The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1916-11-18
EFFECTS OF HIGH PRICED
COTTON.

] Since the boil weevil came,
though an old topic. crop diversi-
6cation has teen taught as never
before in the land OF cotton By De.
partment demonstrators and ex-
perts, agricultural colleges, news.
paper editors, and the lessons of
experience. While advice has been
dispensed ad nauseam, it has never
1.-THE less influenced many to whole
some departures from the one cot
ton crop. But all such tendencies
have been more or less counteract-
ed be irrepressible backward swings
of the pedulum to cotton, upon any
apparent relaxation of boil weevil
visitation. and by every recurrence
to "a high price level Thus has the
agricultural pocession in the cotton
states cen kept in a TO and fro di-
| versi6cation movement with, how
ever. a consistent, and encoura2-
ing, advance toward larger grain
and forage crops and stock raising.
At present progress in this dire :.
tien is threatened by XceptiouA.a
high priced cotton. while proinst-.
ed by remarkable drift of needed
negro labor to the North. 6
The nature or extent of the op
Grafton of the cause stated. especial
ly the high priced cotton factory,
can only he considered speculative
ly. The question of effects has
been and is being discussed by
many. 1t is we'll treated by an
article in the Progressive Farmer
bv c. o. Carpenter of Little Rock.
which is quoted:
The present high prices for cot
ton and cotton seed that prevail in
| Arkansas offer many Of our farm
ers an opportunity to get away
from the credit system that if taken
advantage of will mean an indie
| pendence for the future. Bankers
and nero hants report an unprece-
dented business, and by using
| little economy and care in the
handling of their money great
many of our farmers can enter 1917
on a cash basis. freeing themselves
from the burden Of high credit
prices. However, in talking with
the country merchants one hears
the statement rather frequently
these days that Our peop { can't
stand prosperity. Many of them
are buying things they should not
buy and by the first of year they
will have spent all their money and
be making crop notes to pul Chase
their supplies
At the close of a roseate pictnre
of the vast inflow of cotton money
into the South the Manufacturers
Record says:
The great danger to the South
in this situation will be that its
farmers may be tempted to aba ndon
diversified farming and concentrate
all their interest on cotton grow
ing cotton. Another danger is
that this money may beget wild
extravaganza and speculation. 1t
shonld be used to wipe out the in
debtedness OF Southern planters to
their merchants, and Of Southern
merchants to their bankers. In or
der that this section NAV be OH a
sound financial basis, able to meet
any storm that may come in the
future.
We now quote the Cleveland
Enterprise, which is published In the
heart of section where the rains
and the boil weevi1 did not prevent
a good crop of cotton.
a blind and sublime faith in the
future is all we'll enough. but
dreams are crumbling every day
and year and the roseate visions
INDUCED for the future do not
always materialize.s There is more
of the speculative. more of the
gamble. more of the dream in next
years crop than in any other that