The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1921-04-22
EDITORIAL Is SENT TO
CONGRESSMAN RANKIN
He Gives His Views on Tariff
and Agriculture

editorial that recently appeared In
the Hattiesburg American. in which
farmers were asked to consider the
matter of cotton acreage reduction
and the growing of other things.
that he clipped the article and sent
it to Hon. J. Z. Rankin, member of
Congress from the First Mississippi
District, and whose home is at Tu-
pelo. A letter was received from
Mr.. Rankin from which the Hat
tiesburg American is permitted to
make the following very interesting
extract:
4 am just in receipt of your let
ter of recent date. enclosing an edi-
torial from the Hattiesburg Ameri-
can on the proposition of the farm
ers of Mississippi reducing their
cotton acreage this year.
4 know you are interested in
this proposition, or you would not
have sent me this clipping; go | am
going to give you my views. very
briefly. l represent purely an
agricultural district. and | have
been thinking of writing some arti-
cles for the papers of my district,
and for the daily papers circulating
over Mississippi, urging the farmers
to plant more grain and less cotton
for. these reasons:
In the first place, we made 49,
1877, IT'S bales last year, according
to the latest ginners' report. and the
price is now far below the cost of
production.
In addition to the dangers of
the boil weevil, we are up against
the practical certainty of a poor
price for cotton this fall. if we even
raise an average crop of, say, g.,
100000 bales.
The Secretary of Agriculture,
Mr.. Wallace. said in a speech last
night, according to today's Wash
ington Post, that agriculture in the
United States is facing one of the
most critical periods in its history
X X and that unless conditions
change this country may be forced
to resort to the importation of food
stuffs on a large scale.
Now, here is the very point the
papers in our country seem to be
overlooking in their fight for a re-
duction of cotton acreage:
The emergency tariff bill recent
ly passed by the Republican Con-
gress and killed by a pocket veto
at the end of the last session, is
going to be reintroduced the day
Congress re-convenes, April 18th.
There are now enough Republicans
in the two houses to pass it with
out any trouble, and the President
has assured them that he would
sign it. That hill places a tariff OF
35c bushel on wheat. and | am
told that they are going to amend
it and make it apply to corn also.
Now, that may not do the wheat
farmers and the corn farmers any
good, but it will do our farmers
harm, if they have to buy every
thing they eat and feed with the
amount of this tariff added by the
dealers, and, like the average wal
tax, doubled a time or two; espe.
cially when they have to pay fol-
them with an over-production Of
cotton dumped unto an already
glutted market. -
Then think of the pitiable con.
dition of our people if we should be
forced to import foodstuffs for home
use, with all this tariff, and its pys
Geological burdens added to the
original price-which would evi
IDENTIFY be high enough when the
sellers in foreign countries found
out that we had to buy; and espe
cially when the starving peoples o.
the Old World are stretching on
their withered hands for bread tc
sustain life.
| 4 had just thought of writing
these articles. along the lines abov,
set out. and should like to hear from
you as to your idea of their advisa
bility. You are not in my district
and / know that neither of us car
be accused of being influenced by
politics in what we have to say tt
each other on this all-importan
subject.
In fact. this question ought t.
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