The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-02-23

made. ! regard the statement i'm oar
tam wall street journals about th.
decrease OF consumption to come
rom thc stoppagc OF war .ordnrs =.
rot, cmanating from the Same ..,,,rca
that was giving out $4,000, 900 bales
crop estimate last fall
from this small crop a cousder-
able anout OF cotton, which is
more than half rotten, is now in tba
heId@. Labor ana fertilizer conditions
VIII further curtail the crop in 1918.
The necessity for food crops is the
raost important factor in production
'Heatlcss Mondays are powerful
object lesson and have made ua real.
,ze the seriousness OF the sjtuation
The restrictions about purchases OF
hour ana other food is giving the all
cotton FARMER real shock. These
are better educators than tons of lit
erature. In 1918 the South will be
more nearly self-supporting than ev-
er in her history.
Il feel that L dare not depend on
Western meat, -four hay and corn.
am planting wheat, hay, corn and
raising hogs with a view to supply
for both man and beast on nv plan
tation. 1t is the first time that
'eaet one-half of my cotton land, but
l am afraid not TO do SO. This feel.
ing is growing and If the government
taxes another turn of the screws il
would not surprise me by 1920, in
stead of food campaigns to see one
urging US to plant cotton. feel re-
sponsible for the ignorant people on
my land and it is my duty to see that
they are fed. When you can't buy
FOOD OF what use is money? Increas-
Ell food production is necessarily AT
the expense OF cotton production,
which is now dangerously low. re-
gard the Manufacturers Record of
baltimore as the ablest and most con
servative publication of it's characte.
in the United States and would like
to read you an extract from it. In a
recent issue 1T loudly calls attention tC
the fact that we are confronted with
u cotton famine. 1t says While ev-
erything that can be done to increase
food production must be done, we
should not lose sight of the fact that
cotton is essential to civilization. II
Is absolutely necessary for clothing,
Tor tenting. and thousand and one
.hngs for which there is no substi-
tute available. Another small crop
would ho worlds disaster and yet
1t will he very difficult for the South
to plant, cultivate and pick large
crop than the average of the last two
years."
Senator, what would be the crfcC'
oc fixing the price OF cotton?" H..
replied:
We'll, that depends on what pricc
IS fixed. If the maximum price was
too low as compared with othe
standard articles it would defeat the
very object it had In view and pre-
c!pitate cotton famine and within
I've years cotton would go higher than
II VIII ever 60 naturally ! think thai
cotton, considering the small CROP
ana the expense attached, ought to IL.
40 cents pound now. If we ar
forced 10 go into food production
believe that we can beat the West in
raising hogs and corn | want TO say
this in conclusion, that / have no us.
for any man who in an effort to force
price liking sneers at the patriotism
of the South 1t is nothing but JUS
tee that we should make enough
profit to reimburse us for the losses
between 1911 and 1916 The cotton
Planters were practically bankrupt az
the beginning of 1916. have as goo
land as there is in the world and
lost money every year during the pc
Rod named. 1t would take five years
at the present profit for me to get
even. 1t is natural that 1 should
want to sop the gravy until my jaws
are greasy. / have been smelling
the gravy seven years while others
that had no part in frying out the
fat revelled in it's richness. / think
this is about the way the South feels" 4"
SUMTER C(YJTON MARKET
= ., ts''N NAN COttrO tfut..