I
ESTABLISHED 1844
The Press and Banner
ABBEVILLE, S. C.
Wm. P. GREENE, Editor.
The Press and Banner Co.
Published Every Tuesday and Friday
Telephone No. 10.
Entered as second-class mail matter
at post office in Abbeville, S. C.
Terms of Subscription:
One year $2.00
Six months 1.00
Three months .50
Payable invariably in advance.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28) 1919.
-
THE PLEDGE PROGRAM.
Delegates from different sections!
of the county will meet in the court:
house today to discuss the matter ofi
a reduction in the acreage to be;
planted in cotton during the present;
year. We have already indicated;
that we cannot advise the people of
Abbeville County to sign the pledge
which has been prepared for them in
advance. We believe that in a great
many instances it would be a suicidal
financial policy, to do so. But we in-]
dicated at the same time that we
favored the plan to quit the one
crop idea and thus to reduce the cot-'
ton acreage.
N We favor diversification of crops,!
and the producing on the farms of
Abbeville County all those things
necessary for the farms. We believe
that the meeting which is to be held
today can be of great benefit to the
people in Abbeville County if it will
- adopt a sensible program, and get
. ' down to business along correct principles.
' '
Looking to that end, we are able
to advise the farmers of Abbeville
. . County that it will be a great mistake
in our judgment for them to
hnv the )iio?}i -nrired necessities of life
for the purpose of producing a crop
this year, and then produce nothing
but cotton. Bread and meat are in
greater demand in the world today
than anything else. They will con1
tinue to be in demand, and will be
the last farm products to go back to
pre-war prices, because that demand
for sometime to come will be a pressing
one. Now, we would not discourage
any man to hold cotton who
desires to do so. His judgment is
as good as ours, perhaps better; and
his information may be a great deal
fuller than ours, but, nevertheless,'
we warn the farmers of Abbeville
County that if they plant cotton this J
year for thirty cents per pound, or'
twenty-five cents per pound, they!
are going to be disappointed. We:
should not be surprised to see cottonj
sell for twenty cents and even below
twenty cents per pound, if the South
; this year produces a large crop, or
even if it does not. The people must
&S remember that ibefore there can be
a trade tnere must 'be a seller, and
there must be a buyer, and the
' BUYER MUST BE ABLE TO BUY.
The old world is impoverished. In
the years before the war the people
were fairly prosperous, at least they
had enough to enable them to buy
what they wanted; but now that the
war is over, and industry is at a
stand still, and will so remain for
a long time; now that the people are
returning to the places where they
formerly dwelt, and are finding that
they must begin all over again and
rebuild their homes, and reestablish
themselves in life, there will not be
money to invest in cotton goods except
from the most urgent necessity.
Therefore, the demand will not be
what it was before the war, and the
farmers n%ed not expect cotton to
bring big prices in the future. They'
need not expect cotton to be in demand
as are meat and bread, because
these latter things must be had, while
cotton poods mav hp fcn a croat
tent dispensed with.
What then is the sensible thing for
every farmer, be he landlord or tenant,
to do? He must look about him(?,
self and do what is best to be done.
And it is useless to say: again/ after .
'v" / It has been said so fria'ny times, that
. J. he should begin to produce some
meat and bread. We believe that every
farmer should plant at most two
thirds as many acres of cotton as he
did last year, unless he were already
producing meat and bread; that he|
Aould work this cotton properly and
JJ-* '
properly fertilize it, in order that he
may produce as much with his labor
as he may. We believe that the i
other one-third of his crop should be
in food products?something thatj
will feed both man and beast.
Now /the larger farmers and most
of the land-owners are accustomed,
where they farm themselves, to produce
enough of these things for their
own use, but the tenant farmers have
not been accustomed to do so. Can
we not get them to do so? Why not,
let every landlord in the county resolve
today to give to his tenant far-'
mer, or share-cropper, rent free one
acre of land on conditon that he will
plant it in cane, out of which he may,
make syrup enough for his family j
for a year, and in potatoes, which
will last him for a year, and at the
same time make provision for keeping
these potatoes? Why not let
every landlord today go to every
tenant farmer he has, and to every
share-cropper and explain the situation
to him, and warn him of the{
folly of the past and the danger of!
following old time plans in the fu-j
ture; and in order to encourage him
and to start him off Tight, why may,
he not say to every one of these that
he will furnish to him two or more
hogs to be raised on shares provided
the tenant or share-cropper j will:
agree to plant certain lands in foodj
products for the purpose of feeding,
these hogs?
It is idle to say that these people,
will not be interested in a plan ofj
this kind. We have tried it out and;
we know that-it works. The negro |
farmers of the county are a shiftless i
set for the most part. If they make]
money in the fall they spend it as
becomes a lord, but when the springtime
comes few of them ever have
any money. We know one who had
several hundred dollars last year after
paying all his obligations. He
was entreated to save his money and
try to take care of himself another
year, but the merchants with the
fine clothes and the man with other
+>n'no?5. and the allure-!
ments of pleasure have taken all hlsj
money. His employer even was call-1
ed on to pay his taxes. But thisj
same negro farmer last year took a
lively interest in buying hogs and in
producing his own meat and he now!
has enough meat saved to furnish his j
family for the present year. He
wants to produce enough for another,
year, and not only he, hut every!
other negro farmer in Abbeville;
County, will be glad to seize upon an
opportunity to obtain his meat in
this way. And the larger farmers,'
and the cotton-holders of Abbeville'
County, may induce them to do so/
and at the same time reduce the cot-j
ton acreage in this county without;
working a hardship on anybody.
And there are white men in Abbe-,
ville County who need help along the,
? J ?l? ViQlnJ
same lines, anu wnv auuuiu
ed. The trouble with most of us is!
that we look too closely towards ourj
own interest, and never think of
those who in a measure are dependent
on us. We are too anxious in
every trade to get the upper hand,
and to make everything we do serve
our own pocket-book, rather than
to stop to think that the hand which
guides the piow is very important to
us, and deserves mighty well of all
of us. The thing to do today is to
encourage the man who performs
the work. Carve out today some
scheme which will interest this man^
in being a real farmer and follow it
up, and make his interest identical
with your own, and you will have begun
to do something.
The men who meet in Abbeville
County today are capable of planning
and leading and financing a
great constructive movement in the
county which will lead to better
things. They will accomplish nothing
if they look too closely to theif
own interest. They will accomplish j
nothing if they adopt a program
which means disaster to their neigh-J
bor. They cannot coerce the freei
people of Abbeville County, and, ifj
we know them as we believe we do,'
they will not undertake to do so. Noj
movement now started as a colossal
bluff will do any good. The thing
to do is to educate and help the people,
and all the people, to do better
by themselves. The object should not
be alone to boost the price of cotton.
We cannot consider only the present
emergency.
?n^^?????
Be ready for the Victory Liberty
Loan. Buy the bonds and keep them.
Saving means thrift. Thrift means
success.
RUPTURE EXPERT HERE.
Seeley, Famous in This Specialty,
Called to Greenwood.
F. H. Seeley of Chicago and Philadelphia,
the noted truss expert, will
personally be at the Oregon Hotel
and will remain in Greenwood Wednesday
only, March 5th. Mr. Seeley
says. "The Spermatic Shield will not
only retain any case of rupture perfectly,
but contracts the opening in
10 days on the average case. This
instrument received the only award
in England and in Spain producing
results without surgery, injections,
medical treatment or prescriptions.
Mr. Seeley has documents from the
United States Government, Washington,
D. C., for inspection. All
charity cases without charge, or if
any interested call, he will be glad
to show same without any charge or
fit them if desired. Business de
mands prevent stopping at any other
place in this section.
P. S.?Every statement in this notice
has been verified before the Federal
and State Courts.?F. H. Seeley.
2-28-lt.Pd.
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I REAL ES
S city property. These
fc House and Lot?In City of Abf]_
beville, about one-half mile
$ from Court House, on Steuth
ju Main Street, near Cotton
|] mill. Lot about one acre?
gjj house has store 21x72 feet
and 12 rooms with all modern
g conveniences; also two-room
bj tenant house, warehouse,
stables, feed and carriage
^ house. $4,000
g Also the stock of general
r; merchandise in the above
I store.
SUBURBAN LOTS?Am offering
several lots in the southern
section of the city of Abbeville
at exceptional bar156
ACRE TRACT?Located 4
miles Southeast of Abbeville
S. C. ^Six room dwelling, 3room
^ tenant house, barn.
MHssyafafafiKfHHafiifis
s.
= 77/
OSEIS
MERCANTILE
ment Stores
inn (InoJc
11 Ig uuuuo
?DAI
THING from Ha
ORDS from HoWi
ORDS from Kupf
UTIFUL SHIRTS
. HOSIERY in bn
)ry Goods, Winter
re still giving 20 P
. This offers yc
/e, and It's too goc
r Special Feature
>re is a very nice
at 16c Per Yarc
ere are Lots of Oi
Rosenberg
"* wt . V V# . . . ' ..
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zmzrazraranjiJznrazM
HATE %
are good investments?
About 2-horse farm rented
for this year. Good bottom
land, plenty ashe wood and
timber. Price $4,400.
TWO GOOD RESIDENCES?
on North Main Street, for
sale. Ask for prices.
ACRE LOT?In Fort Pickens.
Good location. Price __$600.
231 1-2 ACRES?7 miles South
of Abbeville, two tenant
houses, barn, well; 15 acres
bottoms, 150,000 feet sawtimber.
Two horse farm already
rented for 1919.
Price per acre $25.00
6-ROOM RESIDENCE?On S.
Jno. F. Su
Abbeville,
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IULi\
; COMPANY
Abbeville, J
Are Arriv
ILY?
rt Shaffner &
ard & Foster
yendorf Dittman
mi a t t
>, in 1 he I\ew I
)Wn, Black and ]
Suits and Ove]
er Cent. Discou
>u a real opporl
>d to miss.
in our Dry Goc
Unbleached Shi
I?36 inches wit
Iher Good Valu
Mercantile
^
for immediate sale f
'lowing country and ~
-Ask About Them |
Main St., containing 4 acres,
more or less. Good barn, 1
tenant house, rat proof crib,
with branch running through
property. Cheap at $2,100.00
120 ACRE TRACT?With good
residence, tenant house, barn ?
11 miles from Abbeville,
South. 5 miles from Troy.
Price $3,000.00.
We have several rtacts of land
nnrl pifv nrrmprfv -for cnlo H
The owners asked not to advertise.
We will be glad to j|
show you property we have n
for sale any time you ask to fjjt
see it. |
therland jj
South Carolina
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