Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1915-03-24
TOO POOR TO KEEP CHILDREN.
Tenants in North Texas Offer to Give
Little Ones Away.

sion of Industrial Relations to-day
that he had this week found two land
tenants in North Texas so poverty
stricken that they were offering to
give their children away. He testified
at the hearing on American farm land
conditions.
Noble said he had found these ten
ants in a search for what he consid-
cred a typical example of the poorer
class of tenant farmers. Not believ-
ing them typical, he said, he had
brought to Dallas, as a voluntary
witness, l.. T. Steward, farmer,
whose experience was similar, it is
said to some $4,000 tenant families
in the Southwest. Steward then took
the witness stand. Alongside sat his
wife and six Of his eight children
ranging from three to twenty years
old, Three of the smallest were
barefooted, their feet showing sores
from frost bites.
Efforts to Buy Farm.
Steward described his efforts for
twenty years to buy farm, begin
ming in Arkansas and finally coming
to Texas. After his first years far
ming, he said, he sold his mule to
get square of debt" Next year he
borrowed a mule and came out $15
TO the good" Then he bought
small farm on six years time, but
was forced to give it up for lack Of
$40 to meet payments at the end Of
the first year.
After several years he got $500
ahead, and bought an S5-acrc farm in
Arkansas. He did well, but two
children died and their doctor bills
cut into his savings so that he gave
up the farm, unable ITO meet the in
terest. He told the commission that
one year he had lost money when
cotton was seven cents pound, but
that he saved a little the next year
when he received only four cents per
pound. He saved by reducing living
expenses. He said sometimes his
wife got to town" only once in two
Years. At times he had lived too far
from a school house for his oldest boy
to attend. Then when he lived near
town later on, the boy was ashamed
to go on account Of his clothing
He said he never kept any track of
the amount Of such expenses, except
to live on as little as possible, buying
but one two-piece ready-made suit in
the last five years. When his profits
We're high, he said, these bills al
ways about eQualled the profits. He
said he had paid on credit from 81
to $1.25 per bushel for corn, which
was selling for cash at rs cents a
bushel
Several weeks age his hogs, his
only remaining food supply were sold
under foreclosure for debt.
Hard Life of Mrs. Steward.
Mrs. Steward, the mother Of eleven
children, was questioned by Mrs. j.
Borden Hartman, a member of the
commission. In Arkansas, she de-
clared, she worked in the field every
year except one.
Her routine, she said, was to get
breakfast at in the morning. work
in the fields until nearly noon, then
return ITO the house to begin house
hold duties, and take "one day out
of a week" to do the washing. For
several years she made her husbands
clothing, her own and her children's
Mrs Hartman asked about farm ten
ant housing conditions.
"SOme houses are tolerably de-
cent" replied the witness. Some
are not. have carried water myself
a mile from the nearest well to the
house"
After coming to Texas, Mrs Stew
ard stopped field work replacing it
with sewing until, she said, her sew
ing machine was taken away a week
ago to pay { BITS. She said she had
known many women who worked as
hard. Since the first of this year,
Mrs. Hartman brought out, the fam
lily has not had enough to eat
Don't you worry?" asked Mrs
Hartman.
81 always say" replied the witness,
smiling, 'that ! never let any more
trouble fly over my head than can
kick off with my heels"
Good philosophy" commented
Mrs. Hartman.
How Credit System Runs.