Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1922-08-18
Nr. J. R. J-nes Makes
Interesting Talk to a
NLarge CROWD.

.LuTyS NIOWu'
Everything came out just as planned
for the big agricultural meet that was
Ped IN Macon last Friday-there was
ne day Of as file weather as could
nave been asked, mere was the Big,
interested crowd, ,.-.e was the noted
Speaker, Mr.. James, primed for de-
.averlng his splenulI message TO the
0udlegce, and, acc ng TO a Dig poI-
Zion Of the crowd, there was the sump-
%tuous array Of ~sp.~AIldly baroecuea
s4meat and excellen oSunswick, enough
nor every body, nd much left over
,And this not the proverblal fragments
The crowd gathe~a1 early, and there
4 kas a goodly representation from all
i karts of the county. Dinner was serv
lakd at one o'clock from tables that
E2ad been built in court house yard,
with a special sewing committee IN
charge. There was pronounced sys-
EN- and order abb, the serving, and
Everybody was pIarided as much as
o. or she cared to have.
u Before dinner, H5n Geo. James made
Ehis splendid talk 10 a crowded room
Nm the court house ne number in the
Aaudience being approximately three
Hundred. There were many more,
2who had come t. the meeting fol
ifhe purpose of hearing this speech,
who could not fin seats in the court
Room, and the c. ors were crowd.
ND with eager listeners, who strained
to get as much of the talk as possible
Mr. James is a fine talker, and his
Address on this 0""9sion was filled
yIwith the finest re- s0ning and common
l~sense on Agricultural methods. HI
&forcibly drove hone to his hearers
Rmany facts that "jl be of inestima
iyple value to them in their future cours'
Though his tall was primarily Of
Agricultural topics. he spoke very en-
Overwhelmingly on the 4redit system
1that he said had bon a retarding fac
Nor in the proper DO lopment of Mis-
.sipni. His talk a,ong this line wa
Tas follows:
The other great retarding factor
rks | see it, is the ,.--.U system. An
IN the last analyl ! believe that a
pf the things which have gone
krevent MISSISSIPPI proper develop
Snt can directly or indirectly b
&etaeed to this on ling.
because of the .pOrtance Of tn
Ssubject, let us for a moment reyie'
tehe history of tn Credit System j
mississippi.
~ At the close o. he Civil War
H865-the Confedct4ta soldiers return
I'D to their homes, 70 find the prope.
kies all run down, the money all gor
hnd the negro slaves set free. The
HNere indeed broke and confronted
IAN almost hopelea5 -.tuation.
But Nature had provided Mississil
Mi with a soil an Innate that pc
United the raising .. cotton. And Il
xWorld then, as 70 needed cotton.
So the cotton sp'HHcrs of New En-.
Wand and of Old ENGLAND, needed Il
Taw materials in order to operh
their industry, joined together a.
with O. few ~easte.n bankers eXtend'
the south a little credit. Just a lit
NLedit mind you. Just enough
kbuy a little corn meal, a little 81
meat and perhaps . Georgia sto
blow and shuck co'7". No money f
baying the labor was provided, so t
Responsibility of getting labor to wo
without money wa forced upon t
hx-slave owner, the mar who own
khe land.
Now out Of this necessity (trr
kthe mother of Ii, eftion') envolv
kxtended down t. .Ae present d2
lust one degree owed from sls
sry and yet 1t afforded the only 50
Mon 10 the probe 1t that time.
Of course the vefrture proved p
Sitable to the pecg @ who granted
EreGit and, there the system gr
X.nd grew rapidly. Cut Of it grew
bottom factor and supply mercha
who in their day und time render
great service. And, too, in h
hony with the law of compensate
khese people were : Sarded, they m;
Gnoney and lots Of y.
But what of the soil and the PEG
Who titled the sol No enc can
Mat either were nae rich under
Tystem.
We are brought to see, from
bw crop product per acre, t
HE soil has been made poor, and
Gensus reports show that some 70,
@Eegroes and as many more whites
Tween the ages Of twenty and fol
live have left tn state for OF
fields of endeavor.
contend that ,hc country ba
bre now very properly taking
blaze of the cotton factor. just as
Automobile has rep..ced the horse
Alggy
The combination Of poor soil
ne boil weevil is rapidly thinning
Banks of the SUI y merchants,
believe the time is coming, and c
~ fast when the merchants will
meet their responsibilities and
W.velop a set of business men
gil not only have merchandise to
An who will provide as ready a 4
Eet for other farm products as
lid for cotton. .
The credit system of the south n
b. if for no other reason than tn;
Il too risky for the capitalist anc
kource of supply is consequently a
kried up. -
Mot very long ago | urged a CT
Investment Banker to come s