Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1922-04-13
BANKER-FARMER
CONFIDENCE IS
COUNCILS PLEA
Americus Banker Makes Best Talk
OF Group Convention At
Bainbridge'

the best talk of the meeting here on
Yesterday of the bankers of Group q,
Of Southwest Georgia, was Delivered
J. by L. G. Council, president OF tue
Planters Bank of Americus. Talking
in his characteristic man-to-man style
Mr.. Council handed out some rapid
fire nractical observations that MADE
good impression, coming in the
midst of some hatheri rksome ora
tory. ~ NJ
and It's Relation 70 the Agricultural
interests 1t Serves" Mr.. Council
Ipened witha plea to his fellow
bankers of Southwest Georgia for
relationship of confidence and thor
ough understanding between the BAN
ker and the farmer.
3"As- a rule" said he, "most OF us
start off the year without thorough
understanding with our farmer custo-
mers. Early in the year, say Jan
uary, farmer comes into your bank
and wants to borrow $2,500. SIT
down with that man and go over his
whole problem and proposition with
him. Map out with him his program,
Just what he is going to do and how
he is going, to do it. You learn all
about his plans and probably are able
, to advise him somewhat. There is
complete understanding. The chances
are nine to one that if you grant him
the loan it will be repaid, because
you have taken each other into COM
plete confidence.
Must Use Brains
"My experience as a banker and
farmer has taught me that we are
living under vastly different condi-
tions than we were five or ten years
ago. If the farmer today tries to
farm as he did ten years ago you
just as we'll not lend him any money,
because you probably won't get it
back. 1t takes brains and energy
these days to make success at farm
ing, and if a man does not have both
and use them, he hasn't chance to
make good. We have them in Sum-
ter county, just as you have them in
your communities, and say they
haven't chance.
Farmers as rule are attempting
too many acres per plow. | think
the amount should not exceed 20
acres. | would allot that 20 on
$3.50 basis-half for food crops and
half for cotton. Any farmer is an
utter failure if he is not self-sustain-
ing, regardless of the price of cotton.
Beating Boil Weevil.
And speaking of cotton under boil
weeyil conditions as we now have it,
let me say that we can raise cotton
anyhow. But we must use our brains
to do it. Prepare your soil properly.
Free your ground of every bit of
trash, brush or other unclean things,
and break it up we'll. Prepare good
seed bed and plant good seed Use
plenty of guano, 800 to 400 pounds
per acre. Plow your cotton we'll
Pick up the boil weevils early, in the
squares and otherwise. Employ all
the children of the farm possible to
help get the early weevils, for it is
important. There are three crops Of
Weevlls. We can not do anything
with the third, but the first and the
second are important. Get the first
crop of weevils just before the cotton
blooms, and do the best you possibly
can with the second crop. Plow ran
SIdlkS
knock the weevils off, burying all you
can with the plow. Push your crop.
If you will do these things you Will
lind you can raise cotton, in spite of
the weevils. We raised 1880 bales
IN Sumter county last year with a
very wet July and part of June, and
the year before we grew 25,OO0
bales.
Il want to say a few things about
the price of cotton. A prominent
business man called on me the other
day and In conversation said that
COTTON was commanding better
price comparatively than most any
other commodity. But is it? 1t is
not. Because now we average one
pale Wehre we grew three before the
boil weevll came. Divide the pres.
ent price of around IS cents nv 3
ana you nave 8 cents, which is the
true comparative price of cotton to-
DAY. And yet rs per cent of our own
people thlnk cotton is bringing a good
lrlcee Cotton at 80 cents a pound
would be equivalent under former
conditions to only 10 cents. So | saw
that' regardless of the price of COZ
toh' 1t IS suicide for any farmer NOT
10 raise hogs, grain and other crops
to make him self-supportinp or as
nearly so as possible. Let the cot.
ton crop be the money crop.
Bane of Mortgages.
And let the farme rthink less
about plastering mortagec on his
farm and more about filling his smoke
mouse. am worried to death a5ont
the loans being put on our farms
through the big Eastern Insurance
companies. For those loans with
compound interest are going to have @
to be paid back, and that means wears
OF thalrfdships for our people, with
out finally. N'i'is ~
! want to see our farmers moar
thrifty: 4 couple of years ago tbev
were flushed with high prices and
their prosperity went to their besds
The first thing you knew thew wera
1raA -. "a A