Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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REDUCE THE ACREAGE. A Farmer Appeals to Farmers to Plant Less Cotton and Raise More Supplies at Home. E'itor The Herald and News: The great slump in the cotton market for the past two months has demoraliz ed business of almost every trade, and the absorbing question among the farmers of the southern states now is, What must we do to be saved from the hands of :he speculator? Just one year ago cotton was selling for 16.40. Now it is 7 3-16. A bale of cotton weighing 450 pounds a year ago would have brought $73.80 and now a bale of the same weight, with the present price, will bring $32.34, making a reduction in one bale of cotton in one year's time $41.46. Why has there been such a tumble in the marke: as this? The question is easily 'answered. It is just as plain as the nose on your face. W.hen cot ton went to 6 cents per potnd the great surplus had worked off and the yield of 1903 had run short; and this is what makes the price of any com modity advance. But there is no use to r;i:erate this. The farmers all knew it but they became too enthus ed: the glory became too great; all went to work with a vim and made the effort of their lives to raise a big crop and get rich and be done with it. There was more commercial fertilizer hauled out in the country last spring than had ever been known before. So the speculators got the run on us before the crop was planted. They base the coming crop largely upon the amount of fertilizer sold. Everything was favorable last spring for the farmers to plant a big cotton crop. The bankers and mer chants opened the flood gates to c-ed it. They said, go ahead, boys. you will never see 5 cents cotton any more. So after the good Lord has blessed the earth she has brought forth one of the largest cotton crops that-has ever been on record. So here we are in the ditch again, holding meetings, calling conventions, and begging each other to reduce the acreage of the coming crop. We have our future prosperity in our own hands and can make or mar it. If we act wisely, we will curtail the acreage of the present crop at least 25 per cent. and the amount of commercial fertilizers at least 5o per cent. If this is done we will see our staple open at 1o cents next fall. What's the use of planting the whole earth in cotton when we can receive just as much for a small crop as a large one, and the increased grain crop as la large one grown on grown on the surplus land will be clear gain? But if we farmers are determined not to learn by experience and go to wvork this spring and stuff the earth full of cotton again, each one expecting to profit on the reduc ed acreage of his neighbors, which is~ so often the case, we will again over stock the market and with the large surplus already on hand it will be a hard matter to get even 5 cents for the staple next fall. I have no serious objections to or ganizations, but it looks so silly that intelligent people have to be organiz ed for doing what they already know to be a rorotection to themselves and families. Every farmer should solemnly ob ligate himself to plant a certain num ber of acres in cotton to the plow, and not go a furrow in excess, of that limit. Say twelve acres to the plow. If this is done the world will see that our cot:on growers mean business and there will be a scramble next fall to buy our crop at the highest mar ket price as soon as it is gathered. Oh, to God would the time come when every farmer in the south could eat bread from his own fields and meat -from his own pastures, and disturbed by no creditors and enslaved by no debt sit amidst his teeming gar dens and orchards, dairy and barn yads pitching his own crops in his own wisdom and growing them in in dependence, making cotton his clean surplus and selling it in his own time and his own chosen market! Then and then alone will the fullness of God-given rights rest upon the heads .of the poor old down-trodden far mer. Great is King Cotton. but to lie at his feet wvhile the'usurer and grain raiser bind us .y subjection is to in v:te Contempt o)f man and the re proach (of God. Just such as I have ;aid has been repeated time after lime until it ha. become as an old song and the farmer has been going headlong without taking the proper thought of his interest. But a burnt child dreads fire and the farmers have been burnt so often they are now ready to take warning. So the great slump in the cotton market could not have struck the country at a better time. And the low price paid for cot ton seed has only been a blessing to the farmers in disguise. There are thousands of bushels of cotton seed in the country that would have been in the hands of the oil men had the7 price gone to 30 cents per bushel. But the oil men are going to run seed up now pretty soon, but hold your -eed. fellow farmers, unless you can get 30 cents per bushel for them. They are worth anything below that on our farms and they will help you :o lessen your guano debt. Let's see one time if we can't give the manufacturers of fertilizers an overproduction of guano. Now, conclusion, there is no use of all tallI and no action. Something has got to be done and it's no use waiting on the other fellow. Each :nan that plaaLts cotton seed is directly interested. While we are -ot opposed to organizations, let's not wait on organizations to help us out of the di:ch. And remember that its a dangerous thing to fill the earth ngain this spring with cotton seed. Yours most truly, T. J. W. Husbands to Burn. A good sort of a trolly conductor, who has ears fof other things besides the bell of his fare register and whose runin Brooklyn brings him passen --ers to and from a certain cemetery, -:ouches for this story: A woman boarded his car at the c-metery the o:her day shaking with sobs. She had not been in the car long when two women took seats op -osite her. One of them seemed to recognize the woman from the ceme .ery, hesitated for a moment, then crossed the aisle and spoke to her. The sobbing one looked up and the identificatioin was conplete. "Why, Mary,'"said the woman who had crossed the aisle, "where have you been for so long and what is the raiatter?" "I have been married," came the s >b-broken answer, "and I'm just af ter cremating my husband." Condolences were offered and the v:idow soon afterward left the car rparently cheered. while her friend returned to the seat beside her com y anion and told all that Mary had un b >somed to her. "And she's got husbands to burn," r imarked the companion enviously, -.vhile I'm still single." BrickI Brick!! For Sale by C. H. CANNON. Dr. R. M. Kennedy, DEINTIST. Newberry, - - S. C. OVER NATIONAL BANK. When the Bundle Comes Back WITH EVERY PIECE, PURE, SWVEET, SPOTLESS, WHITE, WELL WASHED, NICELY STARCHED, NEATLY IRONED AND NOTHING TORN. You Are Well Pleased. THAT'S JUST THE KIND OF WORK The Newberry SteamLaundry Co. Turns Out. CAN'T WE CALL FOR YOUR BUNDLE~ AND DELIVER IT How Niagara Helps Trade. A clCver game which is woirked at Niagara during the winter months by shrewd merchants is described in an article by Mr. Broughton Bran denburg on "The Carnival of Ice at Niagara" in Harper's Weekly. Shaties are built on the ice halfway to the shore on the exact boundary line be tween the United States and Canada and occupied by traders. As they have neither rent, United States duty nor Canadian license to pay, they are enabled to offer their goods for sale at greatly reduced prices. The offi cers of neither country disturb them, because they would first be compell ed to prove jurisdiction. This would be impossible for by the time the courts got round to it it would be spring, and both :he ice and the shan ties would be gone. Utah's Germ Day. The state of Utah has established a holiday in honor of germs. It is call ed General Health day and is the first Monday in October. On this day all theatres, churches, public hall, hotels, boarding houses, etc., must be thor oughly disinfected. Little Woman's Query. Ethel-Pa, why does Uncle Frank always say 'beware of widows?' Pa-Because, my child, widows are supposed to be expert in catching iusbands. Ethel-Gracious! I wonder if I'll have to be a widow before I can get married? EXCHANGE YOUR COTTON SEED FOR MEAL. We give 1200 pounds of 8 per ceft. meal for a ton of cotton seed, or 1300 pounds of 7 1-2 per cent. meal for a ton of seed. One ton of seed contains about 6o pounds of amonia, while 1200 pounds of 8 per cent. neal contains 96 pounds of amonia. Amonia is the valuable thing in cot ion seed for the fertilizer. By ex changing you make 36 pounds of amonia per ton at 16 cents per pound. This makes $5.76. Besides you get more than one dollars worth cf additional potash and Phos. Acid. By exchanging you get from us a7c least $6.76 worth of fertilizer more than your seed contains. Can you afford to put them in the ground? Bring us your seed and get meal t'ie same day. Farmers' Oil Mill. Eusiness, Home, Lands or Farm, Stocks, Bonds, Mortgages or Notes, Bought and Sold. Business, home, land, stock, bonds, farm, or mortgage, no matter where 1<-ated, we will buy or sell. If we did not have the facilities and ability to buy, sell or rent your property, we certainly could not afford to be in busi ness. Our methods of intelligently ad vertising cost us a neat little sum. We must sell, or rent, or go out of business, but to be real frank about it, we are in the business to stay a while whether we sell or not; we have money to loan and we are making more every day. Our commissions amount to a much neater sum. Dealing through other agents or branch houses throughout the conmry, we place your property or wants in the hands of 3,000 energet'c men who are~ constantly looking out for you. We can find a purchaser for every house, lot, stock, bond, or mortgage that you may have for sale, it makes no matter where locat- d, or what it is worth. We give a partial list of property in Newberry, S. C. for sale: $6,000 Store on Main street. 300 Brick making machine. 9.000 Handsome home with six acres land. 650 Cute home for young couple. 3,500 Elegant house and lot, four blocks from town. 2,000 Entire block, two houses, right near town. 1,200 Cash. Five room house, an ideal home. 800 Four room cottage, half mile. 6,000 New house and ten acres land, one mile from town. 1,100 Will buy a nice home for newly married couple. 1,400 House and lot, only two blocks from business. We have five good families who want to rent. We have Bank stock that pays 34 semi-annually for 120. We have stocks at and below par. If there is anything under the sun you want you better consult us, we are the only people who keep in close touch with everything. Long distance telephone No. 200. Call e-write today. ROWLAND G. SPEARMAN & CO. Office Lane Bldg-, Newherry, S. . FTZKNUMM =w= MWMEMUM SPIRITS OF I CAMPHOR! Spirits of Camphor is one of the most useful household rem edies made, and is more or less useful in proportion to its purity I and strength. The official di N rections for making Spirits of Camphor require Gum Camphor ozs. I 1-2 Alcohol- -"15 This is exactly how ours is made and the absence of water can I be proven by burning it. Noth I ing remains. If you buy half I pint whiskey for 15c. and put I 5c. Gum Camphor in it you have 1 8 ounces of half strength goods. I We sell you 6 ounces full strength Alcohol and Camphor for 25 cents. The best is actu ally the cheapest. I GILDER, WEEKS & HUNTER,I The Right Drug Store, I NEWBERRY, S. C, The Smith Co Headquarters for General MIerchandise.. Ask any one where you can buy anything in~ General Merchandise, and buy it cheaper than anywhers else, quality considered, and they will tell you to go to The Smith Co. We never advertise anything that we do not have, and always sell as we advertise it. For the next thirty days, at cheap prices, we will sell the following goods: Shoes, Dry Goods, Notions, Crockery Ware and Tobacco. We also have the finest assortment of Molasses in town, prices rang ing from 2oc. to 6oc. per gallon. We have just received our stock of Seed Potatoes, Red Bliss. first and second crop, and Garden Seed of every kind. When you have a list of goods to buy come to our store and save time, for we can come nearer filling every item, and fill it cheaper, than any other store in Newberry. MITTLE CORNER. SOUTHERN RAILWAY! THE SOUTH'S GREA TEST SYSTEM. UNEXCELLED DINING CAR SERVICE. THROUGHIPUJLLMAN SLEEPING CARS ON ALL THROUGH TRAINS. CONVENIENT SCHEDULES ON ALL.LOCAL TRAINS. WINTER TOURISTS' RATES are now in effect to all Florida points. For full information as to rates, routes, etc.; consult nearest Southern Railway Ticket Agent, or R. W. HUNT, Division Passenger Agent, Charleston, . C .