The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-02-25
BANKS FOR
FARMERS
Commissioner B. Harris Calls
Attention to Necessity For
New System to Provide
90 Long Credits

ent financial crisis nothing has Civ
en- the farmer more concern and
worrys,s ghans his finances-high
prices Tor the goods ne buys and
Few prices for the products he has
to sell, have Put the farmer in need
Of Borrowing to carry on his farm
Ing. operations. But the farmer
eften finds himself unable to hor-
fbW the money he needs at a rea-
spAable. rate of interest and for the
fengthes Of time it requires to pro-
dace a crop and market il. The
commercial. banks are not always
IN a position to lend the farmer
meEey- on the terms and condition
necessary for agricultural produc-
ton. These banks are primarily
adapted to- loaning to manufacture
ers and: merchants in which bnsi-
ness turnover is two Or three times
ina year: :. It takes the farmer
twelve aseptns to make and gather
a. crop..tii expenses occur during
most Of e.tfe7 months of the year.
Now il he is forced to sell this
crop in from ninety to one hundred
days after gathering, as he has been
aecust oued.- to doing it is inapos-
sihle for hs4ns to sell it above cost
Of producfiea.
Therefore. the farmer needs q
different. system OF financing and
such aSsysten, will have to be e.
fablished so, The farmer can SET
at least. twelve months credit be-
fore agriculture viii be on q Ii
nanciai basis with manufacturing
and commerce. And see no rca-
son why the government cannot
Inaugarates such system for &Erl-
culture. Before the boys and girls
ean be induced to sta? on the farms
agricuN1rc Will have 10 have lcac-
ercredits extended and lower rate
of interest," for certainly tneJ arc
{eavirg, The farms now and crowd
ing into the cities. Nothing H'iR
stop this. influx of our boys and
girls going there until the earning
capacity of the farm, is brought up
to the standard OF other profess
sieas, so: long as the earning ca
pacityxis so ,sew they will continue
to 90 and who can blame them.
Now as te the present cotton
situa1;en-the outlook for cotton to
advance to twenty cents and above
is. s.-brighter today than it has been
in tWefvea months. Undoubtedly
AL the, weak cotton has been sold
Sy this time aud the market is in 4
bealt If the market
xas raoe unusually strong and
heavily OEerseld we would not see
q continued steady advance every
das in The face OF the New England
cotton mill strike. a. &ordcn and
Company, Cotton Broker, says:
.:CoHsumption for the last six
months has been 90 per cent great
&c thar. fog the. same period last
wear and exports have been l6 IL
per cent. greater. With the same
ratios Of excess during the next G
months the remaining supply in
america On August the first will
BE around 100000 bales. While
If consumption and exports should
only be the same as last year from
row on the carry-oVer would be
arouRd 100000 bales. If We
plant the same acreage as We did
last year and the crop IS twenty
per cent Desfe: than last year we
viii OILY make 3.600,000 and do
not believe that the acreage Will
be Increased this year over last
year. rhe outlook to me is brighter
for cotton to go to twenty cents
and above. can only give you spot
hoideH my old slogan. '.sit steady
in the Boat. She has gone over
AL the rough places and Il you
haven't been knocked out by this
time YOU are safe. The best thing
the farmers can do for themselves
is to 9ut cotton acrease-plant
plentysef COW peas and corn. 1t is
not too late yet to SOW Burt Oats
ap go@ land-plant largely of. both
sweet sand Irish potatoes-raise
hogs; dairy cows, chickens. tur-
keys aad everything on the farm
needed for home consumption.
Don't plant over four acres OF. cot
ton tor. the plow-work it at least
once a. week. Keep out of debt
one bs5e of cotton raised under the
above conditions Will sell for more
money than three bales are selling
for To-Day Let this be your motto
fol tflss year: Keep out OF debt. =
=. Harris.