuffs and not
make enough for home consnnlp-
ton. want to leg Of themto keep
ii mind the big prices foods and
feodstufs are bringing this year,
as we'll as the enormous quantities
we are importing into the state, and
1T lea t raise enough for home con-
sumption, if not for market, Then
let cotton come after as u surplus
crop; it will bring just as much
money with a small crop as with the
enormous crop Of last year
''Ihe live stock interest IS rapidly
growing every day all over Georgia,
and while | am well aware that not
every man is in position to raise a
large number, there il no man but
can have at least one hog and one
COW; and the man who is today sui
fering most is the one who has Meth
er pig nor COW nor credit. The
farmer whohas the best credit today
is the one who is living at home and
giving attention to every possible
feature, including live stock, even
though it be but a single pig ard a
single COW.
Georgia is full Of farmers, crop
pers and renters who don't know
how they are going to make their
crop thisyear, and who have brought
their misfortune on themselves all
because they didn't raise enough
home supplies last year. Those who
took advantage Of the situation last
fall and sowed wheat are going to
reap a handsome harvest about the
time WHY the man who didn t will
be out Of both money and credit.
Every farmer in Georgia should
take warning now and plant plenty
Of food crops and feedstuffs, making
cotton simply their surplus crop. II
they take chances on too much cot
t)n they will be practically sure to.
lose again. While the sale Of ferti-
hzer tags is not as great as last year,
up to the present time, it is never
theless true that nearly as many
tags were sold in the first half of
April as during the entire month Of
April, 1914. Again, | say, take