The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-07-28
ON SOUTH
FOR DEVELOPMENT
BUSINESS MEN AND FARMERS
HAVE GREAT OPPORTUNITY
IN THE SOUTH.

IN The SOO In.
Mr.. ]. T. Holleman, President of
the Southern Mortgage Co., Atlanta,
Ga, writes the following interesting
letter to the Editor of the Manufac-
turer's Record, from which paper we
reprint it:
Atlanta, Ca, July Is.
Editor Manufacturers Record:
Dear Sir-Ic commend, with all the
earnestness at my command, the
leading editorial in your issue of the
9th. This article ought to be pub
lished in every Southern paper, and
the doctrine it proclaims ought to be
emphasized on every editorial page.
1t is high time the business men,
the real farmers and all the practi-
cal developers of the Southern States
should rise in the power of their
might and wrest the situation from
the hands of the politicians. and
shortsignted leaders, who, in the first
place, have no true conception of
conditions, and, in the second place,
have not the courage to fight for real
reform along any line.
When men who do know conditions
and do offer genuine remedies, at
tempt to 60 forward they always find
the way blocked by these self-consti-
tuted leaders, these men who r al
ways satisfied with existing condi-
lions and who oppose everything
looking to reform. These false
leaders, unable and unwilling to
point the way, hang on the heels of
men VINO seek to develop the South,
who seek to bring in new money for
new money for manu-
featuring, new money for railroad
building, new money for developing
the forests, the mines and the water
powers, new people to occupy our
uncultivated lands, new people to
show US how to grow grain and raise
livestock-hang on their heels and
and bedevil them at every
turn with unfriendly legislation, with
exorbitant taxes, with prohibitive IL
censes, and in ten thousand ways OBJ
struct their plans and strangle the
progress of the State and section.
We have here the greatest country
on earth, with opportunities beyond
and all we need is de-
But in every emergen-
cy, in every hour of storm and stress,
these incompetent leaders, instead of
pointing us to the true way, fall upon
their knees to Congress and would
have US also appeal to the Govern
ment at Washington, and, with out
beggar hands, play the.
and the pauper, The in
doFeRt Or unskilled physician, too
lazy 800 ignorant to diagnose the
disease of his suffering patient,
browns his cries with an opiate. So
many of our leaders would still the
tempest that RACES about their heads
at this time by placing the burden
upon the National Government.
The one burning, all-important,
dominating question has been, is now
and will for many years be the agri-
cultural development of the South
along proper lines. Yet when some
of US, not because we would harm,
but because we would save our State
and section, have painted a picture
of our real condition, we have been
criticised and u purpose misunder-
stood. When it was predicted by
some of US last winter that there
would be no material reduction in
cotton acreage in 1915, these leaders
and the editors of some newspapers
laughed at the prediction. Never
theless, the Government Report of
July 1 had no more effect on prices
than it had on the tides of the sea
These leaders and many editors said
the reduction. would be so pronounce
ed that prices would soar like a
rocket. On the contrary, cotton de-
clined and has been declining every
hour since. And this is a fair eX-
ample of the leadership we have had
in the South. These men are usu-
ally ignorant of the true conditions
or they have not the courage to adj
nit the facts, face the situation
squarely and seek the remedy.
In the Northern, Eastern ar Wes-
tern sections of this CO. ! there
are thousands of r < who want to
90 where they al find land that is
productive and cheap. They would
come to the South by trainloads and