The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-17
WHERE BOIL
NEEVlL HAS
BEEN DEFEATED
Mr. B. Belser Re-
ports Results of In
stig;ation Of Con
ditions in Selma,
Ia
Editor Daily item:

In order to get first mana lnlOT-
nation as 10 conditions in Dallas
County, Alabama, where the peo-
PIE are repHted to have met boil
weeyil conditions satisfactorily, I
4 made a trip to Selma, the eoGnty
3 seat Of Dallas county. and spent
four days there studying the de-
yelopment which had taken place
after SIX years farming under boil
weeyil conditions
The condition of the banks and
the volume of business going on in
the stores indicated that the peo-
pie of that county were in better
financial shape. after six years Of
the boil weeva than are the people
Of this county The bankers stated
that the boil weeviI, while very
serious pest, has caused the people
- OF the county to adopt diversified
farming, which had proved bless
( ing oSthe county; that the people
OF the county were in better condi-
ton than they had ever been, when
cotton was practically their sole de-
= peI0Sa-S. dS e. A1ao1iSS - w >'
gave first place to the creameries
Of the county. with increased pro-
duction of hogs and livestock =
close second, IN supplying the place
! OF the cotton destroyed.
The three general and two saw
inss banks Of the county had on de-
nosit nearly S., 900, 900. While on
Z September 9Th, the date Of last
called statement, the bills payable
and rediscounts amounted to ST.
( l0D. 900; these items had all been
paid of. between that cate and the
present, and the banks now owed
nothing. a
TIE creamery products for 1920
amounted to about $2,500.0o0; the
hoes and beef cattle ito $500, ,oCo;
While the cotton crop amounted to
only si,75e, 900. The extent, there
fore, to which other money crops
have been developed, is readily ap-
parent.
The real estate men and bankers
agreed that the lands Of the coon-
ty were bringing, even now w1tn
the present depression, more than
they were Ii 1918, which was one
OF the best years we had II this
section, prior to the war.
OF course the present low prices
for cattle, cotton and creamery
products was not without its de-
pressing effects on the general bus
mess of that community, for all
agricultural Interests are now Ia
boting under extremely adverse
conditions. But on the whole. the
county and the people were un-
cuestionabiy in better shape than
are the people Of our county at this
time.
Sehna is city Of about $4,000
people, and Dallas county, as a
whole. has about $4,000 people, Of
which $4,000 are negroes AID OF
the ia, ,ae0 white people in the
county about s, 900 live in the city
Of Selma, leaving only about o.
zoo scattered throughout the coun-
fy.
It viii readily be seen, therefore,
that this county with between four
teen and fifteen thousand white
people, out OF population OF 49,
eee, with aboit 5000 in the city
and 1000 or 10000 white people
IN the county, is in much better,
shape to work system or
farming to meet boil weevil condi-
tons than was Dallas county. If.
therefore, Dallas county can de-
velop and prosper under boil wee
) VII conditions, there is absolutely no
reason why this county should not
be able to do not only as well, but
better. We have better railroad IA
ciIities, with at least twenty-four
hours quicker transportation TO the
great market centres ;or our truck
and livestock products, and a white
population in the agricultural dis
tricts almost q 2uble that of Dallas
County.
7 found the people Of Dallas
county still trying 20 work out their
market problem. just as we are,
and the business men Of the coun-
ty very much interested in the plan
which We are trying TO work out
for this county I submitted to the
county demonstration agent and a
number of the leading bankers the
farming program as we had 1t
mapped out for this county, and
they all approved OF it very hear
tily, and said they believed it was
we'll adapted to the needs Of boil
weeyil territory. That they did not
really think that cotton was prof.
table under the low yields obtained
in boil weevl territory. but that.
owing to the large proportion Of
negroes in the county, they had
found it necessary to continue TO
plant a considerable portion Of
their acreage in cotton. They We're
planting about o0,oe0 acres IN cot
ton and only making $4,000 bales,
getting about the same yield on the
same acreage both in 1920 and
1921. The table given below will
tell the story of agricultural de-
yelopment in that county in unmls-
taxable terms, to any one who vii
give it careful study:
Agricultural Production in iiaiias
County, Alabama.
For Year 1920.
Compiled from Report Of F. W
f,;ss Field Agent, L. S. Depart