Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1921-08-03
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Back in the sixties our forefathers
shouldered their guns and fought
four long, bloody years for freedom
and property rights. When Lees AMI
Jackson's ragged and broken-hearted
soldiers came home to their wives
and children to find them In the same
condition. they went to work with Il
will TO re-establish broken South
and to lay the foundation for a great
or South.
We, the younger generation OF
farmers, are slackers to our wives
sand children. We are sitting still
and letting the abominablc spccula-
tors rob us Of the hard earned fruits
Of our labor.
II the cotton buyers undergrade
our cotton or make more than red
Sonablc margin of profit. or get rich
on handling our cotton, this Is 4
thousand times more lOw-dOwn than
the work Of a highway robber or 4
booze peddler, for lie robs and lies
all at Once--and it's done in OCOnee.
We sit tamcly by and let them have
it and say very little about it--just
"cuss" Il little-then go and sweat"
and toll and raise more Of the damn
able stuff. and our wives will rub-l-
dub-dub on the old waSh-tub. hoe,
patch and cook. working eighteen
hours Il day. while Mr.. and Mrs. Cot
ton Gambler so to Il nice summer re-
sort to spend our money and make
plans to steal our next crop.
Thcy told you in the spring that
there would be nine million bales Of
carry-Oyrr cotton. Now our govern
mrni tells IT'S that there will be only
four and a half million bales Of spin
nahlr cotton 10 carry over. Who
lied" With this short crop there will
be less Spinnnblr cotton in the world
than has been for Il hundred years,
according to consumption. You know
it and they know it. The cut-throat
middlc-man knows these carry-ovcr
for they know the cotton is going
on the market as fast aS gathered.
/ for the cotton farmers are naked
and hungry.
The cotton farmer can face can
non and poison gas for his country.
! but he cannot face the dirty cotton
gambler All the cotton that has
ever been made or will ever be made
will be consumed. Why do call the
. cotton gambler Il murderer? Because
/ our government statistics tell us that
each year than any other class Of
people in the world. The reason is
that we have to work too hard in the
! heat and cold, can't afford doctor
and dentist bills. good clothes or rec
reation. Thus the death rate is nat
urally higher But If we had the
money that the cotton gambler makes
! we could take care Of our bodies and
! have better homes This would re-
/ duce the death rate.
Here are some facts:
| One Of Oconee's farmers sold a
bale OF cotton three years ago for
$42.96 and bought one mule that
saw sold at Camp Sewer for $59.0
lie paid $40 down on the mule, and
the next year he paid 500 and $15
interest. Last year he paid $25
more. making $3.50 in all. On Jan.
lst he gave up the government mule
andSne more. The same bale Of cot
ton sold the next day, in less than
sevcnty-tive miles Of Oconee. for
Sl05.l l6. The middlc-man made. in
less than ten minutes, $62.20, or
$500 more than the mule sold for
at Camp Sewer
Another instance: \ man owed 4
merchant s?6O.S0. He paid ON the
first Of November SO interest, one
bale Of cotton. On the lst Of March
he sold seven more bales and was
credited on the note So 80. and he
owes a balance or $6i1.30, which he
has mortgaged his farm to secure
These same eight bales OF cotton
were sold in fifty miles Of OconcC
for $l,il6.S0 by one Of our cotton
gamblers. making Il profit Of ST.