The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1946-08-02

Siuc. lnty n1Nt Httidily HiHut
that valley like a garden. While
we alas, have too often made
our countryside into a wilderness.
What is the answer? The writer
is not economist or historian
enough to be sure. Certainly the
relative richness of the soil has a
lot to do with ii. Outside the
Delta and the Black Belt this part
Of the deep South has a great
deal OF poor. sandy land. But l
do not think it is all a question of
land and climate. A lot of it
may b. in the people-perhaps
the public health men would say
that they were less pestered with
the malaria mosquito and othei
iebiliiating diseases than we have
been. Whatever the reason, those
Pennsylvania Dutchmen and those
Virginia valley people have done
things with their land that We
haven't done here even in the
Delta.
What is the Delta after al
but a few fine houses, lit
lie trading towns, and a vas
iea of cotton and Tenant shacks
The truth of it is that despite tht
Incredible richness Of Delta soil
he overall standard of living il
The Delta counties, including
whites and negroes. is lower thar
il is in the "hill' section, and OF
the Coast. The reason for this
is the age-old mania to plan
cotton, cotton, ard more cotton
It is n cash crop and people have
been planting it so long in thiF
part of the country they are cot
ton-dizzy. And yet it makes {
elbow think when he sees thu
rich and diversified fields, the
grain, the cattle, the fine sturdy
houses, which a different type OF
agriculture has produced in the
Shenandoah valley.
The Mississippi Delta too, and
the Alabama Black Belt, could
produce an overall standard of liv-
ing even higher in the same type
II diversified agriculture were
instituted there; and indeed, wher,
larry cattle have been taken up ir
our section 1t has generally re-
suited IN a marked elevation OF
the standard of living. But on the
whole the reign OF King Cotton is
still unchallenged through the
deep South states. He is a harsh
despot. draining our soil and u
And yet, like many a des-
pot like many a political fraud,
he has the power to create his
own myth, his own aura of great
ness, o. romance, of color, and
so to perpetuate himself in our
generation after generation.
II you talk like this 10 a cotton
operator he has a thousand argu-
ments to prove your folly, to
prove that the one-crop cash
money cotton system has been
the South's benefactor and not
it's ruiz. 1t is hard to argue with
these people, for they have had
their say for generations. But
one convincing answer would be
to suggest that they ride through
the Shenandoah valley in July,
in the rich green month of ripen-
ing wheat and corn. and see for
themselves what a diversified
agriculture has done in another
land.
They will tell you, of course,
that you have to have markets
for produce, fof vegetables, for
milk, for beef; the markets are
already established in the cotton
trade, but would have to be ere
ated in the other products. But
this objection could have been
met fifty years ago if some de-
termined program had been made
to create these markets. The
truth of it is that we have al
ways had a lot of phony state
and private planning boards, COM
missions. surveys, committees dis
cussioa groups, and what. not; and
we have continued out of stub
bornness to follow the same pro
cedu~es year after year for no
other reason than that they were
the ones we followed the year be-
fore.
At any event, il is apparent to
and denuded fields of pne stumps,
and denuded fields of pine stumps,
the sorry cotton, the eroded fields,
that represents nluch-though not
all of course--of our deep South
country side-that we have missed
some vast opportunity here. How
and why we have missed it, and
continue 10 miss it. perhaps only
the ironic Muse of History really
knows, and will reveal to same
later generation of historians.
And speaking of native indus
try. we were delighted in passing
through the Cumberland maun-
tains of Tennessee to note the
lines of intricately-worked bed
spreads for sale, and the red fox
and silver fox neck pieces that