Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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COTTON PRICES. Ex-Gov. Heyward's Address to The Farmers on the COTTON SITUATION. He Thinks That All ShouM Stand Together for Higher Prices?Gives Much Valuable information on the Cotton Question, Which Will Prove Interesting Heading. Xot Only tc Farmers, but ro All. Ek-Gov. Heyward was one of the principal speakers at a farmers' convention held n Orangeburg recently. The meeting was held for the purpose of considering the cotton situation and this subject was thoroughly treated by the former governor. He said: "The question of most vital interest to the cotton planter today, his crop being practically made, is the question of price. In this he not alone is interested. The whole South is equally interested with him in the morlroHnff, nf thfi not pruuuuiuu auu a ton crop, because this crop is today > our most important industry, contributing as it did last year $800,000,000 to the business of the South, $500,000,000 of which came to us as a result of exports. The producers of cotton realize the fact that in this question of price more is at stake today than simply the one crop of this year?that a new period in the industry is being entered upon and a new basis of values determined. Economic conditions are such that the period of' low values which have recently prevailed is no longer possible. A new commercial basis of taSue must be agreed upon. We are in *rtiat might be termed a transition state because of the great fluctattons in price, which are the tendency of the day, prevailing last year to the extent of 25 per cent. . What the former wants is not only a renumerative price, and to this he is justly entitled and he has a right to demand, but he also wants that price as staple from year to year as it is possible to make it. In determining what that price shall be two important considerations must be insist-J rxna oc imilOrfailt aS the eu iipuu?uuv i.u ?,? _ other to the producer. The price paid must yield a fair profit to the i producer, but it must not be so high that it will iu any degree check or curtail the wonderful increase in the consumption of cotton which has taken place during the last 10 years, for if it does disaster will follow. Three Facts Established. "Three facts have now been indisputably established in connection with the cotton industry and these mean everything to the grower oi cotton. The first is that the South has a monopoly the world over in the raising of cotton: the second, that the consumption of cotton is increasing wonderfully each year and the third that the South has the ability to keep pace with the increasing consumption. These three circumstances combined mean that the South will be the richest and the most prosperous part of the greatest country in ihe world. "In order not to be dependent upon the South for their supply of cotsninnprs have searched IUU IVIC*(3?* U|/.U..V.M the world over for a source of supply, and with what result? The - only countries which enter into competition with the South in the export of cotton are Egypt, India and Brazil. Although cotton has been planted in Egypt since 1821 that country has never raised more than 1.300,000 bales, and that last year. The land in Egypt adapted to the cultivation of cotton is exceedingly limited, and the quality of the cotton raised does not place it in competition with the bulk of ours. India comes next to us, but India consumes nearly all the cotton she grows and will never become a competitor in exporting cotton to Europe. Rrazl, where such efforts have been made to break the supremacy of the South, produces only 250,000 bales, and the Brazilian mills use ail or tins. Feru ana Mexico have undertaken to grow cotton, but it practically amounts to nothing. So much for our monopoly. Of the greatness and the importance of this monopoly, a prominent American barker the other day said: 'Bring me a1! the grain, all of the provisions, all of the foodstuff, all of the steel, and all of the iron of the 47 States of this great union, which was exported last year, and I will sell the cotton crop of 1907, and pay you cash, and yet have money enough left to capitalize 200 national banks.' Consumption of Cotton. "The next question which interests us is the consumption. Take a period of 10 years. In this time the consumption of cotton in Great Rritain has increased 21 per cent. On the continent of Europe 25 per c^nt. "In the Northern States of this country, once the only part of the country where cotton was spun to any extent. 38 per cent., and in the Southern States 149 per cent. The demand for all products of cotton, especially cotton cloth, is increasing and widen ing every day. The civilization ana evangelization of the world means the clothing of the world. The cotton farmer can know that when he contributes his quota towards the $21,000,000 expended each year in foreign missions that he is not only Maying us treasures in heaven,' but that his 'own will be returned to him with usury.' "And the world can never demand more cotton than the South can supply. Less than one-sixth of the land in the South today is improved: and less than one-half of_that is planted in cotton. Science is being applied to agriculture more and more each year, and science will some day enable us to raise twice as much cotton upon our present acreage. Science will, through fertilization, cause our lands to bear more stalks. Through improved methods of cultivation, more bolls will be grown on these stalks and by means of the more careful selection of seed especially adapted to local conditions morq locks will be formed on every boll. Better and more efficient labor in the cotton fields?which laoor is bound to come as time rolls on and the South adjusts herself to changed conditions, is also destined to play a large part in the South'? greatest industry. Live Questions. "So much for the future of the cotton industry. But you say: 'We are not living in the future. We will ad mit all you say. What of todays When one of you farmers brings youi one, or 10 or 50 bales of cotton inn Orangeburg, having firmly made ui 1 your mina tnai you win sen *i mi: very day, whether the buyer's view: meet yours or not, whether he waut: it today or not. Should one tell yoi about the future you might make re ply in the words of tfrat old mission ary hymn?'every prospect please: and only man is vile.' Of coursi there are degrees of villainy. The home man is not as vile as the mai away off. The Orangeburg buyer i: not as bad as the New York specula I i tor. and he is not, for the simple rea json that the home man buys some j! thing as .cheap as he can and naiu?j all tries to sell it as high as he can > whereas the other runs down th< {price of something which is the prop 'jert.v of some one else and makes hi: j profit out of the other man's losses The simple question iuuaj 1U1 tin cotton farmer of South Carolina anthe South to ask himself is: 'Is no , my cotton worth more, or will it no be worth more than I am now offer oj for it? If so, what shall I do to com pel those who want it to pay its fill ! value? Both of these questions shoul< be carefully considered and careful!; answered. They are just as impor tant to the farmer as any of his in vestments are to the banker or th< capitalist. To the farmer they fre > quently mean his all. It means th< ( comfort of his family, the happines: ; and the future of his childrea. Th< prudent man is always careful liov i he advises his friends in regard t< money investments. The same pru ' dence should be exercised in advis ing 'the farmer in regard to his crop If your cotton is intrinsically wortl , no more than the market price today i if it yill not enhance in price it.i to your interest to sell no'v. If 01 i the other hand, it is worth more thai ) the market, if you will get a b&fte price by holding it, why, of course !< J- intoraef nnt to sell' now 11 IS IU ,?UUI The answer -which will be given .fx > the first of these questions depend: ! largely upon who is the party ques < tioned. . 1 "Unfortunately there has been si much speculation in the cotton mar ket that it is difficult .for any one even a disinterested party after care ful study to advise with any degree o f certainty. He can only say wha should be: what certain facts war rant, and in the long run It is fact: that tell. To the second questioi ' there is but one answer, should yo? determine that cotton is selling belov ; its value, and this answer is that yoi must give your product to the marke only in such quantities and at sucl ; times as consumption demands. An Illustration. | "To illustrate: I am not going t< I pay you your price for a horse in th? foil and feed hitn all winter when ! do not need him to plow until spring , Especially is this true when I mus . borrow the money at eight per cent \Vheux I need the horse?then am not until then?will I be willing t< meet your demands. When you an . so situated that you can keep th horse at less expense than I can, an< I especially when you can insure hin - against dying, the proposition is sim pi* enough. It is to your interest t< I keep the horse until I am in the mar , ket: even if you have to borrow-.' , little money on the horse it is wise for you to do this than it is for m< , to borrow the full amount of the pur chase price. But if you insist up'oi my buying him now the difference ; must be bourne by you. As it ia<ii > the sale of a horse so it is in the sali of a bale of cotton. All carryin) charges and all risks of fluctuatinj markets must be assumed by th< producer, who insistes on selling be fnro thp consumer is ready to pur chase. "In speaking to you this?morning I "wish to discuss both the presen and prospective prices of cotton, ant also urge upon you the only xnethot which I see you can adopt to brinj about more favorable conditions-.. "As a general proposition we wil all admit that when thft-consumptior of an article approximates Its produc tion. when the ?upply meets the de mand-that price for the article it; f fair and equitable one which will al low the article to be produced anc consumed at a reasonable profty. tc both producer and consumer. 01 course with cotton T use the word consumer in the sense of manufacturer. As' to 1*rices. "The first thing to be considered is the relation between production and consumption. What are the faqts today in regard to the cotton crop for the season of 1,907-08? Do they or do they not warrant the paying of a better price than is now being offered? "The total cotton crop for the year ending Sept. 1, 1907, amounted tn 13.510,982. an increase of over t" i million bales over the crop of 19.. 06, and a decrease of 50 odd thousand bales under that of 1904-05 This increase was caused by the magnificent crops of the South Atlantic States being somewhat below the average. Last year on September 25 the agricultural department placed the condition of the Texas crop at 74 points, whereas the report just issued places the condition for this year at CO points. Louisiana last year bn the same date was placed at 73, and this year at 65 points. Mississippi last year was placed at 75 against G9 points this year. Alabama is placed at the same figure as a year ago. "As we come eastward, according to the government report, the condition of the crop is' sliRht.lv better this year than it was at the same date last year: but we must remember the bulk of the crop is produced in Texas and the Gulf States. Should we have an excellent season foip /.harvesting and a late frost,, even? then -all indications point to a crop of nearly a million bales less than,was raised last year. I Last Year's Consumption. ' -"During last year, of our 13,540,000 bales of cotton the world had uji to the beginning of this season consumed 12.500,"000 bales, carrying >ntr? tho nrp?pnt season only 1,000, 000 bales, and this amount was widely scattered in this country and throughout, JSurobe; making stock? comparatively light at all points ol consumption. "Under these circumstances, with Dut any increase-in -the consumption of cotton during the coming season the supply will not. exceed the de' maud, but the chancesare all in favor of an increased consumption. As 1 have already stated, during the pasl 10 years the consumption of cottor by mills in Great Britian and on th? continent of Europe averaged 23 per cent, increase and in the United States 93 per cent. Our cotton consumption has been increasing during past decade at the rate of about 5 pei cent, yearly, and we therefore have e right to expect, especially in view oi . ' I : ' I . the unprecedented prosperity of the I - country, an Increase In consumption i . of at least one-half million bales. f > "The years 1905-06 show an in- c ) crease of over this amount. Therp- t 5 fore summing up: with a crop for ( j which all indications poin^t to a i 3 shortage of one million bales, a prob- < 1 able increase in consumption of five ( . hundered thousand bales and carry- c . ing over into the coming season not i j more than one million bales, prices s ? can not legitmatelv be depressed by < 2 the claim that the world does not < i need every pound of cotton which the i 5 South will produce this year because t - the supply scarcely equals and cer- ? - tainly will not exceed the demand. ) Fair Prices For Cotton. ' - - _ ? ? , J "A fair price for cotton ior mis * year and for every year as long as s present conditions continue is a price which would be remunerative to the * 5 farmer and which will also allow the ^ manufacturer or consumer to realize : a legitimate profit upon his invest- . ment. To this both are entitled, and . this both have a right to demand. J Neither will receive it unless they de- J mand it. ] j Of course the most difficult prop- . . osition to be encountered is the dell termination of a price which will be ! mutually agreed upon as fair and ; ~ equitable by both producer and con- ' * sumer. The first step to be taken in . ~ arriving at such a price is to decide . ~ whether the prevailing prices are the ^ proper ones. Are they too low or are they too high? In my opinion they . k.' are lower than circumstances war- 1 , rant, and I believe that if the farmers 1 will take steps they should taKe cnere will follow an advance in prices. To what-'extent this advance will go I j am unable to say; and no one, gentlemen. is in a position to determine g this question; no one actually knows. 1 "The farmer has a right, which ev, ery one concedes, to hold his crop for I 15 cents a pound and to. hope that if properly marketed it will reach that ' figure, r join with him in this hope j because as I have already said, the s prosperity , of the Southern cotton . planter means the prosperity of the South. As he grows rich we all in j the Soutji grow rich with him. But I am unwilling today to take upon my, self the responsibility of saying that. in my opinion, if vcu hold your cotf ton there is any absolute certainty of t its emhancing in price to 15 cents a _ pound. However, there are certainly s more reasons why 15 cents is an j eqiutable price than the prices which j are now being paid are fair, and ung. der such circumstances there is every t* reason why our farmers should cease t giving their cotton away at rates o+ nrooorit nrpvafl. .(Totton in ' Orangeburg today is bringing Jn the neighborhood of 11 cents a pound to J the producer. Last year the average j ? price throughout the South for cotton s was 10 9-1 fr cents a pound for mid- ; I dling. A year and one month ago * today 9 1-8 cents per pound was the j * marketed value, of your cotton, but towards the close of the season, on | * the-27th day of August last, the 5 same cotton selling in September at ' e 9 1-8 cents a pound was worth 13 , e 9-16 cents a pound. Why today it * has fallen in price nearly 3 cents? , 1 Certainly conditions do not warrant , " it. If last August, wfth a crop which * necessitated the carrying over into " the' next year of one million bales, 1 cotton was worth l3-9rl6 cents per ' r pound, is it not worth just as much ! p today with a crop every pound -of J " which will be consumed by the spin1 dies of the world? That cotton today B is selling for less than it did 80 or 1 40 days ago. is due entirely to ..the , e fact that the. farmers by forcing their ( ? nrnrinnt nnnn. the market nlav abso 5 lutely into th? hands of the specula- ; s tors.. . Every possible excuse is ijsed . - by the speculator to 'bear' the mar ket. And whether or not there is any , , sense or reason in the pretexts which ( .* they .give for a lpw market, as long t as the farmers insist on disposing of , i their product as soon as it is made, i these pretexts will have their effect.. ' Reasons for Lower Makct. #1 . "If a storm is reported or even if < a slight atmospheric depression id i mentioned in the West' Indiea cottoii I goes up on the New York exchange, ] in the fear that the storm will ret 1 1 duce the production. When the storm l ' does not materialize the market is < promptly reduced because the storm 1 ' has not .reduced the production; \ . When the government report as hap- t \ pened this week states that the?con* ( dition of the crop is not as good as it ? was, a month ago, the New York speculators choose' to place an en1 i tirelv different interpretation ; upon i [ the report. They prefer to say that j white is black, and black it becomes; j and as a result the cotton market \ promptly weakens. ! ? "It is the speculator today who has n the winning hand, and he will con- \ tinue to hold this.nand as long as t the farmers allow him every time to j hold the. trumps and, to play them \ i when he thinks best. ' ! 1 "It Is the speculator and not the a cotton mill people, who, today, is t forcing down the prices of cotton, t The coton mills did not object to the prices which prevailed before the re- t cent decline in cotton; for the reason p that they.were making a reasonable a profit o'n the goods which they are 0 selling, having made their contract ^ for goods based upon higher prices v than, are being paid today. It is not c ' to the interest of the mills to have t cotton decline. Already as a :result P of the decline, cotton yarns have gone 0 down, and where such goods are c manufactured bv mills which Have t bought cotton at. much higher prices p than prevail today, it is not to the t interest of such mills to have other j mills make contracts for yarns at a ^ lower basis. ^ "To have cotton now continue to! y i decline means that their competitor a i who is short of cotton can purchase ^ : what, he needs for about, .three cents ], a pound less than the cotton in their i warehouses cost them. The mill man j| as well as the farmer wants a staple price for cotton.: then both can, with t some degree of certainty, know what "r they can depend upon. a , The Values in Cotton. r "Cotton may be said to have two 11 > values: the intrinsic value and the t speculative value. Its intrinsic, value a ' today is considerably more, than the J' 1 farmers are being offered for it. its : ; speculative value can only be deter- ! mined by the manner in which the * farmers are willing or able to hold up * 1 their end of'the line. . ? i- "Conditions, taking into consider- J ation the supply and consumption. . make the intrinsic value of cotton no " less today than it was when the mar - ? f ket opened. Tts speculative valup - will be determined by the ability of i the farmer to hold his cotton for adi vanced prices. Cotton has in the past c " decade, with conditions far more tin- t 1 favorable than they are today, reach ed 1 5 cents. This, however, was the t : result of speculation, for within five i ' months cotton fell to nine cents, the i i 'corner' having been broken. t FI "Being interested in the warehous-' e pipgtppi ng of cotton and joining the several 'armers' organizations in advising the armers to hold and warehouse their ;otton this year, I feel that I can not :ake upon myself the responsibility >f saying to what extent you have a ight to expect cotton to advance. I il.nl WAtl ova tint r.A 1U say, uuvrcvci , mat juu otc uut i c:eiving today what you should re;eive, and that I believe this year of ill years is one in which a stand should be made and higher prices ;ontended for. I believe that holding :otton this year will be to you a proftable investment. I am as much invested in its being profitable as you ire: for I realize the fact that 'jhould >rices decline not only yourselves but :he warehouse system will receive a serious setback. Secret in Marketing Cotton. "The secret, as I have already stated, in marketing cotton is for the 'armer to give to the market the cotion as the market demands it; and .his he can best do by warehousing tiis cotton. Although I do not believe that it would be to the interest of the farmer at any time to hold ill of his cotton for the reason that :he farmer then becomes the only bull in the market, being the only sne who owns cotton. If your cotton is gradually marketed every one who actually buys and owns 1,000 bales Is to a certain extent on your side in the fight to maintain the price? lie does not wish to sell and ft is not io his interest to have the commodity which he owns lose its value. Even where a mill has bought cotton for its own consumption it is not to :he interest pf the mill manager for several reasons, 10 nave uuuuu uciline. In the first place it gives his competitors who do not own cotton in advantage oyer him In the manufacture of goods and where he has to borrow money with his cotton as security, as nearly all mills do, it makes.him liable to be called upon at any time., for additional margins. The cotton buyer is not materially interred whether high or low prices prevail. He is interested in each individual transaction. -He simply buys and sells cotton based upon a higher profit for each day's work; and it ioes not make any difference to him whether the cotton which he buys and then sells brings 15 cents or 5 cents a/pound, so long as he make his profit. When he become a speculaton he then of course, has that inter3st which every other speculator has, and it is very material to him whethsr he is on the right or wrong side of the market Question of Holding. "Even if I believed?which I do not do?that it is to the farmer's interest to hold all of his cotton at the apening of the season, I would be 3omewhat loath to giv? him such advice, for the reason that I realize that many farmers are so situated that for financial reasons it would be impossible for him to do so. This being the case, in such a crisis as this it is all the more incumbent upon those who can afford to hold their cotton and take it off the market to do so. By doing this they not only help themselves but they help that man whose financial conditions are such that he is obliged to dispose of a certain amount of his crop. "It is exceedingly unfortunate to all interested in cotton this year that a stringency in the money market 3hould prevail just at the time when ^ is very desirable and greatly to the advantage of the cotton planter to keep off the market as much as he possibly can. In some quarters the theory prevails that the bankers and merchants of the South and the country generally are not helping the farmer all they should to hold on to his cotton. If the stringency in the money market were local, if it were confined in the South aJone, if the man who buvi; cotton were not having equal difficulty with the man who jwns cotton/to borrow money with which 'to. buy or hold, then .there might be some basis for such an impression. The cotton industry Is mpre important and of greater interest to 'Southern financiers than any ind all industries of the South combined, for it is the 6asis of Southern prosperity. j>ol umy iuib, uui. a bank makes it money by lending noney to any and all who have prop}r collateral, and if the Southern janks were in a position today to advance money to the manufacturer, he cotton buyer or farmer for cotton ransactions they would unquestioniblv do. so. , Money Stringent in General. ' "The present stringency in the noney market is not confined to the South and to Southern baiiks. It )revails, I might say, throughout the Jnited States and Canada, and the iame conditions exists in Europe, rhe unusually high rate of discount vhich today prevails in British >anks testifies to the fact that the (resent money stringency is' worldvide. and that for the time being, at onar the wnrld's monetary facilities rp 'inadequate for the volume of usiness both in progress and conemplation. "It does not help matters for us o decry and to blame any one eslecially for the present condition of ffalrs in this respect. The scarcity f money affects all alike, and we can o nothing but meet the situation as . e find it, realizing that we are today onfronted with a condition and not a heory. Many men differ as to . the ause of this condition, but in my pinion, the stringency in money is aused by the fact that the people of his country and of Europe have simly in the last year overreached hemselves in the amount of business ( hat they have, transacted. Not only his, but the large profits which have ' een made in business bave been inested in improvements, comforts, nd, I might say, luxuries of all inds. Therefore, for the present, at sast, money, which is simply a mediim 6f exchange, must catch up. as , t were, with the many uses to which ; t has been applied. In addition to his the tendency of the day is to egulate and control the large corpor.te interests and trusts. While in nany cases this is proper and legltinate, and most desirable, still for a ime at least it depresses securities nd will continue to have this effect intil we can draw a distinction bewp^n th*> mrnoration doine its bus ness legitimately and the corporaion doing its business illegitimately. Vhen the stock and bond market is lepressed it means that capital for a ime has become timid, and the more imid it becomes the more tendency t has to withdray from circulation, nd the more stringent money beomes. Ranks Are Taxed. "While the banks of the South, of ourse realize fair profits upon the tusiness created by production and landling of cotton, still oftentimes hey are taxed to their utmost capacty to furnish to this industry in its oany ramifications all of the money hat it demands. The banks furnish noney directly to many of our far . ' V rr : /)K\,'-Mhv i ' ; mere. They, discount the notes which others of oilr farmer* make to the merchants. When a farmer gives his note for fertilizers that note before very long finds its way to the bank, and the same is true often with the mules and implements which he buys. When the crop is peady to be harvested the banks have to supply the money with which to move it, and until that time, everything has been going out and nothing coming in. When the Southern banks, therefore, are called upon to furnish money with which to hold the crdp unless a large amount of the money wanted goes to pay the notes made to the merchant and to the fertilizer man they are in times such as this, when money is as tight as it is now, and they can not obtain funds from reserved centers?because the same conditions prevail there?often unable to meet the demands which are made upon them. There is every reason to believe that in a very short time the money market will become easier and the banks throughout the South will be in a much better position than they are today to assist the farmers in holding their crops and also to lend money to buyers and znills. "I have recently made every effort that I possibly could to place the customers of my warehouses in com ? i?? fVnoA -toVia tvara In ft IJlUUHJiiUUIl wilii buuov nuu "Wi V . ? position to lend them money, but unfortunately, for the conditions' above stated, I have not been able to make much headway^ "The cotton garmer today finds himself in this position: The conditions are such with his crop and with its probable consumption, that it is very material to his advantage to hold his cotton, but on the other hand he is embarrassed with the fact that in so holding It is necessary for him to borrow a certain amount of money, which it is most difficult for him to obtain. Under these circumstances what is he to do? Why, the best he can. do. Those who can warehouse cotton should do so; those who are compelled to borrow money on it should do so; those who have to borrow should borrow as little as they possibly can; those who have to sell and can not borrow should sell as gradually as is possible. It is only by adopting this course that the present downward tendency of the market can be cKecked and speculators made to realize. that the Southern farmer is now in the saddle, and he Intends no longer to be dictated to as to whiat prices he should receive for his cotton. Borrowing Monev on Cotton. ' "The great mistake which farmers make when they wish to affect a loan secured by cotton is that they lay as great stress on the margin which the, bank is able to allow as the interest which the bank charges. The question for the farmer to always ask himself is this: How great a margin, and not how small a margin, can he get on?with? It is bad business for him to borrow on the cotton more money than he actually needs". He simply has the interest to pay. And then, in addition, when he borrows more on the cotton than the cotton costs and stores the cotton, hoping for a further advance in price, he immediately becomes a speculator to a greater extent than it is prudent for him to be. If he is going to speculate with his cotton the safe rule with him to follow is to speculate only with the profit which may be made in the cotton and not with the coat of the crop. "Although cotton still reigns ak. king there is a crisis today in the affalra^of his kingdom. Much will depend upon the outcome, for the issue is whether his reign shall he helpful or hurtful to those who are his most loyal supporters. The fight is being* waeed fiercely on both sides. - "It is told that once in the midst of a battle the color bearer carried forward the colors and planted them in advance of the wavering battle line. The soldiers called to him to bring the colors bacli to the line. His reply was. 'Bring the line up to the colors.' So todov. from those who have at heart the best interests of the cot ton farmer, comes the cry, not only to stand firm hut to advance to the standard and carry the fight Into the enemy's country. The road to victory is nointed out: to a victorv whi"h will he as beneficient as It will he lasting:. And It. onlv remains to be seen whether the farmer will take that, road or not." DRY TICKET WINS. The City of4 Asheville Votes Out the Bar Rooms. ^ A dispatch from Asheville, N. C., says no such sight was ever witnessed in any city of the South as was * i - f* 1__J. enacted there on ruesaay 01 last week when Asheville by a vote of nearly 1000 declared for prohibition. The Dolling places were thronged with women and children who boldly pleaded with' the voters to vote dry. , Large delegations of women and children surrounded each polling place singing and praying during the day. The campaign for, and against prohibition, which has just closed, has been undoubtedly, the most hotly contested and keenly interesting fight of the kind in the history of Asheville. The financial and business interests have been about equally divided, and each side has worked with much vim and vigor, the prohibitionists being led by W. H. Whitson, a prom ? A n*-? or? nkoiMmnn UieilL UUaiiiCK5 man, ao ^naiiiiiaii ui the executive committee, while exRepresentative J. Frazier Glenn, has acted in the same capacity for the anti-prohibitionists. An interesting feature of the campaign has been the large number of parades organized by the prohibition forces there being parades composed of children, parades of women and children, and parades of men, the torch light parade of the prohibition voters which marched through the streets of the city Monday night being the largest of the kind ever seen in Asheville. The women of the city have taken a most active part in the fight for prohibition and their presence at the polling places in large numbers was somewhat of a novelty in elections in Asheville. Owen Wister, in a magazine article of current date has sized up the situation in Pennsylvania and his definition is being generally accepted as the best yet. Mr. Wister speaks to the point. "Pennsylvania today," he remarks, "is a government ofl knaves at the expense of fools." I c i !\ V i -W \ --.r .-v.? . ?) ' -?* \ The Boy. | ^ I wouldn't be a single thing on earth Except a boy, H And it's just an accident of birth That I'm a boy; And. goodness gracious! When I stop and think w That once I trembled on the very brink w Of makin' my appearance here a girl, ? It fairly makes my ears and eyebrows al curl? n; But I'm a bov! Just think of all the jolly fun there is ra When you're a boy! ^ I tell you! you're just full of business ^ When you're a boy. c< There's fires to build in all the vacant n lots, -J Go swimmin,' tie the fellers' clothes in knots, a Tie tin cans on the tails of dogs; why, fi gee! The days ain't half as long as they ^ should be f. When you're a boy. & There's lots of foolish things that o: make you tired 1 . When you're a boy. ? There's heaps of groiichy men that J can't be hired *> To like a boy; There's wood to chop at home and ** coal to bring, ? And "Here, do this?do that?the " other thing!" l^1 And, worse than all, there's girls, ? oh, holy smoke! S Are they a crime, or just a. joke Upon a boy? S p And then there's always somebody a to jaw, p When you're a boy? t Somebody always layin' down the law To every boy; I 4 'Pick up your coat; see where you've c put your hat; . . ij Don't stone the dog; don't tease the c poor old cat; o Don't race around the house' '?why, v suff'rin' Moses! ii The only time you have to practice things like those is When you're a boy! And, yet I don't believe I'd change a A thing / For any boy; You've got to laugh, to .cry, to work, to sing, a To be a boy; . * With all his thoughtless noise ana fe careless play, t With all his heartfelt trials day by t day, g With* all his boyish hopes and all his C fears. d I'd like to live on earth a thousand y year? I! And be a boy. ii I Given Up the Fight. The efforts made by the State of Louisiana to keep out the cotton boll weevil have been unsuccessful, 0 and the commission haying charge tl of the matter has about given up the t fight. The conclusion arrived at was n that the weevil could not be exter- a minated, but that its destructive op- c erations could be kept down in a d measure by the ,farmers in careful ^ planting and theburning stalks. It is said the commission has had to n turn and fight the Guatemalan ants, n which were imported to destroy the * weevil. It has proved of a more men -1 w ? ?? i-'l i-L ? /%??/%*? n*nn nn/] to I /*> ace uiaii me wecvn cvci wao, auu 10 u ndw seriously threatening both the b organge and sugar-cane industries by a its ravages. These same ants almost ci wiped -out the sugar plantations of, Grenada, in the West Indies in a'campaign which extended over ten years. \ If this is true, and the American Agriculturist says it is, it was a silly and disastrous experiment to import these nuisances to.the United States, which already has more insect pests than it can handle. These creatures can't be used like sleuth-hounds to run down any particular game, apd. are sure tu xuuuw men appcunca into new fields. There should be a complete revolution in the preparation and packing J I of our; cotton market. We are told by those who have been there that a thousands of bales of American cot- i< ton reaches the foreign market with ^ not a shre<J of covering on them. This careless way of doing business ?< causes our far mers to lose millions of dollars each year. Why not stop it? CATALOGL 9i w Large White Iron Bed lHyJ Beautiful um? 3 6 laches hlgl R.osltn Blanket, per pair .. ..$1.68 Floor C wioth, per a PIP i tait rnniii <2?p Liufl rufini rniih or Credit. columbl i "" THE ONLY I j in Columbia, South Carolina, making | thing in the Machinery Supply Line, j Write us for prices before placinj |' COLUMBIA SUPPLY CO. I* On coYner opposite Seaboard Air L i' / . t* "mmmmmrnmtmmmmmmmfmammmmm 7AHDAMJW KQM9GTS ROOSEVELT e is the RnotMJiMM aa^i Paat* master Id Verbiage. Governor Janes K. Vardainan, of [ississippi, in an interview given ;ply to President, Roosevelt's speech t St. Louis, strongly denounced the resident's policy and called hro? "k ivolutionists." The governor says: . "Mr. Roosevelt is a past grand' , iaster in the use ei words. With ig great French diplomat, he evi- ^ ?ntlv thinks that lazuruasre is to jnceal rather than express Noughts, ft thin the pile of verbiage there irks the most pernicious principles ad vicious politics that ever wrecked republic or destroy the rights of ' le people. "He has preached purity in polics and at the same time accepted rom the railroads contributions to uTupt the ballot. He accepts the tiice bought for him by criminal; sntributions and then tarns around ad undertakes to preach political onesty to people who' corruptly , ought for him the office he Holds. A wonderful man, indeed! And lore remarkable still is it to me that le people of Missouri are caught by he little cheap flattery and plati- / Lide, which he indulges in, when he omeson his speaking tours to the outh. "The constitution of the United v ? ? ? t m : tates is to tms man a Diarnc piece 01 aper , upon which he would write nything that his judfnpOBt might rompt or his political fortunes aicate. "Mr. Roosevelt is a revolutionist, le has no respect for the law of his ountry, constitutional or statutory, f they happen to interfere with the : * onsummation of any of Jbis schemes r plans. The fiat of hfe spasmodic nil, superinduced by consuming vanby, is the only law that,heres|?ete." MANGLED IN A GIN. l Young Man Dies as. a Result, of Accident. ' . S -' ' . t. ' f*i Henry Hyatt, aged 29 years, while . ttending to the steam gin of bis ather Thursday, about three miles j >elow Dillon, had biaaraLpaoght in he gin. The entire limb from finger o shoulder joint'waft fearfully banned. Drs. Henslee, Michaux and. . ioddard were called in~?jb-once and Id everything possible to, save the oung man's life, but he never railed from shock and hemorrhage, dyQg at four o'clock the nex? morning/ le leaves a wife and two young chilren. ' -4' We are sure there is not a newsaper of any influence in South Carolina that does not sympathize with he farmers in their fight to mainftin good prices for cotton. They lay not all see the situation in the arneway, but we believe they are 11 patriotic, and are doing what they on fr> Holn alrmor tfn* cood Work. So on't let us criticise one another and ivide our forces. All the people in thb South wiH 1 ot become prosperous until the fariers can hold their cotton and sell it rhen the prices suit them. Thetf they rould not be comDelled to take any Id price for their cotton that might / e offered them. 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