Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-03-08
The Country Home
BY MRS. w. III. FELTON,
rne suenderg. and the savers.

When the civil war closed, in April,
1865, the defeated southern confed-
eracy was fat ION the rocks" I was
in the midst Of the wreck and ruin.
We had nothing left but the farm
land and a dismantled old home. 1t
was always a plain home, because the
earlier Felto1s were burned out-ln.
the late FortieS-and were obliged
to live in hastily constructed log cab
ins until a new dwelling was erected.
cle-nevertheless that was all the
home we had to live in, and all we
were able to occupy after we got
back from rfuge life-which covered
nearly eighteen months. We found
it badly abused. We had window
glass in one room only. The rest of
the window openings were filled by
long planks; SO placed as to turn
rain only.
We had been loyal to the south. We
did not prepare for hard times by
collecting gold or silver coin. Green
backs were selling at a heavy dis
count-two and a half for one.
mean, a gold or silver dollar would
cost two and a half dollars in green
backs" if you had the paper money
corn from the federal commandant of
the post-located in Gainesville. My
husband gave his personal note for
it, and the two bushels were priced
four dollars. The commandant must
have been sorry for the poor refugee
because that note never was present.
ed and never paid. We always expect
ed it would "turn up" but it did not
We began to teach school in our town
and travelled back and forth five days
in the week. over three miles-rain
or shine; cold or hottie distance
plantation home. We knew we
had to struggle heroically-until the
farm lands could be rented to peo-
pie, who had stock to plow. We
reached the old place in August, ''65,
and there was no crop to be looked
for-inside of more than year.
There was a note, the last of land
purchase, in somebody's hands-un-
known to us-of several hundred dol
lars. In the depths of our poverty
the note came UP IL a lawyers hands
for collection, and gold was demand
ed. There we were! Dazed and cast
down.
The Legislature was called together
and stay law passed. That did not
help this delimma which we were in.
But the legislature made greenbacks
legal tender in Georgia-for all
notes then due.
We borrowed the greenbacks from
friend, made the tender, and TINS
escaped inevitable bankruptcy. All
we had in the world would not have
brought the amount of borrowed
money paid in gold. We had ninety
days in which to return the green
backS-and we were fortunate, for
we did escape trouble-in safe way.
This experience convinces me that
we were rescued from financial trou-
BILE by not spending a single dollar,
that we could possible avoid. We
wore old clothes, patched. shoes,
homespun from frocks and mems
suits-coarse and plain, of course,
"a h on1y n6
God for this gracious Kindness to us.
In the winter of 1920, cotton
went to 40 cents and over. 1t com
pletely intoxicated us as section.
We went WILD. We bought every
thing in sight, from a.: automobile to
penditure was on credit. TWO hum
dred dollars per acre for farm land
was no uncommon transaction. The
chaps that sold land at that price
thought themselves lucky to get 10
per cent paid down and the BALANCE
pay for anything! The automobile
craze was stupendous. why not
have an automobile, like my neigh
bor?" And they had 'em! Then the
wheel of fortune turned over. as 1t
always revolves-when it gets in mo-
ton.
The merchants had thousands. of
dollars on their boSks-but pitiful
collections Cotton going down"
The doctors had scores of patients
money. Collections we're solemn
sarces, and cotton could do nothing
but go down, it seemed.
Taxes were appalling, and the Of
fcers were driving night and day.
with a peck of fifas in the automible.
along with the other papers.
Bless goodness!--we did pay the
penalty for having fooled with forty
cent cotton, didn't we.
Forty-cent cotton was all right
as long as you didn't spend 1t, ana
it was all right If you only spent IL
bought. But I know of nothing in
the south that has happened SINCE
General Oglethorpe landed in SaVan-
nah that can make more CONFUSION
and anxiety than forty-cent cotton
when it is spent in paying out less
than fifty per cent of what the note
calls for, and the rest of it is to be
dug out Of the ground with cotton
down to IL IL cents per pound-ln
the final settleme1t-with accumu-
lated interest
with forty-cent cotton. 1t is well
known that there is plenty Of money
in the United States. The banks are
plumb full of money.
Now what's the matter with us
we cottonlotS? we Will understand
where we are at in good earnest be-
fore another crop is made or sold in
old Georgia.
Those who saved are not in any
real danger. but the foolish spenders!
The moral of this discourse IS
written all over tin every line
too plain to be explained.
we have gotten to a place where
saving is virtue, and foolish spend
ing is next to a crime.
Plain hard work, along with econ
omy, will pull anybody out Of imam
what they make, and thus prepare for
a rainy day.
Perhaps this was a needful lesson
to the foolish ones!
What about that parable OF the
wise and foolish virgins"
that string to fit and late use-right