The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-06-13
In ARKANSAS

think ] have never seen any local
committee go to SO much pains to en-
tertain "A convention as the Arkansas
Press Committee has gone TO- We
have had so much entertainment so
far that we haven't had much time to
do business.
One day we were taken for a hun
dred mile drive over the pixies east OF
Little Rock and thru Lonoke county.
This is claimed to be the richest coun-
YIN the state. The county lays as fiaf
as a board, suppose there isn't a
hill in IL as high as Pump. hill The
roads we drove over are all crushed
rock pixies. Some OF them have been
surfaced and are excellent. while 9TH
ers are just rock and buinpy. We got in
the cars at a M. and got back at our
hotel at s p. M. Most CT the time We
spent in the cars. tho several interest
ing stops were made.
The drive took us thru several rich
plantations. some cotton aud some
rice. We also saw some wheat and
corn. The wheat has been cut or is
about ready TO cut. The corn is tall
and is beginning TO tassel out. We
saw little alfalfa. but II doesn't look
like Colorado aifalfa-doesn't grow as
large and lu1uriant
The interesting thing TO q North
erner Is cotton plantation We saw
several big ones+from 1000 to 1000
acres. These remarks are about one
about ten miles out of Little Rock.
Two thousand acres in cultivation.
The owner lives In modern man
sion-s liner house in fact than any
home in Canon City. Going out we
drove along one side OF the planta-
sf Arrt ha csA 10
appears to be all in cotton. Along the
road sides are many Little Characters
tic Negro shacks. They all look alike
in the South. They may vary as TO
size. hut the dip of the roof is uni
form and the style much the same
Some may have only one room and .
kitchen, many two rooms and kitch-
en- and few larger. But always you
viii ind the gallery in front. The
gallery is merely simple porch And
usually the gallery is occupied.
Each Negro shack has near a little
fencedin garden. some a pig yard with
one pig and some have d few chick
ems and geese.
The great plantation Is enclosed as
n whole. bur has no cross fencing.
II is al planted 10 cotton and the cot
ton Is now few inches high The
X
works small tract Of land on shAres.
The plantation is parceiled ouf in
lxscts ~. xt<sus r~outy satre5 to a IAN
f5y. The Negro plants the crop aud
picks the cotton for half the crop. The
land owner or the nearby merchants
in some cases. provide for the Negro
"A year ahead and get paid when the
cotton crop is gathered.
Cotton is profitable crop these
days. Three years ago cotton was sell
ing at from to 10 cents pound and
the South was begging the North to
buy a bale of cotton But things
have changed. Cotton Is as good as
gold and sold last season at from 30
to ~ cents pound Everybody who
touches cotton these days is prosper
Gus. and you don't see many bare
footed Negroes in Arkansas this year
And you do see a lot of Negroes driv-
ing cars.
An acre OF cotton will produce from
n half TO bale of cotton and a bale
weighs about 500 pounds.
Cotton is chiefly produced by Negro
labor Rice is chiefly produced by
white labor
Rice Is a valuable crop in Arkansas
now. II is a new crop. having been
grown here only fourteen years. We
are going to the big rice fields next
week, so ! may say more about 1t later.
But we saw several rice plantations
on this io0mile drive and visited one