Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-03
Affection Rental Has OUT
lived Its Day-Standard
Proposed Includes Food
stuffS
T. LARRY CAN'T

ATHENS, Ga, Dec. 31.There is no
disputins the fact that the farmers
of Georgia and the entire south are
today facing a crisis.
No men living has experienced the
| conditions that now confront us. All
| agriculture is threatened with de-
struction.
Many thinking men have for many
years foreseen and predicted calam-,
ity for the cotton belt on account Of
a one-crop system.
In spite of all that was said and
written the farmers persisted in
planting for the most part nothing
but cotton. Feed and foodstuffs were
neglected, and as a result but few
farms were self-suStaining. Our
farmers raised cotton, and sold it.
and bought practically everything
needed for the farm.
Time and again the warning came
that such a policy could only end in
disaster. 1t was pointed out that the
only remedy was "diversification,"
that every farm must raise its own
foodstuffs and be self-sustaining
Due to the World war and the boil
weevil, we are at last facing these
conditions, so long predicted, earlier.
than most of our people had ant1ci-
pated.
Now that the blow has fallen many
men stand disconnected, and ask aim
lessly, what is the remedy?
The answer is, that the remedy
| now is what it always has been, "di-
| versiication."
J"One- Crop"
No section ever has, or ever can
| prosper under a one-crop system.
| The worst "one-crop" in the world is
cotton. This is true for the reason
| that it takes twelve months to make
and gather it, that it is very ex
| pensive, is not protected by any
| marketing system and on an average
since 1866 has sold below the cost
of production.
At last the entire south is brought
to the realization that cotton, a one
crop system, has nearly ruined the
agriculture classes.
| The time is ripe then to apply the
remedy. The south must at once
abandon forever the one-crop system,
cotton, and diversity.
! How is this to be done? 1t can
only be accomplished by a complete
change in the basis Of our rent con-
tracts.
lands for all cotton.
| About SO years ago custom grew
I'M in the cotton belt whereby a one
horse crop of % acres was rented ror
600 pounds of niddling line cotton
This customary rent grew INTO an
| ironbound contract. Lands were
| rented as a matter of course Tor a
| thousand pounds to the horse.
| This custom influenced other Gus
,orrts of like nature. Mules were sofa
| for so much cotton, guano noLes
were given for cotton, agricultural
| implenents were sold for COTTON;
land was sold on five and ten years
time. to be paid for in cotton. All
mortgages for supplies were pase9
an 50 MANY acres of cotton, planted
| and growing" The banks would not
Iand money to make crops unless I"
nledse was given that the greater
acreage should be in cotton. mus
cotton became kind OF currency lux
| the south. .. .s.;-
These conditions made it impossl-
h1e for the farmer to diversity. ne
was not wholly to blame. He coulo
| not break his bonds.
| New Rentals Necessary
| This unDreakaDle rent CuoIoAit =,
ga thousand pounds to the morse
has no doubt cost the south millions
| of dollars. Had no such custom ever
prevailed the south today might pe
! prosperous. 1t has made It 1mpossl
Bile for the south to diversity us
crops. ,...,..,o,,
There can be no diversificat1on
until these old cotton customs are
broker up and new plans devised
and new rentals agreed upon and
put into practice. In order to al
versify our crops, diversificatlon
must be provided for in the rent con-
tracts.
This is true because a large per
| centage of all crops grown under
a tenant system.
The all-cotton rental contract Is
practically cotton rental, because
at present and in the past cotton
was the only money crop" ano
! such a contract was equivalent tc
a cotton rental.
A new standard rent contract
should be adopted calling for spe
cities.
What is a fair contract? After
consulting with many landlords anc
tenants the following contract has
been proposed:
Standard rent contract for one