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THE PROBJ-EMS OF AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTH (This is the essay that was awarded the Aull essay medal in the Newberry high school and was written by Chandler who has completed the 11th grade. The subject was assigned and the writing of the essay was a prerequisite to graduation on the part i-U ? i\f rVio place Art ux au cue mc;uuc:*a v* other essay written by Miss Jones of the class was a close second and came within a fraction of making a titl. We requested the prize essay for publication.?Editor.) Viniculture, one of the five contributions of prehistoric man, has descended to us through the centuries WS V?IK5 ttnu iiii/ou n w* j **?? duatry in the wo .rldr. .hqpuCficffhk dustry in the world. It comprehends more parts of philosophy than anyj otfcer ojie art or science. No other sort of life affords so many branches of praise to a panegyrist, and none ! offers more benefits to the laborer, j to the necessity of this art, it is, evident enough, since this can live j without all others and no one art! without this. It is like speech "with- j oj|t which the society of man cannot lM? preserved; the others like figures aild troops of speech, which serve only, to adorn it." Man> nations have lived and do live without any art but this, and almost all the other arts behold to this for most of their material*. j Yet today no one industry is beset by ~0 great and difficult problems. A s$>er national thought with regard to the importance, tne ausumte net.?4siiy, of a sustained agriculture in this country is imperative. The matter is of such tremendous importance tti.QKT ejitire population that it should be recognized as a national problem, ahi steps should be taken to place our Jjptjj^ern agriculture on a more satisfactory b&fcw. We must stabilize the b^ness of farming not in the intere$?pf the iarn.er alone, bu$ in the intiif&t of the whole nation. v.Wo /?<% nnt annreciate fully our de V ~ *r^pendence upon agriculture. This has resulted in lack of a sympathetic undertfeiding of the farmer's problems and difficulties confronting him, not otify in producing but in marketing ^!8-cro|)j5. There are many industries dependent upon agriculture, as packing-['Borises and manufactories of *4h?m imnJements: and farm products jiay a Lgreat part: In transportation, "therefore the business man must cooperate with the fanner, for no business center could continue to prosper j iftci&pendently of the farming communities surrounding it. We do not realize just what has hapened to pthe farmers of the producing sections. We have the finest rural civilization in the world; our formers average very high in intelligence, and podece more per man than Almost any other farmers in the world Yet they are now in a most trying period and are suffering severe financial t losses. The cause for this is the high production cost of last year and the ' fact that the prices of farm products have dropped out of all proportion to the prices of toher things, as well as out of poportion to the cost of production. For example, the price of eon* and oats, as weJJ as other products, is about 20 per cent below the normal price of these things before tfie %ar. Now note the prices of some $? the things the farmer has to buy: 'ffe wages of farm hands are 100 per Cfcht above prewar normal, rai)-c*\d tkits.70 to 90 per cent above prewar normal, such basic commodities as petroleum and coke iron, from 100 tf> 150 per cent above prewar normal. Ipl otfler words, while the farmer is fko fhin<rs hp -noduces at Drices 'VUV r ? . 4 ax> no higher rate, and for surplus cfops as cotton lower than at the prewar normal, he must buy practically ,^erything he needs at prices from SO to 150 per cent above prewar normal prices. The severe agricultural depression is inevitable as long as such a condition exists and will certainly be communicated to industry and business. The farmers represent Ifrom 35 to 40 per cent of our popula tion and whatever affects their buying ?ower affects the people who deal in farmers' supplies. The only solution to this problem is to find an outlet for our surplus food, search for cheaper ways to produce food and find new scientific use for our surplus crbps. We must develop more efficient marketing systems, straightening the curves and lowering the grades between the producer and the consumer. We must make a price level tair to all our people and to our T?^mnef />rvmo prOUUCW. X'<11 in j;iuuuvio inu?>u wmv Up in price and other products come down until the norn.ai relation between them has been restored. The farmer is the one man engaged in a business who has no voice in fixing the price of his products. The cost of production has never been considered in determining this price, and in order for him to overcome the present depression, the cost of production milst be considered. Today the farmer of the South is facing bankruptcy and ruin because he planted cotton and did not realize j! any profits on the sale of it. The inj dications are that it will be quite a !: while before the world will pay evenjl what it costs to grow cotton, as is ' shown by the present supply and the i crippled state of the world consump- ] tion. It is just as evident that every ] bale of cotton grown during the year,; ( i will defer .iust that much longer the!, , time when cotton will bring what it ( . costs to produce it. It is then clear , jtnat the farmer must depend for his living almost entirely on some other products than cotton. He must therefore raise livestock, grain and diver sifted products. These products can be ; readily sold and a good profit realiz|ed. On the other hand if they do not! [raise diversified products during the ' [time that must pass before consump\ tion and before the price of cotton is | restored, no other class of citizens j j will be in a more deplorable condi i tion. Permanent relief would come if the ^ farmer would adopt a better crop ro- ( jtation. Instead of the South's being [a one-crop section, diversified farm- T ! ing will bring about a better food- ( producing section. The essentials of x such a system are a good home gar- r den, planting of grain, corn, hay and T other forage crops. Above all the cotton acreage must be cut. J! .. ~ ! Another great problem the Soutn j is facing is that of marketing its j ro-l duce. Much food is rotting because | of the lack of proper marketing. Be- J cause of the high rate of transportation, much food is wasting that could be sold with profit. Our main staple, cotton, because of wasteful conditions j and abuses in the present system of; hardline" and marketing it. can not be i [marketed so that the farmer obtains' t the just price for it. They must, to j attain economic equality with the i buyer, act together in organizations.' Uniformity of production of a superior variety gives any community a better market standing and makes it* rpore attractive to buyers. We should remember that although the bulk of the cotton crop usually comes to market in four or five of the fall r?r winter months, the nonsumi) \ ~ 4 } : tion of cotton extends over the whole j jtwelve months. Because of the lack; of warehouses, the farmer has not: .been able to finance the marketing ;of his crop in an orderly fashion, ac-< cording to the needs of consumption. I This^ situation must then be reme[ died by providing facilities for stor-j j ing the crop and means for financ- j ing the producers until the crop is ' I sold. South Carolina is already form- j |ing a corporation for handling the; 11921 crop. Under this plan the far-j :mer delivers to a warehouse so many: ; bales of cotton. He either sells his i product on the basis of the warehouse j j receipt or uses it to secure credit from j [the merchant, who in turn goes to I the bank; or the farmer goes to the ! finance corporation, borrows at 6 per ~ * "* il _ t-1 _ u. - i cent or t per cent ana mus is aoie tu | pay cash for his supplies. The corj poration in turn issues its own bearer j certificates, carrying a rate of inter-] jest which allows a margin sufficient j .to cover the expenses of the copora-j tion. The stock of the corporation is ; sold to either banks or private investors. This plan puts the farmer on an equal footing with the buyer and: , if this plan were adopted by all farm- j !ers, it would be the solution to the: : problem of marketing all farm prod-j iucts. It is of especial value in the .South, where a need for a system of , financing has so long kept living con ^ ~ J Jrt J 4-1% ? , aiuons low anu iciaiueu urc piugiwo] 'of the section. j The South is beset by the great problem of keeping its farmers on the 'farm. Reports show that in one Southern state alone there was last year a net decrease of 60,000 in number of men and boys over 15 years of age, and that for every man who returned to farm life seven left for other em| ployment. | The fact that over 51.9 of the peo| pie of the country are city dwellers, and over half the land farmed in the South is farmed by tenants, points to the fact that there is a decided change in American life. The rurai population has practically stood still; where there were 100 country folk in 1910 there are now 103. The fourteenth census shows that out of the whole United States of the 105,653,108 enumerated, 54,816,209 or 51.9 per r cent are living in places of '2,500 peo- j pie or more and 50,866,899 or 48.1 i per cent in rural territory. Statistics show that the portion living in incorporated places of less than' 2500 shows an incease of 1,745,371 or 21.5 per cent whereas that portion living in purely country districts shows a decrease of 227,355 or .6 per cent. Our city population then is about 4,000,i Oftn more than the rural, while in 1910 the rural papulation was 7,000.000 more than the urban. This applies more so to the South than any other section for the South is growing in cities. The industrialization of this country is approaching that dangerous stage where the task of provisioning the people suggests forcible expansion beyond political boundaries i 1 ' and tariff walls into raw products.! But whether we shall drift into dark : i necessity depends chiefly on our own! social intelligence. But what causes the South to be overindustrialized? 1 Ihe drift to the cities is not because j ^ the country is crowded. The evil is; r largely due to the instability and j ? rrm!iffprnp?c nf farm nrnrinrt.s. Olher '? r I :auses may be attributed to this con-; jition: The larger cities have re-1 ;ririted from the smaller ones as wellj is from the farms, while in descendng rank the cities and towns have ,aken from those below them. Thus Cell ;he process of integration. There sn't a commercial club in a single ;own that isn't trving to increase its ag ocal population, enticing the farmers . - - A - --- ? - - iU 1 i'ima n /? tr 1 ^ ^ rt I ,0 IUWI1 uy LUtJll IUIU VI <x V-iL^ iVe may remove this uncertainty of me ;he American farmer by an intelli- mi *ent system of cooperative marketng and then the farmer will be able f0] o enjoy better life. Better roads will ^ tllow him to go and come to town cy vhen he pleases, and when this un- f'a] :ertainty disappears there will be no pr( ndustry under the sun in which the, no eturns are so sure and the life so inlependent. Then the country boy s^( ? Ill ? ? -i- ~ 4-"U? nUir Uftnonea fVjoro 15 I Ylli gU IU UIC utv.aucu uicic -w 10 room for him on the farm. The >roblem which the South is faciVigr, Attention nir n v* rl Q! n-fiivrl o T7 J.' I 1UCIJ CillU. kJCH/UJ. M.C4/J representative from ou will be here and have or lection of Summer Dre: ! They will be on sale; i ' } We extend to the wi and vicinity a cordial in store these two days an ing of stylish apparel. " ed to buy. HalKwaimer & f The Sere of Lancast (Seven Piece Will FiirnisSi V ? in JL for th Commencem Monday Evenin American L< "The Serenaders" Furnishe Harding's Inaugural Ball. "Was the best dance music ton."?The Washington Time Chaperones:?Committees Admission?$4 P From 10 P E ^ | Will pay $2.6C ! for any kind of Saturday and good sacks, j next ^Dor to t Bank. I I II H. O. ] r % OUR CLUB MEMBERSIHP Is Rapidly Increasing rhat's because we clcan, press and epair clothes at very reasonable >rices and because we do firstlass work. FIND OUT ABOUT IT L. I. BLALOCK used by the trade slump combined th the heavy cost of transportation, s created such discouragements in ricultural sections that the outlook dubious. TVif* oiiKef ifnf inn r\"fV*n nof i'va -for*. a iit ouujiiiunvii \j x i/iiv iiotiT^ i ai ir by a peasant type from Europe ist mean a deterioration in the ality of our food and higher prices r the consumer. We must remedy s by a permanent agricultural poliwhich will reduce the hazards of *ming and make profits in food Dduction more certain. I know of more economic policy than that aght the South; namely, that it >uld be content to raise cotton and 2nd its political force in advocacy (Continuled on page six.) V Ye Ladies , June 3rd and 4th, r New York office 1 display a large se1 TTT sses ana wraps. at attractive prices." urnen of Newberry ivitation to visit;our d inspect this show-V fou will not be urg# > l i'1 arpenter, Inc. jnaders er, Pa. Orchestra) The Music ie tent Dance g, June 6th >gion Hall d the music for President ever heard in Washingi s. from Auxiliary. lus War Tax to 2 Sk. S! > per bushel Peas Friday, Monday in Bring them he National Long i ??? i Prices < Light Six Touring Coupe Sedan i Special Six Touring 2-Pass. Roadster Sedan Big Six rn i uurmy 7-Paso. Sedan . A1 At the old prices th( position of first choice Ford) for this year. ' present further reduce than ever. The demar Factory is now from a would avoid delay pla our stock. T McH, New Building East Main St. I To prevent a cold take 666.?Adv. | like Castor Oil? then why make them take it? Why cling to the old idea that a medi i 1 a. cine musi De unpie<is<mw in order to be good) Dr. Miles' Laxative Tablets | TASTE LIKE CANDY ! ACT LIKE MAGIC 1 !' The authorities sav that their main ingredient "accelerates the peristalsis in the same way as castor oil." Good for children and adults. Get a box at your drug store. i Subscribe to The Herald and News $2.00 a year. B5JHI f Accept "-g g No Substitutes gg 2 for a | Thedford's ? BLACK-DRAUGHT! H Purely B | Vegetable | | Liver Medicine 8 SSaBUBBBaOBBB {eduction I HnHHHHMMmnnrasFHi yf Studel Old Price New Pri< $1 ASK on Sl.TttvM y J. JLVJL/? V V Y v w ^ 1850.00 1695.01 2150.00 1995.01 1750.00 1635.01 1750.00 1585.01 2750.00 2550.0) 2150.00 1985.01 2950.01 1 Prices F. O. B. Factory ?ir value had won for St as the largest selling car i This is a fact-not a clair ;d prices Studebaker's lei id has been so great ths month to six weeks behini ce your order now while v his is a Studebaker Year ardy Mc Distribute > ' ' - : Don't Spare in time of sickne; medicine must 1 get well again, bi depend upon th the medicine the Bring your doctc tion here and yoi what his order a up of the purest drugs, with consi and skiil, yet cha reasonably. Pron II TV Mayes uru Newberry, s I I ? I I 111? nPrices makers ce Reduction ) $150.00 [) 155.00 r\ icc nn \J 1 'J'J. V V ' v +J''y. -- '* j'Vi- >M| G 115.00 0 165.00 D . 200.00 0 165.00 5 New Body Type * udebaker cars the n America (except n. Now with the idership is greater it the Studebaker i on orders. If you /e can deliver from 1 - 1 11 >wer r Phone 300 1 iii i ' i J ! . ill 1 A the Spoon / ss. Doses of be taken to ut a lot will - / e quality ot spoon holds. >r's prescripi will get just ?lls fnr. marlfi A W? J wvww and freshest irnmate care rged for most npt service, ?* ig More South Carolina