Newport daily independent., 1919-01-17
Bright Williamson,

Agriculture is the bed rock and foundation upon which every other in dustry must stand or fall. All the people prosper or fail to prosper ac- cording to the abundance of the har- vest of the soil, and upon agriculture depends the prosperity and happiness of the world.
 Better methods of agriculture in clude the use of modern implements, modern cultivation and soil improve ment This brings us directly to the importance of the fertilizer industry as means of improving our soils. Fer tilizers are absolutely essential in or ! der to increase the fertility of the soil. . They have a direct effect upon agri- cultural production and through the products of agriculture a direct effect upon all other industries.
 Anything which contributes to an increase in our agricultural pr0duc- tions, contributes to the welfare, com fort and prosperity of our people as a whole; and this brings us directly to the consideration of the importance of the fertilizer industry in relation to other lines of business.
 Fertilizers Necessary in South
 The very nature of our soil, climate and rainfall makes it impossible to farm successfully without regularly feeding our crops from artificial sources with at least two of the sev- eral principal clements entering into the composition and development of plant life. Without fertilizers much of the best producing cotton lands in the South would become unproductive and farming would be unprofitaAle 4n many states, except in few locali- ties,. soil is no more capable of pro- duclng without being fertilized than stock is capable of performing work without being fed Our lands must be fed just as we feed the stock that work them or they will become too poor to even pay the cost and expense of cultivation.
 Transformed Sections
 Large sections of land in various parts of the South Atlantic States, for ty or fifty years ago, required four or five acres to produce one bale of cotton, which now, by intelligent farm ing, made possible by the use of fer tilizers, yield one bale to each acre, or the equivalent, of other crops Pow erty stricken sections of one or two generations ago have been transform ed into populous and prosperous com munities. Our ability to rebuild and make our lands more fertile has en- abled people to live and settle in Slore desirable communities, and to enjoy advantages of better markets, schools. churches and social conditions. Bet ter rural conditions have made the "back to the farm movement not only g possibility, but a reality
 Prosperity Due to Fertilizers
 Whatever may be the direct benefit, 1t is obvious from a study of the sit uation that the present prosperity and greater population in South Carolina is due more largely to the use Of commercial fertilizers than to any oth- CT cause, because in South Carolina fertilizers are absolutely necessary to profitable agriculture, upon which most of our business and other industries depend Had it not been for the use of commercial fertilizers South Caro- lima could not be considered an agri- cultural state.
 Taking into consideration the cost of fertilizers. statistics will bear out tie statement that the once worn out