The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-12-22
A B. Jordan in Dillon Herald

am writing this in the first per-
son singular. I want to take Herald
readers on a personally conducted
tour through boil weevil infested
county and give them irst-hand facts.
Last week l spent two days in Bam-
berg county. Bamberg has been hard
hit. It is a county the size of Dillon
and there is very little difference in
the character of the lands or the
methods of farming them. Bamberg
makes a normal crop of 800 bales;
this year it made 1000. This is Bam-
berg's third year with the boil weevil.
The weevil made its appearance there
in small numbers late in the summer
of 1919, just the same as it made
it's appearance here the latter part
of July in this year. Bamberg made
short crop in 1919, but in 1920
the seasons were good and the coun-
ty made almost normal crop. The
farmers tried cotton again this year,
but the drought came and then fol-
lowed the weeks of excessive rain
fall and Bamberg's crop was cut from
10000 to 1000 bales. From the re-
ports that had reached here concern
ing conditions in the lower tier OF
counties I expected to find things as
fiat as a founder; I expected to find
the streets deserted, half the stores
closed, no traffic, smokeless factory
chimneys and a general spirit of de-
lection and depression. But I was
agreeably surprised. The only idle in
dustries I found were ginneries. The
most of them had closed weeks ago.
Saturday morning I found the streets
alive with traffic. Business men were
hurrying here and there. The usual
stream of customers was puring in
and out of the banks, the clerks in
the stores were fairly busy and bus
isness seemed to be normal. There
was no general spirit of detection and
depression. Rhe people were not blue.
They were smiling. They were optI-
mistic. They have plenty to eat-food
is found everywhere in the greatest
abundance-many of them have lit
tie money ahead, and those who have
no money sell a hog, a few chickens
Or eggs or some corn when they find
it necessary to go to town and trade.
FOne man with whom I talked said
conditions as a whole were better than
they were last fall. He said the big
slump in the price of cotton was such
a shock that it paralyzed the peo-
ple. The boil weevil came on gradual
ly, his work of destruction covered
a period of several months and the
people had in a way adjusted them
selves to conditions before the cotton
crop was harvested. They will plant
some cotton next year-about 4 to
6 acres to the plow. They take a
hopeful view of the future, and are
confident that when they emerge
from the wilderness of doubt and un-
certainty by which they are surround
ed at the present moment that it will
mark the beginning Of an era of pros
perity, the like of which the county
has never known.
IS Per Cent. Seasons.
I talked with banker, merchant
and farmer. talked with big farm
ers, medium class farmers and small
farmers, and as progressed from
top to bottom pessimism decreased
and optimism increased. The big far
mer has been hard hit; the small
farmer has not suffered to any great
extent. I gathered opinions here and
there: told them that in my judg-
ment reports reaching my county
COUCSTulIDS COuuiIlouS Ia IhS ~"
county had been greatly exaggerat-
ed; that it was like the indiscretlon
committed at home-the farther it
got away from the point of origin the
more scadalous it became. That l
was there for the purpose of get
ting the truth; that the farmers OF
my section were facing the same con-
ditions they had faced in 1920; that
they had had three years of the boil
weevil and we wanted the benefit of
their experience. had related to me
hundred different experiences,
scores of different methods for fight
ing the boil weevil and dozens of diff
ferent plans for growing other money
crops, but after adding and subtract
ing and multiplying and deducting all
these opinions and experiences and
olans ] divided the sum total by per-
sonal conclusions and observations
and find that the net result is IS per
cent. of season and 25 per cent Of ef-
fort.
There are good farmers in Dillon
oo,,+r b,,% 4bo,, bouon't O rn0noD01V