Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-11-05
BOIL WEEVIL POY|NG
BLESSING TO GEAORGIA
SAYS ". 7. Anderson
Newly Appointed Member of
Highway Board Tells of
ProgrecSive Needs
BUY HOME PRODUCTS
Eminent Need is To Buy Home
Products and Keep Money
Here

MACON, Nov. BY Tie As
sociatcd Press Better highways
and markets and more consolidated
schools are three Of Georgia's
greatest needs for progress. w. T..
Anderson, editor Of the Macon
Telegraph and recently appointed to
the state highway commission, de
clared in an interview here
"The advent of the boil weevil is
undoubtedly a blessing" Mr.. An
derson said. "Tke South has been
in cotton slavery for over fifty
years, and never would have gotten
out except for the intervention Of
the Divinity. We have been rails
ing cotton at cost of 10 IA cents
and selling it for 8 8 I cents
"Out of these profits we have
bought our food from the West,
paying whatever the markets de-
manded, and going into bankruptcy
or foreclosure for the difference.
1.-THE boil weevil has established
necessity for divarsifieatio1 in
farming, which is going to return
us to the practices of our ancestors
who raised their food first and cot
ton as a surplus.
This brings us to the eminent
need of markets for the surplus
products from our farms.
'"rhe potato curing 1laos must be
established and the United States,
if not the world, rust be educated
to the value Of the sweet potato as
food by properly curing and selling
them 1t is held that three bush
els of sweet potatoes equal one Of
corn in food value. Our present
average corn production is II bush
els to the acre. There are men in
Georgia who have raised in excess
of 500 bushels of potatoes to the
acre; 200 bushels is nothing unus-
ual. 1t can be readily seen what
immense possibilities there. are for
Georgia by diverting our corn rails
ing energies into sweet potato crops.
What we need is a market and plan
for curing them.
owe need one and a half million
more hogs raised in Georgia each
year. Our packing houses have
been shut down, with The exception
of one at Moultrie, and it is now
running and being kept open on
Tennessee hogs.
North Georgia needs to be put
on . poultry producing basis. In
1910, we had one chicken in Geor-
gia for every seven acres of land,
and our importation Of chickensleX-
ceeded $10,000,00C per mum,
eve need more dairy cows to
supply children and adults with
milk to make them healthy, as the
scientists agree that the condition
of every human being is improved
when health-giving cows milk is
used.
1--WE need better health, which
can be secured by persistent fight
on malaria, hook worm, tuberculosis
and educating our people on the
danger of eating denatured foods
the highly milled products which
have had most of the essential ele.
ments removed.
Owe need more consolidated
schools, doing away with the little
one-room, poorly lighted and poor
ly ventilated school house, and
putting the children into large
schools under corps of teachers so
they can be given all the advantages
that are to be obtained in city
schools.
we need more good roads and
they should be paved. There are
more than 100000 motor vehicles in
Georgia, and the depreciation on
these is in excess of $4,000, 600
per year This money goes to De-
troit and Akron and to the oil re-
finers. A system of good roads
would reduce our tire and gasoline
consumption and automobile de-
struc-ion to about S25, 100000 per
annum. Smooth roads would ac-
complish this and pay off a bond
issue in IN incredibly short time
no matter how much extravaganza
might be incurred" he said.