Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-03
H. G, Hastings Declares
That WeeyiI's Devastation
Is Merely Incidental Agri-
cultural Trouble
By III. G.. HASTINGS
President of the Georgia Association


President of the Georgia Association
When will the people of Georgia
quit doing the ostrich act Of hiding
tlfeir heads in the sand, thus fail
ing to see the real down-at-the-
bottom fundamental trouble that at
flicts Georgia at the present time?
On every hand we hear talk Of
the damage the boil weevil has
done, now that we have experienced
the first full flood Of weevil infes-
tation. Apparently nobody really
expected the weevil to do serious
damage despite the fact that for
ten years or more warnings have
been sounded regularly in Georgia,
and our people told that they must
change our agricultural system.
The boil weevil is really incidental.
The real trouble is the tenant farm
ing system that has done more to
ruin our lands and large part OF
our people than Aid the Civil war.
We know that this is strong Ian
guage, but it is justified by the
facts and the condition that our
people find themselves In now.
We have watched the situation
with intense interest, hoping that
some one else, far better fitted,
would tell our people the bold
truth. Our papers are full of talk
about marketing schemes for this,
that and the other thing, and
switching from cotton growing to
other forms Of diversified produc-
ton. We have no criticism to make
of these worthy ambitions, but the
generality of our farm people have
no surplus Of these diversified items
to sell above their home needs.
$4,000 Farms
Speaking in round numbers, the
United States census 1920 shows
Georgia as having about 1000
farms. OF these, 10000 are oper-
ated by their owners either with
their own labor or their own labor
in combination with hired labor.
The other 100000, two-thirds of the
total. is tenant farming Of the low
est type, largely ignorant negro ten
ants going on either without any
or at best nominal supervision.
Who are the owners of these ten
ant-infested acres? Largely emf
nent, perfectly respectable and
otherwise sensible white people,
living either in Atlanta, Augusta,
Macon, Savannah or any OF the $50
odd courthouse cities and towns
scattered around the state. These
folks have been getting cotton
rent for their acres, thinking, fool
ishly, that they were getting prof,
it, when they were actually depict
ing their capital, which is the nat
ural fertility of the farm soil.
The tenant, with his ''land-skin-
ming style of operations was TStIld
is far wiser than the land owner
who rents to him on any of the
various renting plans prevalent in
Georgia. 1t was to the tenants
interest to take all that he could
from the land and put little or moth
ing back in, and that is exactly
what has been. going on here in
Georgia for fifty years or more on
two thirds of our farms. Is it any
wonder that so much of our once
fertile farm acreage has had to be
abandoned so far as cultivation is
concerned?
This rotten system meant all cot
ton on this tenent acreage UP to the
limit of the tenants ability to tend,
even without boil weevil as fac
tor. Landlord demanded cotton
rent, fertilizer man, supply mer'
chant, country banker, etc., all de-
nanded all cotton acreage as the
Price for stalking tenant directly or
indirectly for food, clothing, ferti-
lizer, etc, furnished dugingt the sea-
son while the crop was in process
Of making.
Economic Slavery
All through this system ran the
| intent, conscious or otherwise, to
keep the tenant in a condition Of
economic slavery to the factors sup
plying him land. food and clothing
| so that he would be forced to con-
tinue in a condition of dependency
and a source of supposed profit to
| those stalking him each year. Only
once did the tenant ever really get
out Of control and that was during
1919. This led to the large eXpan-
sion Of credits to tenants in 1920
in effort to get them under con-
troll again with its consequent dis
aster to supply merchants and 9th
ers in 1920. The game was to keep