The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-09-17
Secretary Reardon Presents Ar
gument in Favor of Cot
ton Association
cooperation

mean:
i. High price cotton.
.. Prosperity.
). Independence.
A. Good roads.
). Education of the masses.
8. Home comforts.
Without organization and coopera
ton means:
]. Low price cotton.
,. Poverty.
3. Commercial and agricultural
slavery
4. Bad roads-and hundreds Of
thousands of dollars and much time
lost.
5. 1lliteracy for most of the peo-
ple-poor school facilities for our
boys and girls.
6. No home comforts-or limited
comforts for majority of our peo-
pie.
The farmers will not remain Or
ganized and actively cooperating be-
tween themselves if left to them
selves. With the organized and train
ed business efficiency, and system
attic cooperation peculiar TO met-
chants, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and
professional men and women, and
among organized labor coupled Up
with the industry and producing dbil-
ity of the farmers, who for the most
part are not trained business men.
the farmers will be encouraged.
taught, and trained to remain organ
lied and to cooperate with the forces
that are vitally interested in the
prosperity Of the farmers.
Therefore every man and woman of
practically every profession, trade.
and occupation is vitally interested in
the success Of the American Cotton
Association. Many local cotton buy
ers are members of this association
which shows that even the men who
buy the cotton first hand would rath-
er pay high prices than low prices
for cotton. 1t is only the cotton mills.
the oil mills. and the cotton gamblers
who are really interested in depress-
ing the prices of cotton and cotton
seed.
: How any cotton farmer. of all men.
can afford to remain out OF this
movement is a mystery unless it IS
due to the ignorance. stubbornness, or
:seIfishness of that class OF individuals,
who remain out of organizations which
do the greatest good for the greatest
number.
Every force that the cotton farm
er goes up against in selling his cot
ton and other farm products, and in
everything the cotton farmer buys
is organized in one way or another,
actually and Systematically, or ten
ta.ively Even the negro laborers.
cotton pickers, share croppers on
the cotton farms are tentatively or
ganized, ard they name the prices
they must receive Tor their labor and
for picking cotton, and the conditions
under which they will work as labor
ers or share troopers. The white
farmers have to submit to every de-
mand made upon them IN every fea-
ture of production and selling Of their
farm products. But the cotton farm
er is unorganized, he will not or
ganize or remain organized. II left
to himself. he sells his cotton almost
altogether BY individual methods, and
Tor the most part he accepts just what
prices he is offered. and the price
Of cotton is fixed and regulated by
the cotton mills. and the cotton
gamblers. and the price Of his cotton
seed by the OIL mills, and then the
cotton mills and the oil mills die
-1..,t t,n
shall pay the manufacturers for the
cotton seed meal hulis. Oil. and for
manufactured cotton all OF which the
cotton farmer originally produced.
but didn't have organized. efficiency.
business training. or business acumen
sufficient 10 sell for reasonable liv-
ing profit.
If twenty or twenty-five thousand
bales Of Sumter county produced cot
ton are sold fer twenty dollars bale
less Than it's market value, and not
less than that number Of bales Of
Sumter county cotton are sold an
nually for twenty dollars bale at
least too little why four hundred
thousand or five hundred thousand
dollars of Sumter county money goes
away from sumter county and INTO
the pockets OF the cotton mill stock
holders and cotton gamblers. Hun
dreds Of thousands OF dollars taken
from he farmers for cotton seed. sold
below the market price also go away
from Sumter county every year.
These hundreds Of thousands OF
dollars. il kept among the Sumter
county farmers would be spent
among the Sumter county merchants
and professional men. and deposited
in Sumter count: banks Tor redistri-
button, and mainly spent among city
Of sumter merchants and professiona
men. and employed laborcrs. ana de-
posted mosAH in Sumter city banks.
Figure up just the above facts. and
there are other features Of vital inter
est to farmers. merchants. bankers.
land professional men and employees
OF Sumter county rather Numerous 10
| mention. which can be left for fu-
t,lre editions OF this paOer