The courier-index., 1921-01-07

I Someone has sagely remarked that if the illus trious Prentiss had experienced year like the more or less unamented 1920 whose sombre form is fast receding, he could not have been inspired to write his immortal ode and thus jewel in the classic crown of literature would have been lost to the world. However this may be- we know that the words with which the great itterateur embelllshed his memorial to the dead year, Its mark IS on each brow it's shadow in each heart, can be ascrbed with truthful emphasis to the year just passed Particularly is this throughout the broad areas of the business world and especially is it true of our own community.
 I We have met with keen disappointments. It was unfortunate that were forced to spend more money to make the 1920 crop than has ever before been spent. It was perhaps unfortunate that the Federal Reserve banks of the United States dld not sooner take steps to restrict the volume ot the countrys credits. It certainly unfortunate that the great period of deflaton and price reduction through which now passing should have be- gun its impetuous trend at the psychological moment of greatest harm to the cotton growing South I We have made many mistakes At the first ap proach of the herald of our misfortunes last Sep tember and October great many Jealous ana tnor- oughy honest people met the impending weakness in the price of cotton with sturdy resistance ana succeeded to some extent in fortifying the minds of the people in the idea of holding against what they on occasions termed "the combination of spln- ners and European buyers that seek to take our cotton from us" Warehouses proposed in which we were to store cotton and market IL slowly Somewhere, somehow the Federal Reserve banks were going to come to our rescue and loan the farmer money his cotton so that his expressed determination to hold for better price would be given substantial aid.
 I Is 1t necessary to point out that Tn ths Idea we were short-sghted? Do we not now know that we were overlooking world condition, that Tn reality we were caught in the swirl of an after-the-war maestrom which so many eminent students of world finance had been predicting and about which even the most unlearned should have been apprehen- sive?
 I We began to cry loud and long for relief and are still crying We behed the visible effects of our discomfture and we began at once to hear many voices loudly proclaming its There have been as many as there were voices to proclaim them A great many useful and truthful things have been said
 We should diversity our crops. That's good We should cut down this years acreage at least one-third. That may be all right A great many peo- ple think it imperative and that 1t would solve our problem.
 I We have got to make less expensive crop ths year This is very good and it's mortal cinch that it's also true
 I These are just few of the courses occurring to our mind at this time upon which 1t has been pro- posed that we advance in order to emerge from conditions now facing us and to once more pianI our feet on firm ground. No doubt there are addi- tional remedies such the improvement ot the soil increased production, reduction in labor costs and the wastes incident to our unscentltlc farming methods all of which bear the stamp of genuine