Pocahontas star herald., 1926-11-25
MANY FARMERS ATTEND
COTTON CONFERENCE

About two hundred farmers attend
ed the cotton conference called to meet
at the court house here Tuesday and
a splendid spirit was manifested in
the apparent willingness Of all pres
ent to aid in carrying out the proposed
program.
The meeting was called to order by
J. L. Bristow, temporary chairman,
who outlined briefly the purpose of
the meeting and the proposed pro-
gram. He stated that meetings will
be held in each school district in the
county on Friday of this week. presid-
ed over by the school directors. At
these district meetings, each farmer
will be asked to fill out a blank form,
stating the number of acres of cotton
he cultivated this year and the acre
age he intends to put in cotton next
year There is said to be nothing
binding about these statements, the
data obtained to be used as informa-
ihoH lAOh NhiCu tue oOulhtIn 0plloi
Conference will work.
Mr.. ]. d. Wells, cashier of the Ran
dolph County Bank, made few re-
marks concerning the necessity of
reduction of cotton acreage in the
south He urged a more general diver
sificatiOn Of crops all over Randolph
county-in the bottom country as well
as in the hills. "The cotton reduction
program" said Mr.. Wells, sis not so
much for the man who has already
reduced to sane and businesslike
system. 1t is the fellow who has all
his acreage in cotton who will have to
come down before the South can get
out of the hole"
DIR. w. f. Hamil was called upon
to state his views on the subject and
launched a vicious attack on the sys-
TEN of farming that keeps our women
and children in the cotton field instead
of permitting them to remain In the
home and in the school. He said, "It
I is shameful to see our children work
ing in completion with cheap labor in
the black belt Let our women and
children tend the cows and poultry,
look after canning and housework
while the men do the farming. In that
way the cotton acreage certainly will
be reduced. And not on top of that
we can properly educate our children"
Mr.. Ben A. Brown, cashier of Poca-
hontas State Bank, who was named as
principal speaker for the occasion by
the state committee, made very logi-
cal talk concerning the part Randolph
county should play in the Southwide
cotton reduction campaign. He stated
that he did not believe the acreage re-
duction should be great in this county.
since the cOuntys acreage had, during
J the last two years, been reduced as low
as was practical. There are some
! few farmers in the county" Mr. Brown
said, "whO should reduce their cotton
be in line with other counties of the
south in their expected revised system
Of farming" He also explained that
Randolph county always got lower
prices for cotton because our harvest
ing season comes after the more south
ern sections have obtained full edvan-
tage of the top prices for early crop"
Mr.. Wells suggested that the county
organization which sponsored this
meeting and the district meetings to-
morrow be made permanent, that j. l..
Bristow, temporary chairman, aud
Warren Blankenship, temporary secre-
tary, be named as officers of the or
ganization for the coming year and
that the organization be named the
Randolph County Agricultural AssOcia-
tion. The motion, after receiving
second, was accepted unanimously and
new, permanent farm organization
was born in Randolph county.
Mr.. Brown suggested that school /
directors in each district be furnished
cards on which to. make reports from
their districts each planting season
regarding the acreage that had been
put in cotton. This matter was also
made a motion and unanimously ac-
cepted.
The following school directors who
were present were appointed as district
chairmen to hold the meetings Friday
and appoint canvassers to sign up their
districts:
Dist 3, Il. f. Ferguson 4, Jim Nor
ris; T. Emmett Marshall; -, Lewis
Curtis; %, Sam Cohoon; 30, w. l..
Crown; "a, II. o. Stockwell; 30. Ar
thur Cooper Al, Robert Raglin; 90,
John II. Jackson; 65, Charlie Lindsey
20, Walter Rogers; 73, Tom Odom "A,
Dick Bottom; n, Albert Schaechtel;
rs, c. NJ. Penn; 90, DR.. Smith; 81, jess
Brown; 90, Jack Waddle; Con. No. 1,
John Linn; Rur. Spec. No. 2, Don
Run