Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-03-22
Letter From Brasil.

Letter From Brasil.
The following letter was received re
Gently from MIR, Haddon by Mr.. j. +
Ames, who has kindly given THE BEA
CON permission to publish it:
Bello Horizontc, Brazil. State of Minas Cero,s
kua de Layras q, Jan. Is. 1918.
Mr.. ]. F. Ames,
Macon, Miss, u. S. A,
Dear Mr., Ames:
have thought for some time that
would write you a letter about the land,
and the crops of this country, but hav,
kept putting it off unit! now. Pleas,
understand in the beginning that | am
not trying to sell you some land. | am
writing you because you always mani.
Tested quite a little interest in ANYTHING
that showed a face value of success or
even where a chance Of success was
visible.
You are oneOf many men who love cot
ton a you appreciate its value.
Sixty years ago or more a great war
ruined the South, and for Just that
many years we have labored under such
disadvantages that we ourselves have
never taken the time to think lust how
great they were, but in spite of all this
some men succeeded, established good
homes, bought large properties, gave
their children the best educational adj.
vantages, and all done with cotton when
prices were %tluctuating between one
point below cost Of production and the
other just above. This was possible
because cotton is the best money field
crop in the world. | acknowledge that
we abused our best chance by planting
all cotton, buying our Necessities, i'm
poverlsh,ns the lands by never chang
Ing crops, paying no attention to the
care OF the land and making very little
effort to train our labor to be intelligent
In order to make maximum yields with
a minimum expense and effort,
Well, the first agent that decreed
that the old order should change was
crossing of the boil weevil into Tex.
as from Mexico. We fought against
any reduction of acreage until MANY
we're ruined. but the majority acknowl-
edged the little fellows prestige and
managed to live from the sales of a few
lnmarketable pigs, a few head of cab
'age, some sweet potatoes and a few
'ags OF cotton. We, though. grew
more bales year by year until we
eached that enormous yield of II. 600
'ales in one year. 1t sold for about
light hundred million dollars and cost
he South fully d billion.
The next order was given out whom
ne present war made cotton a dreg on
m 1rket and raised the price of feed :
or ANIMALS and food for people too high :
0 be bought with six-cent cotton. SO ;
re began to diversity according to +
latest edition and now with .
otton sky'high because of its scarcity +
not because of a greater demand 4
M larger universal consumption and +
ne fact that the South is a self-sun- +
Orting section, having grown 300. 600 h
W bushels OF corn and immense quan- g
Ties OF many other things which we a
SEQ to get from Iowa and other sec h
Ohs where people have to farm intelll- ii
entity or starve, we are in a position to n
that long lost prestige and be- II
me the most prosperous section on ir
Irth, II the farmer will use common -
nse. The last cotton crop Of a little r.
ore than ten million bales brought II
'out one and a half billions of dollars, n
ID besides this we saved the billion. +,
liar feed bill Of a few years ago. f.
One war ruined us and this one gives h,
the chance to become ourselves oLce Ia
ore Ii we will. Don't think that | am IA
rgettlng the frighgfulness, the loss of ty
'es OF many, perhaps, who are dear y
US, and thinking only Of the CONNER. co
Il advantages we shall get out of il Il.
= GU must pardon me for giving you o.,
this dope, hut oftentimes | ramble ~
: away from what | start out to saw on
d impose a lot of stuff upon The read Nh
that is not readable. pr
| shall get to the letter and tell a.
j something of this country and what
) people are doing with il, and the 2
'sibllltles here for anyone who wants ac
make money. y
n the first place, this is a country ,r.
It God made too easy to live in and ,
e without laboring. Practically all ac
year there is some tropical fruit Is
t is ripe and for mar only to 20 out "a,
gather. There are very few negro
ms without orange trees, bananas. 10
eapples, mangoes and other fruits il
would not know if | were to name fy
m, and these people can live almost Ne
hout laboring, if they would only ex.
he climate of this country is said by Yo
to be better than their own ire
ID state; the nights are always sio.
isant and a blanket is necessary. nov
when it rains it is usually in show. the
and not ali-day d%own-pours. The is r
rage rainfall in this part of the state cen
the last twenty years was 5g.8 cot
.es, and it all falls in about eight 10 ;
this, though there was one year. ac- colt