The spectator., 1921-01-28
WOULD REDUCE
 COTTON ACREAGE.
REDUCTION IN COTTON ACREAGE IS ENDORSED BY THE STATE
 CONFERENCE.
LAST SESSION IS STORMY
Closing Hours of Conference Were Marked By More Or Less Turbu- Ience, Farmers Were in Big Ma
 jorlty at Conference.

sion the state conference of farmers, planters, merchants ana bankers adopted a resolution endorsing the so- called Memphis plan" for the reduc. ton of the cotton acreage in 1921. All ter adopting this resolution the confer. ence adjourned sine die at 1:3O p. m. |.
 This plan, which was adopted at the meeting of the Southern Cotton Con- efrence at Memphis December 7-S, 1920. would compel all cotton growers to reduce their cotton acreage so that they would plant not to exceed one third of their cultivated land to the staple. The plan provides for the signing of pledges by farmers that they will not exceed this limit, by landlords that they will compel their tenants to observe the limitation, and by banks and mercantile firms that they will not extend credit to farmers who exceed the limit.
 After adopting the resolution en. dorsing the Memphis plan," the con- ference at once adjourned without making any provision for organizing to enforce the reduction plan. However, supporters of the plan said that an organization Is provided in the Mem. phis plap' itself and they quoted Ar ticle l of the plan, which reads as fol. lows:
 Immediately after the Memphis cotton convention adjourns the presi- dents of each of the several state bankers associations in cooperation with the officers of the American Cot ton Association, both the national as- sociation and the state divislon, the farmers union and other farmers or ganizations, shall be requested to ap- point state central committee con- sisting of three or more bankers, which committee shall undertake the organization of the said state by the appointment and supervision of coun- ty executive committees, which shall organize the said counties into the cotton reduction movement for the purposes stated in the foregoing pre- amble."
 It was said that as a result of the endorsement of the Memphis plan" by the conference recently it is proba- ble the heads of the various organlza- tions mentioned will get together at ,once and appoint state central com mittee, as provided in the Memphis plan.
 Opponents of the Memphis plan" argued that 1t was impractical, that 1t could not be enforced. and that it would arouse resentment among tho farmers and cause trouble over the state. They declared that if the far. mer was forbidden to plant all his land to cotton, that would be the very thing he would want to do. They con. ceded the urgent necessity of a radi. cal reduction in cotton acreage. but they said that the thing to do was to conduct campaign stressing the necessity of every community raising its own food and feed. They present. ed figures to show that if this were done 1t would automatically result in a decrease of 50 per cent in the states cotton acreage, and they argued that no greater reduction would be advisa- ble.
 However. sentiment was so over. whelmingly in favor of the Memphis plan" that its opponents offered no opposition to the adopnon of the reso- lution, which went through by unan. imous vote.
 The closing hours of the conference were marked by more or less turbu- ience Farmers were in a big major. ity at the conference. and the major ity of them were anxious to adopt the Memphis plan and to adjourn. Many of them wished to leave TOT their homes on early afternoon trains. The audience appeared to be filled with ora tors who were eager for an opportun- ity 10 talk. and finally E. J. Bodman. chairman of the conference. was fore ed to announce that oratorical out bursts would be limited to five min- utes.