The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-09-23
MORRISON 1OG0IIon FARMERS
HEAD OF UNION PROPOSES
HOLDING MOVEMENT.
Rapid Ginning and Selling Deprcss
Misunderstanding In Columbia Sep.
tember % to Devise Plans to Up
hold Price. 8l

Columbia, Sept. IA cotton hold
ing movement will be launched at q
meeting of farmers to be held In Co.
lumbia September %. The call for the
conference was issued yesterday from
McClellanvills by H. T. Morrison,
president of the South Carolina State
Farmers union.
The following is the call which was
Issued to 'the cotton farmers OF
South Carolina:"
"At a meeting Of the State presi-N
dents of the Farmers union held in
New Orleans, La, September and 8,
a resolution was passed urging upon
the cotton planters Of the South the
Importance OF holding meetings. in
their respective States for the purpose
Of organizing cotton holding move
ment.
while the price was apparently
high on the first Of September, the
rapid ginning and selling Of cotton are
already depressing the market, almost
twice as much cotton having been
ginned as was last year at thiS time.
The buyers are naturally taking ad-
vantage of this fact and unless W. can
check up the selling the price win
60 still lower.
Reports show very short crop
and probably not more than 11,0U0,.
900 bales and when we remember
that two years ago, under war c0n-
ditions. a l6.OO0.000 bale crop kss
consumed we can appreciate Rtie
cotton will probably go to II aiSwjy
marketed. \
"Harbin's report gives only s.7
per cent. of crop for this year, M Ia
South Carolina at 4S.2 per cSi;ssi
(about half of crop which as In ~
my personal knowledge goes is kb5tt
true.)
Somebody Is going to sell cbtkfri
before the next crop comes In & &
cents and up. and why not the 81
who makes? With our State Wj$6s
houses, money at a low rate OF k6rs
est and cheap storage and ina,ii NIT,
there should be no reason for the Hi.
jority OF the farmers Of thfs j III
to depress the market by selling .A6sp.
In 1914 we made a big crop but III
nothing for it; in 1915 the prt6(
fair but the crop short. Tli& d
crop will probably be the SI4H RI
ffsssl hssvc had nm vgH yeals - n s
world may bo facing cotton %.
Inc. Why not the producer reap III
harvest To do this we must a1t t0.
gether. unorganized tc can never
bulE the market. s''9' 3
You remember that two years &6s
when the Southern farmers S&3eeSt
congress to pass an act opeffihg Auf
the ports of the warning countrie9 II
their cotton they were told that Don.
gress was q slow working and con.
servative body and that nothing cdGld
be done in time to save that StOr
even If 1t bankrupt the entire South
But when organized labor, 100000
strong. threatened the country With 8
general railroad strike, President VIII.
son discovered that congress was no,
as slow and conservative q body as
he thought 1t was and the eight hour
law was passed in less than that
many days. Whether this was right
Or wrong we are not now discussing
but 1t proves very clearly that II the
farmer wants anything he has got tc
60 after it and be organized well
enough to demand 1t.
ITO start this cotton holding move
ment have been requested to call
a meeting in Columbia, Thursday,
September 2S, at 8 o'clock p. m. This
/ will do II farmers are interested
enough to attend such meeting or
Will join In the holding movement
and will SO indicate by writing me
q card" -