Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-01-18
CARROLL PROSPERS
BY OPERATION IN
FIGHT WITH WEEE|:VIL
BY /. S. INGRAM
Principal of Fourth District A. & NJ.

Principal of Fourth District "A. d NJ.
Many things have been said about
the cooperative spirit of California
and other western states, but few
know that at Carrollton, Carroll
county, Georgia. there is a spirit Of
cooperation that even surpasses
anything so far experienced by the
| many cooperative agencies.
Carroll county often has been call
ed the Free State of Carroll. Va
| rious reasons could be given for this,
but the one often given is that there
| are so many small well-to-do farmers
in the county, and since they have
prospered reasonably well, there
grew in them a spirit Of Individual
| ism and independence which has
characterized them as no other peo-
pie. Consequently, the action of the
individual soon showed itself in the
behavior of the whole.
Now you would hardly think that
such seedbed of individualism
would be a logical place for success
| full cooperation, but this is what
| happened:
In the spring of 1922, a few men
that something had to be done if Car
ton. Consequently, they called to-
gether other business and profess
sional men to discuss with them
some plan for concerted action. This
group decided since the county fun
damentally was agricultural; that To-
cal business depended on the success
| Of the agricultural interests; that the
business man as we'll as the farmer
shared the responsibility Of success
or failure of farm crops; that they
as business men would assume their
part of this responsibility. And they
did.
Education Program
Their first act was to educate the
business man himself. All agreed
that King Cotton was the vital sub
| Ject. Therefore, experts were brought
in to lecture to these men about seed
selection, fertilization, cultivation
and growth of cotton. They learned
from these experts that the use of
calcium arsenate was the best
known method of fighting the boil
Weevll But the use of it was prac-
t1cally unknown in the county. They
knew that many of their farmer
| friends were from Missouri" and
that it would be hard to get the
| farmers to go to this extra expense
even should a supply of the arsenate
| be available. However, by this time
they were undaunted in their pur-
pose and agreed to make unprece-
| dented effort.
They decided to buy the arsenate.
A fund of $4,000 was subscribed and
| paid in. This was to be a revolving
fund to be used not only for the pur-
! chase of arsenate, but for guns to
put it on.
| This group of men realized that
| their work had just begun. The ar
senate not only had to be bought.
| but had to be properly distributed.
Since the farmer was skeptic and
| since he knew nothing of its use,
he had to be made interested and he
had to be shown how to use the
arsenate.
Ihls task was not a one-man Job.
An enterprising firm of the town.
| Mandevllle Mills, agreed to give the
| Time OF one of their active and high
IIy-elnclent men to take charge of
the organization. which the business
| men mad formed, and to make it
| function.
This man Immediately put every
man to work. He simply would not
|
called into service bank presidents.
| lawyers, ministers, doctors. mer-
chants and a host CT others. He sent
strong committees to purchase the
arsenate and the guns; he got all of
the warehouse men to handle the ar
senate and the guns at actual cost;
he obtained the promises of all of the
business men to close their estab-
| IlShments at 4 o'clock in the after
| noon and to go out to prearranged
| meetings with the local speakers.
who told their farmer friends in the
various rural sections of the use and
the value of the arsenate in cotton
cultivation.
Many at Meetings
| Often thirty or forty business men
attended these meetings. The farm
er was told of their spirit of COOP
GRAFTON, of the motive that actuated
their coming and of the realization
of dual interest that he (the bust
ness MANI was approaching more
and more. After these talks demon
STATIONS were given in nearby fields
to show just how to apply the arseu-
ate. Such enthusiasm and faith
| moves mountains. The result was
that calls came in Immediately for
arsenate and guns. This educational
work was continued for three weeks.
One hundred and fifty thousand
pounds of arsenate were bought. OF
the $4,000 loaned by the business
men for the revolving fund, not one
man lost his money. 1t was all re-
turned to each subscriber.
The result Of this activity is seen
in the ginner's report. The county
made more cotton than the combined
total Of her neighbors.
But that was not the real value
of this initial experience. A lesson
| had been taught. The business man
and the farmer realized that coop
Grafton was not hard task. They
have been taught, too, that each has
viewpoint; that the association in
a common cause had been of untold
mutual benefit; that since this ex-
perience had been successful they
could with their combined strength
do greater things.
Hence, it was not surprising then
| to see a stronger organization per-
fected to work for the mutual in
terest in 1923. Already a fund of
$16,0 900 has been subscribed and paid
in advance. Pure bred cotton seed
has been purchased and a campaign