Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1922-09-28

B.-M. Lee Thinks Fhey Show
Poor Business Judgment.

Poor Business Judgment.
Editor Fort Mill Times:
For all the good lt4wiil do, the
writer may AS well sign, his name
TO s,hree blank&pages. Neverthe-
less, Il shall state tact or two tor
the people to think over, espe-
cialiy the farmers. On every hand
1 hear it being discussed as to
whether the farmers are blind,
mean or just plain fools. They
certainly have little business abil-
ity or they would change the Or
deI of world affairs promptly.
The writer does not mean any
thing personal, and the world
knows and acknowledges that the
great men of the ages have, as "a
rule, come from the farms, and
even today few of the best, and
braininest men of the country
were born and country bred. L
am speaking of the agricultural
population as a class. e.
The men of money never cease
to wonder why, with, the world
for his field, that the farmer does
not take better care of himself.
Why, for instance, will he persist
IN raising too much of one thing
and not enough of another, anu
chen permit New. York robbers to
tell HIM what he shall have for
his productsf
The Southern cotton farmer, in
particular is the laughing stock
of the nation. When he swears,
day after day, that his cotton has
been burned up or eaten up by
weevils, or some other calamity
Overtakes it, New York and the
cotton mills give him the horse
Saugh and call him a liar and
sell the market. They have the
cotton planters record before
them for the last AZ years, and
that record is not sincere and
honorable. They know the cot
ION farmers brain works back
ward. They know that when he
Fswaars .tha- acreage will be re-
dnced it will be increased. They
know that q a--cottOn farmsr's sig
nature to certain reduction pied
+ges is, not worth the paper it is
written Oh.
Wall street never can under
stand why that if and when a
farmer breaks his word to one
pledge he will keep it OH another.
Every year at harvest time the
fool farmer" brings his cotton
to town and fusses and cusses if
The market is 25 cents, but he
will sell it just the same at Is
cents. He made up his mind
(what, little, he has) before he left
nome that the cotton was to be
sold--and he knows as his old
mule gets in sight of town tha,
the cotton is same as sold. And
cotton meh know it, and New
York knows it, and England
knows it. To my mind it is one
of the myteries of the ages.
Why fight the boil weevil I
Had it not been for the weeviI
last year, r,and this, from the Bio
Grande river to the Atlantic ocean
cotton today could, hardly have
been sold for 5 cents. per pound.
Think over that fact and see
if you can figure out where the
farmers have any brains as a
class. FHe knows what he ought
to- do, sbut each farmer mistrusts
the sother-eaeh tries to "put
s6mething over" on the other,
with the result that they all wind
up cussing Wall street and every.
thing in general when they them
selves have pulled down their
own nShouse.
sRntswhat's the usef 1t is to
laugh. The "fool cotton farm
err eshall have with us always.
What's. the use Of the world be-
ing sorry for some one who
hssn 'tisense enough to help him.
self and who won't stand by his
writsen or spoken wordf. How
iongswOuld q merchant or a cot
ton buyer or q mill man stay in
business If lie forgot his written