The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, 1922-04-12

At the call of Jas. w. Shealy,
county demonstration agent, a meet
ing was held at the county court
house Wednesday morning beginning
at II o'clock, in the interest of the CO.
operative cotton marketing associa
ton. The campaign to secure pledges
for this association has been in prog
ress over the state for the past sew
eral weeks, and at the same time has
been going on over the entire cotton
belt for similar state associations 1t
was stated at the meeting Wednes-
day morning that only two states
Alabama and South Carolina-have
yet to- qualify, the others having al
ready attained the quotas assigned
them Due no doubt, to the suitable
weather for farming operations. the
meeting was not attended by as large
a crowd as it should have been. but
those present were we'll repaid by the
splendid talks they heard.
' ME-. Jas. W. Shealy called the
meeting: to order and stated the OBJ
iect, and asked DR.. f.. G. Ridgeu
Of Batesburg to preside. Rev. A. 3.
Obenschain opened the services with
PRAYER. after which Dr.. Ridgell took
charge and introduced Mr.. j.. D.
Coghlan Of Texas as the first speaker.
Mr.. Coghlan opened his remarks
with the statement that he had been
asked if the boil weevil would go fur
ther north, and that he answered. that
there were only two places where II
would not so, and he intimated they
were Heaven and h-l-
Mn. Coghlan said he was not here
to ask sympathy for the farmer OF
to beg for him, but all that he was
interested in doing was to get the far
mer lined up right. and when that
had happened they would not need
sympathy or would not need to beg
He said one could travel over tho
cotton belt and find that the people
who raised the cotton with which tc
clothe the world had the smallest part
of it, in most instances hardly enough
to cover their backs; and that this
condition was brought on by the pro-
ducers themselves in that they We're
not organized in a way to take care
Of themselves.
Mr.. Coghlan said that under the
selling system now in operation in this
section the grower had to take what
was offered him for his cotton or
carry it back home for the time being
only to take what was offered at some
later time. That this condition could
be remedied by selling the crop
through the cooperative marketing as
sociation. That this has been thor
oughly proved in other lines Of agri-
culture, and the same would apply to
cotton, He said since he joined the
Texas association he had been re-
warded by profit of SIS per bale
on all he grew: he obtained SIS per
bale more through the association
than cotton was selling for on the
streets of his home town the same
day.
Mr.. CoghIan explained the work
ings of the association thoroughly.
TO Join it is necessary that the farmer
pledge ali his cotton. for five years
that when the cotton is Ginned rep
resentative Of the association nnlne-
diately takes charge Of it and places
the cotton in bonded warehouse.
and it is kept there until suitable
sale can be made. and that the lirec-
tors, II in number, Of the as \'cia-
ton are the sole judges as to N\hen
the sale shall be made. When ~"
cotton is sold the owner receives IN
money Immediately.
Mr.. Coghlan said that the saving in
grading alone would make the propo-
sition worthwhile, according to his ex-
perience. That if a member needed
money he could draft on the associa-
ton for 60 per cent of the value of his
cotton at any time, and the draft
would be paid by the association. He
said that the actual cost of selling cot
ton by the association, for the first
year in Texas was s1.78 bale. and
that hereafter it would be less. as the
a ssocia ton was now on working