The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1916-09-06
THE PEANUT BANK.

The farmers of South Georgia arc
called upon to make plans for crops
other than cotton. 1t is matter o,
business and not theory. The Dol.
weevil is making trouble for the cot
ton grower and we are warned no
TO forget that there is no remedy otLel
than to quit cotton. The history OF
the pest within the cotton belt bears
out the truth of this statement. Some
few growers will get cotton off small
acreage where there are ten pickanln-
MES to one stalk OF cotton, ready tc
swat every weevil that stops within
reach. but that process will prove too
costly.
The cotton oil mills are perfecting
machinery as fast as possible 10 nan
die another crop, one that promises
as fine food product as the world
could ask of Mother Earth. 1t yields
food richer than cotton oil and moro
valuable This is the lowly peanut
The farmers of this section are getting
into, the merits of growing the new
crop and now they must hurry to make
connection in order to keep from los
ing time and money experimenting.
In other sections the peanut is fast
bringing riches to the growers. IL.
communities in Alabama where the
change has been made from cotton to
peanuts the farmers are said to have
more money on deposit than they ever
had in their lives. This assertion is
constantly repeated and some of
must be so.
Goober growers and raisers of small
fruits and vegetables all through
northeastern North Carolina and south
eastern Virginia put their money il
he famous Peanut Bank. 1t is won
derful institution with history. The
Popular Magazine has an article il
he current issue of this bank A mos
interesting portion of this article re
fers to the way in which the peanu
growers made it a powerful financia
Institution. 1t follows:
"In the strip of land made up of
the counties of Gates, Hartford,
Currituck, Northampton, Halifax,
Pasquatauk, and Perquimans, in
North Carolina, and Surry, Sussex,
Norfolk, Mecklenburg, Brunswick,
Dinwiddie Isle of Wight, Nanse
mond, and Southampton, in Vir-
ginia, the goober flourishes as no
where else in America.
In Suffolk, the county seat OF
Nansemond, bank was establish
ed way back in 1869, when Virgin
ia was PROSTATE from the Civil
War. There was little other than
the trade of the peanut growers
and the truck formers to support
the bank. so it was started with a
capital of $4,000.
To-day that institution, which
officially is known as the Farm
ers' Bank of Nansemond, heads
the honor roll of all banks of Amer
lea. The men who own its 200
shares of stock have been made
rich, for now a 500 share is worth
$4,000 or more.
The capital of the bank still re-
mains at $4,000, and it probably
never will be increased, no mat
ter how big the institution be-
comes. To illustrate its growth
and prosperity. only a few figures
are necessary. Its deposits eX-
coed $2000000 Its surplus and
undivided profits exceed $1,000,000.
Its loans exceed $2,500,000. The
cash in its vaults and the amount
due to it from banks usually runs
from 100000 to $1,000,000.
The man who owns stock in
the Farmers Bank of Nansemond
is considered one of the financial
elect of Virginia. There never was
such a bank for melon cutting.
Dividends come more often than
showers, and they range from
modest or 10 per cent. to gen
erouS 100 per cent or more. Once
upon a time, for some reason, the
bank startled the natives with
80 per cent. distribution"
This is not hot air" 1t is history
hat can be found true by the least bit
investigation. The peanut area of
'irginia and North Carolina has no
gricultural advantages over South
ieorgia, Ours is said to be the best
arming area, naturally. on the Amer,
can continent. We have but to learn
a little more of our own agricultural
possibilities and the rich stores of our
farming lands are ours.