Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-01

TidwelTs com liment is worth receiving. We
hope to continue to deserve it.
AS has been said before in this column
The Tri-Weekly Journal likes very much to
hear from it's readers. Short and clearly-eX-
pressed opinions on questions of interest and
Importance are deeply appreciated by this
paper and, we believe, by our readers.
Below is one that interests us and we are
quite sure will interest our farmer readers.
1t is from Mr.. Martin Amorous, of Route /,
Marietta, Ga. Mr.. Amorous used to be one
of the most important lumber men in Geor-
ga and Florida. He earned independent
wealth in his early manhood, and when he
had made all the money he had any desire
to possess, he turned to farming.
You've heard of rich farmers men
who made their fortunes in business and
then sank great sums in show places in the
country where they erected mahogany and
marble COW barns and where they manicured
their hogs feet every morning before feeding
them on ice cream and fruit cake. Mr..
Amorous is NOT that sort of farmer. He is
what you might call dirt farmer, and he
INDUCES himself in this work because he
loves the country more than the city and
furthermore is a student of the business of
farming. He is pretty much of a student of
economics, which is the science of business
and industry and he believes in finding out
his facts for himself.
SO whatever he writes on the business Of
farming is worth reading and thinking
about. Here is his letter, for your consid-
era ton
FrYi oo1y1 ,r Tour mol. tho
farmers lose with small crops of cotton and
high prices, and make money with big
crops and low prices.
GAS an illustration, in 1914 the crop was
Is, 200 bales, the price in December y
cents the pound, the average yield per acre
in Georgia 240 pounds, or SIS gross per
acre.
SIN 1928 the crop was 10000, 900 bales,
price 80 cents the pound, and average yield
80 pounds per acre in Georgia, $24.60 gross
per acre.
'The average cost to plant poison and
work acre in 1928 was $32, or 40 cents
the pound 1 have no figures of cost in
1914. But I do know extra cost items in
1928 that were not necessary in 1914: CAL
cium arsenate, Sc an acre; picking up
squares, $3.50 an acre; higher prices for
feed, fertilizer, labor will average So an
acre, or a total greater cost of $3.50 per
acre, which, for comparison, we deduct
from the known cost of $3.50 in 1923.
This leaves $3.50 working cost per acre
in 1914 and an apparent profit on 7 p cent
cotton of $3.50 per acre in 1928 with 30-cent
cotton. [ did not use in my figures rent,
taxes, overhead of any sort-only working
cost.
THE farmer is always better off with
large yields at profitable prices, even though
they are low prices
81 question the wisdom. of the advice so
generally distributed, to cut down acreage
and reduce your crop.
'Why not leave production for the farmer
and the boil weevil and use your efforts to
combat the price weevil?
The distress of the farmer can only be
relieved by full production and profitable
prices. "MARTIN AMOROUs."
The cost of raising cotton is something
we do not know. Mr.. Amorous knows the
cost on his place. Do you know the cost on
yours?
OF course, it is just common sense to say
it is better to raise a lot of cotton at profit
able prices, even though they be low prices
than little cotton at high prices which may
earn no profit. The rub comes in doing it,,
This paper puts out no advice on farming
methods. DR.. Soule answers specific ques-
tons in another column, under his own sig
nature, and we think he knows his business
but that is as far we are willing to go in
telling farmers how to attend to their own
business.
We do pretend to know something about
SELLING. That's something the farmer has
lost on for a hundred years He has the
double duty of producing and then selling
He is in no position to do his selling as we'll
as he can have it done for him. He bids
against his neighbor and all other farmers
and so forces prices down when they ought
to be up. 1t ought to be the other way
around.
If all the cotton that is produced in the
South should be sold from one source those
who want to buy cotton would be forced TO
bid against each other to get it. Then the
highest bid would truly represent the worth
of cotton to the world, for it would repre-
sent the best price the spinner could afford
to pay to make goods at a price which the
public would pay
When the day comes that rs per cent of
the American crop of cotton is sold through
cooperative association owned by farmers
and managed for farmers cotton will sell for
its market value and the farmer will set
that value 1T has never yet happened.