The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-20
Here's How It Looks To Typical
 TENANT
BY CLEVE MATTOX Homeless SharecrOpper

AAVhGACoo 0AAtSANSASRPSA
 I'm 46 years old, been farming ever since I could lift hoe. But this is the first time in my life l never had anywhere to go and had to sit my family down here on the side of the highway.
 Me and my family can't live on six-bits a day, specially when We get that just once in while.
 We were put out of our house by the sheriff's orders. First time I've ever been ordered off of a place. He gave us 10 days to move, and I got the papers here to show it. The man me and my son worked for was a renter and we were his only sharecroppers. He told us he didn't want any more sharecroppers, he was going to handle 1t all hisself with day ! labor.
 Lots of folks are doing that be- cause they just pay day labor six bits day whenever they need 1t, and they don't have to share the crop or the government benefits with anyone. tell you tried everywhere to get another place, but the ones that wasn't putting off their sharecroppers, didn't want to take anyone else on.
 TURNED
 DOWN JOB
 Only man that offered me a job was one that said he'd let me work If I'd handle some "wildp cat" cotton for him cotton he wanted to slip in extra under his government quota. I never got mixed up in anything like that and I didn't take 1t.
 was born in Alabama and grew up on cotton farms there. Got through the eighth grade in school. but that didn't mean much because we were usually out of school most of the fall picking cot- ton and then left school early in the spring to help get the crops In.
 I got married in Alabama. We've got nine children now, from five to 24 years old, besides the baby that died.
 We moved up into Tennessee, and l got along right well there, sharecropping. I stayed round in the same section IA years, and had been on the same place six years when l had saved enough money to buy a place of my own. with the aid of the Federal Land Bank
 We worked that place two years and were getting along all right. But 1t was in the backwoods and my children were coming up, and we thought we ought to get out where they could have more ad- vantageS.
 MADE MONEY
 FIRST YEAR
 I'd seen this bottom land here in southeast Missouri and I was sure I could make some money growing cotton. I brought my family here three years ago. The first year we had 43 acres and made a little, but our baby died and one boy got TT. B." of the bone. and 1t took all we had to pay the doctors. Then the flood drove us out.
 I found another place. though and got 30 acres. We just about broke even that year, and three months on WPA got us through the winter. I had the promise of q better place this past year, but it wound up under the acreage re- duction with me and my son get ting only 25 acres between us.
 That's the way 1t has gone, and we've had to live on the bare line. It's been white beans ano "big" gravy day after day. and now we can't even get that.
 We had some chickens that we had to sell, milk COW. and some poor land for garden. We got by this past year, but all we had left was our milk COW, that neighboi is looking after.
 We were put out of our place and here we are, on the road There just ain't a living In cotton the way it's run now. You cant even feed your family on six-bitS a day, when you get 1t. And right now you can't even get that. The worst days work I ever did was leaving my own place in Tennes- see to come up here and share-