The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-09-21
A Common Sense Program for Cot
ton Planters.
(Southcrn Agriculturist).

The American Cotton ASSOCIATION
| announces that it has had urged
upon it two plans for the limita-
ton of next years cotton acreage,
| and is asking members Of the as
sociation to express their choice OF
the two plans. or their disapprov-
al of both. They are:
Plan No. 1.
l Three -fourths Of all open
lands to be devoted to food and
feed crops and TO pasturase for live
stock.
(2) One-fourth of the cultivat-
ed land to be planted in cotton,
we'll fortified and worked, so as to
produce the best yield under the
most economic conditions OF labor
and other expenses.
CD Encourage the rapid organ
ization of statewide Cooperative
Marketing Associations for handl-
ing cotton and other farm pro-
ducts.
a. Adopt economic reforms
and efficiency in the future baiing,
warehousing, financing and mar
keting Of the cotton crop, upon the
most approved and advantageous
modern methods of orderly mar
keting.
(5) Induce every cotton farm
in the south to become, first Of ALL
self-sustaining, and so control the
production and sale Of cotton as
to force the consuming world to
pay the growers a profit on the
production of each and every bale
of the staple.
Plan No. ..
Petition the governors of the
states Of North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missis-
sippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Okla
homa, Tennessee, and Texas, to at
once call into special session the
general assemblies Of their respec-
tive states. to enact law prohibit
ing the planting of any cotton in
any Of ti1e states named, in 1922,
such laws to Ge enforced under the
/ broad police powers of the states,
| for the purpose Of destroying the
cotton boil weevil and the pink boil
worm, the former insect having
spread over II per cent. Of the on
tire cotton belt Of the United States
such laws to be effective in each
state named from January l, 1922.
to January l, 1923. provided each
and all Of the cotton states named
in the petition shall pass a similar
law. The cotton farmers of the
small producing states of Virginia,
Florida and Missouri will be aD-
pealed to, to unite with the larger
cotton states in cutting cotton out
for 1922.
Of Plan No. , it is necessary to
say little. 1t is pure bunk. The
governors and legislatures Of the
states named have too much sense
to enact the proposed laws. They
have no constitutional right to pass
such laws. The laws. if enacted,
could not be enforced. No practi-
cal man should bother with such
wild-eyed fooishness for one/min-
ute.
Plan No. is a safe, sane and
practical method of meeting the
situation. The policies proposed
in the first four paragraphs are
all policies of good farming
and sound business. With them
put into effect, practically every
farm in the cotton country would
be self-supporting, as is proposed
/ in Paragraph 5. and the unfor-
tunate and misleading language at
the end Of that paragraph could
be dropped.
Indeed, it should be dropped
anyway. The South, no matter
what it does, can not 80 control
the production and sale Of cotton
as to force the consuming world
to pay the growers q profit on the
! production of each and every bale
of the staple" That. to be plain,
about it, is more bunk. No or
| ganization can secure the power, or
should have the power, to force
! the world to pay 4 profit on crops
produced by inefficient methods
and a. unduly high expense. Such
! prices would not be fair prices. and
/ it is folly to attempt to lead farm
ers to believe that any marketing
system that may be developed can
make profits fer the farmer whose
farming does not entitle him to a
profit.
Rational methods of co-opera-
! tive marketing can do much for
cotton growers and fer all other
farmers: but they are not going
! to do away with the necessity or
good farming They are not going
TO give any man profit on the
I cotton he produces il thar cotton
] is produced by expensive methods
! and at cXorbitant cost; they are
not going to insure every farmer.
or any farmer. "a good living and
10 PEI cent on his investment. or
accomplish any other impossible
ity.
Fortunately. however, this dem
4 asogic vcrbiag. las no essential
( relation TO the practical method
! offered in Plan No. ! for controll-
: ing acreage and marketing tn"
crop. The plan itself is sound and
should be put into operation. COT
I ton farmers. we feel sure. VIII
] have no hcsitancy in choosing be-
tween it and the absurdity propoS-
ed in Plan No. ,. and in carrying
it into effect the American Cot
TON Association Shnllld haNc thr