The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-07-21
"ABBEVILLE SLEEPIEST.
TOWN IN THE STATE"
E. C. Seifert, Head of Marketing Bureau Made
Above Statement At Big Farmers Meeting
Yesterday and Adds ''It's The Hardest
, Town To Get Started Doing Any
thing."-Two Other Speakers
Address Large Crowd

Yesterday was a big day for the
farmers and business and profession
al men of the county VINO are inter-
ested in the growing and marketing
of cotton. Some plain talk was hand
ed them about just how backward
they were in the matter of marketing
their cotton.
T. M. Mills, county farm demon
strator of Newberry County presided
over the meeting which opened yes
terday morning at II 80 in the court
house and also made the first address
of the morning outlining the pur-
poses for which the meeting was be-
ing held and extolling the farmers
to the skies for the golden heritage
handed them by the Almighty and
censuring them for burying their
talent and letting the middle men
do the doubling of the talens.
Mr.. Mills is a forceful speaker and
commanded the close attention of
his audience.
He stated that he was born
on farm, had lived on a
farm up to the present time and
that he hoped when the hearse did
call for his remains that it would
have to drive up to the door of a
farm house to find them. He outlin-
ed the three purposes for which the
meeting had been called and stated
them as, first, to discuss the question
of whether it was beneficial for eve
ry county in the state to employ an
impartial cotton classer as supplied
by the department of agriculture
through the extension department of
Clemson College. Mr.. Mills was in,
formed that so far as Abbeville
County was concerned that this
question had already been settled
and that sufficient guarantors had
been secured to make the employ
ment and payment of a government
cotton classer certain.
The second question to oe discuss
ed would be the erection of sufficient
warehouses to store at least fifty per
cent. of the cotton grown in this
county. Mr.. Mills proceeded to show
his audience where this was abso-,
lutely necessary if the FARMER In
tended to get the true value that his
cotton is worth. He gave figures to
show that the erection of warehouses
costing $15O,OOO would save the far
mers $2,850,000 on each crop of;
cotton at the prevailing prices.
The last question to be taken up,
was the affiliation of a sufficient ma;
jority OF the farmers of the South
with the American Cotton association
to enable it to become a potential
power in the economic life of the
farmer.
Mr.. Mills then introduced Mr.. E.
c. Seifert, a native of Georgia and
until recently in the emp:oy OF the
farmers of Orangeburg County as,
their official cotton grader. Mr. Sci
fert is now at the head of the bureau
of markets in this state and it is one
of his duties to assign cotton GLASS;
ers to counties which wish them.
Whether Mr.. Seifert was cognizant
of sleepy attitude on the part of
his audience or whether he had been
hearing things about the City of
Abbeville from possibly the jealous
citizens of some Sleepy Hollow some
where in the state is. not known, but
without any reservation on his part
at all the speaker stated that "you
have the sleepiest town in the State
and the hardest town in which to get
anything started" We don't know
what the gentleman has ever before,
tried to start in the City of Abbeville
and we are doubtful if he ever has
been in the city more than once be-,
fore in his life. At any rate his au-
dience evidently didn't consider his.
statement regarding the apathy of
the town, as he called our city,
worthy even of receiving an exres-
sion either one way or another Oh