The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-10-16

Leaving Atlanta, we went downhill
almost all the way to the gulf of
Mexico. We passed through Alaba-
ma, whose coal, iron and steel will
form one of Uncle Sans big assets
in making guns, armor plate and
similar war supplies. We crossed a
part of the rich Mississippi delta,
with it's vast unreclaimed swamps,
and stopped at New Orleans, in the
very heart of one of the coming
bread lands of the United States.
All along the line from Washing
ton to the south of the Mississippi
both man and nature are jumping.
In the north the farmers are plow-
ing and planting their cotton, and
setting out patches for food supplies.
Farther south the corn is well up
through the ground, and here at New
orleans the sugar cane is high, and
we are on the edge of summer. Most
OF the cotton mills are now running
both day and night, and the lighted
windows shine out of the darkness.
Both manufacturers and farmers
have been spurred on by the de-
mands of the war, and more bust
ness is being done than ever before.
The same conditions prevail in all
parts of the country, and plans are
making which will eventually turn
the south into an industrial workshop
similar to that of New York and
Nov England.
| But let me give you birds eye
view of what Unc!e Sam has in the
south. 1t make one feel confident as
to our success when we count up our
assets and learn what they are. 1
| had no apprehension of the extent of
this part of the country until l plan
ned out this trip. | came 1,120 miles
in an almost straight line from Wash
ington to New Orleans, and Houston,
Tex, where | shall make my next
long stop, is almost 500 miles farth-
er. From there to Ell Paso, near
where the western state of New
Mexico begins, is twenty-four hour
ride by fast express train, and as
far away from Washington as Lon
don is distant from COnstantinople.
From Baltimore to Ell Paso is almost
as far as from Boston to Denver
The southern states number six
teen, and they comprise some of the
largest states of the union. Bunch
them together and you have an area
which equals one-third of the United
! States proper. 1t embraces more
than one-fourth of all the land un-
der Uncle Sans flag, including Alas
lions of acres of far richer soil.
Texas is bigger than Germany,
France or Austria-Hungary. 1t is
four times as big as New England,
with $4,000 miles to spare. Ken
lucky is five times as large as Mas
sachusettes, Maryland nine times as
big as Rhode Island, and you could
cut Florida into seven equal pieces
cover New Jersey and Maryland.
Alabama is bigger than Pennsylva-
MIA, and it has tens of billions of
tons of coal and iron lying under
its soil. i might make similar COM
parsons as to Tennessee, Georgia
and also as to Oklahoma, which is
now our greatest oil state, as well
as one of the chief farming states
Of the union.
Among the big problems of to-day
is how we can keep down the prices
of clothing and food. We are short
of both bread and meat, and every
thing is sky-high. Just before COM
ing south l talked with Bradford
Knapp, who has charge of the dem
onstration farm work now going on
in the south. He tells me that with
diversified farming it may be made
so to increase the size of our bread
and meat baskets as to greatly re-
| 4Ia L.
supply what we need for our armies
and allies.
AS it is, the south has 100000
stomachs to fill. 1t has one-third of
the population of the United States
to feed, and to-day it is buying a
great part of its supplies from the
north. The country can easily raise
all its own food and have vast guam
titles to export all over the world.
Not long ago it was producing moth
ing but cotton, and it is only lately
that it has begun to put much in
corn, wheat, oats and hay. Never
theless, its total grain crop of last
year was worth more than $780,
100000. This included only corn,
wheat and oats, and it raised in adj
dition rice worth more than $40, 1000
900. In 1915 the south harvested
more than one-third of the corn crop
of the United States. and it has the
record of having produced the most
corn ever raised on any one acre.
That acre was farmed by boy, and
the product was 259 bushels. In 1912
Mississippi farmer took more than
5000 bushels of corn from a seven
ty-acre field, his average being in ex-
cess of 100 bushels per acre.
An now as to the meat! When the
south has developed its livestock pos
isbilities, Uncle Sam will not have to
go to Australia for mutton, nor to
Argentina and Uruguay for his beef.
1916 the livestock of the south was
worth more than $1,000, 100000, and
with the present demands it will
greatly increase. Recent experiments
show that beef can be produced in
many of these states at or 5 cents
a pound, and that pork can be rails
ed at cost of less than 4 cents a
Mound This is in striking contrast