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Tuesday, January 6, v.tzz. GREATEST ECONOMIC AGRI- ik CULTURAL PROBLEM IN U. S. In , ' A Second Statement Regarding the j rt Plan to Eradicate the Cotton Boll oi Weevil From America oi cl By W. Ehvight Pierce, Ph. D. w Unquestionably we have in Ameri- in ca today many great economic prcbi Vvnf tn mv minr) ill CigllLUUUlC, UUb vvr ?..v? <......? | W1 the greatest of these is to solve the I a] problem of clothing- our nation andjth the world; of solving, in other words, !g< the problem of cotton culture in our p, southern states. Many able econom- sj ic writers have recently attempted to show what a grave crisis faces the m people of the cotton-growing states c] today. With the ever increasing pric- w es of commodities, and in spite of in- ^ creases in the value of the cotton pro- c? duct, the time has not yet come when a( the cotton farmer may receive his just Vi dues for his labor. When we figure. er as we must, the value of the labor of the cotton nlar.ter and his family in m the cotton fields, and the overhead ex- 5C penses, we find that the production n: of cotton under modern methods is an economic failure. er All who have traveled or worked in vv the South are familiar with the bent \y backs of the toiling- women and chil- j pi dren in the cotton fields; women who ^ should have the home work only to do instead of having to toil alfr day in to the fields and tend to the household ar duties later, if at all; women who f0 have tiny babies, which they must si, carry into the field and deposit on the p( ground in the shade of some tree, in- re stead of having- the blessed privilege th of rearing and nurturing these ehil- di dren in the sanctuary of a home of dc comfort; children tottering down the n* (blistering rows in tattered clothes, 50 and barefooted, chopping, hoeing, he weeding, picking, when they should ar be in school, learning to be future h-e citizens of our great country. Ir is to only by the unceasing toil of these de women and children, little fitted for such labors, that the Southern cottar. le; grower is able to produce enough cot- Jo ton to insure his keeping his family co alive another year. ti< It is quite true that in the last dec- w< ade we have seen great improvements or in Southern agriculture, but never- et theless we are face to face with the dc facts that the cotton situation is se- in rious, net only for the Southern peo- is pie, but for every citizen of Aim-erica, 0f and for every person in this round co earth of ours who wears cotton cloth- tv ing, or who uses any of the other %r products of this remarkable plant. fo We may -jusfcly inquire as to the fo reason for su^h a situation in these w< days of civilization. There are many wl reasons, some dating back to ante- th 'beilum days, and we will leave the w< discussion of these many reasons to other men, Ifor we are concerned with m the one cause which makes cotton th errovmsr so usnrofitable today, and le the solution of which is the greatest th task before the Southern people. Cot- lo ton growing is unprofitable because of of the ravages of insect pests, princi- a; pal among which is the Mexican cot- ti< ton boll weevil. The increased ravages of these pests have been gradual- T< ly, but perceptibly, lowering the af yield per acre of cotton lands until ar now almost every state has felt the er pressure, and in most cf cur state- bi the present average yield is' so low af as to make the growth of cotton very be unprofitable. or Figures furnished the writer by the aj bureau of crop estimates show the following losses, due to the boll wee?-1 ~ 1 ~" iv, nrtnnflc livif r\ n wll nl VJ1 aiwuc, m yv uuuo imv un uiv. .. >.v.> acreage in cotton during the year 1918 to be as follows: South Carolina, 750.000. I Georgia, 182,822.000. I Florida, 8,325,000. Alabama, 85,787,000. M Mississippi, 104,213,000. a Louisiana, 52,5G0,000. ^ Texa?, 139,289.00. Arkansas, 29,970,000. j :1 Oklahoma, 11,572,000. j Total U. S., pounds lint cotton de- in stroyed by boll weevil in the year j 1918, 715,288,000. This loss appalling, but if I were to cc quote the figures before me for the ! six precede? years, it would be seen ^ that in several years this loss was greatly exceeded. The average loss io per acre for the years 1908 to 1918 { from .insect pests was 29.-j pounds of cotton. The toll ci tne weevil is > from 6 per cent to 10 per cent of a J di normal crop. Xcw, assuming 25 cents a pound to be the average value cf the cotton lost, we arrive at the estimated loss to the producer of ir $178,822,000 in one year for his lint v-' alone, and we kr.cw that for such there was a corresponding loss of ov-i ^ er 1.400.000.000 pounds cf seed.'y worth at least $2r>,000.000. I ^ Xow. these are actual losses on ac-1 tual acreage in cotton, and therefore!01 represent what the farmers would ! b' have made had the boil weevil not- ] been present. It shc-;vs that with this: destructive pest out cf the road the farmers would not need anywhere near the amount of acreage now in j !V cotton in order to produce the necessnrv quota of that crop, hnt could re-' n ase the surplus acreage to grow the J ecessary food crops. And when we remember that this iduced production has its effects up- j n the bankers, merchants, ginners,: 1 mills, brokers, railroads, spinners, j othiers and the public in general, j e sec how the loss multiplies into .fin.'ty. J; In 1919 we came face to face with j le of the smallest crops in history,!,' id the figures tend to indicate that' te average production in the United j iates was only three-tenths of a bale . ?r acre. This is truly an alarming, tuation. r "When world commerce is again nor- : al and the cries of distant lands for-', cthinjj are heeded, we will be faced i ith the demand for increased pro-; action, and the knowledge that we ' mnot afford to greatly increase the ] reage in cotton without greatly jeo- ; irdizinsr the production of the food j cps cf the Southern people. jj Does it net become perfectly ap-j? irent to everybody that we must do imething a little bit out of the ordi- ( >.ry to meet this crisis? The people ' ( the United States have never fall- j i 1 down yet on a big: undertaking ] hen it has been put to them proper-'. , and we are going to tackle this' j rot'1 em successfully, too, when we < ?t down to it. The purpose of this ] iper is to show that now is the time j get down to work in dead earnest i id save the reputation of our nation j ?r efficiency. We are hearing on all | des that governmental and state ex- i ;nditures must be cut in order to j * ^ Km* ( duce the ouraens 01 uic peuyic, uw*. ere are times when only the expen- J ture of money will rcduce the bur- | ins. and those times are when it is f ?cessary to combat the ravages of' < me scourge. The boll weevil is ( ." aping the real burden on the nation, j id now we must assume a slightly < favier burden temporarily in order t be able to throw off the real ibur-j :n. :; As a nation, we cannot afford to jt this state of affairs endure any ] nger. Is not our national slogan, x nservation of resources and reduc- 'j >n of the cost of living? How can ^ 2 reduce the cost of living when in ^ ~ c le crop we have an annual mon- , ary loss of hundreds of millions of t . ;1 (liars? How can the cost of cloth- f g be reduced when cotton acreage , producing at only a small fraction ( its proper efficiency? How can the r st of foods be reduced when it takes j o or three tipies as many acres to ^ o\v cotton as it should, and there- c . v re the land .is not available for the ; od crops? How can we say that c i are conserving national resources r len we permit such a loss in one of j e most important staples in the f >r!d? !t Do you not agree with me that we r ust seek a new way of looking at is boll weevil problem? The prc.b- ? m is big in all its dimensions, and ( e only way it can be tackled is by ? oking at it as a big problem worthy j ' the most concentrated thought and } tions of the business men of the na- ( >n. t When the boll weevil first entered c ?xas, and for several years there- ( * "nnn o o , rer, it was icu&i'u uyuu : i entomological problem. It is an ^ itomolcgical problem, ibut in the oadest sense that entomology ever ? Fected the welfare of mankind. The 1 >11 weevil gives us the greatest ec- j icmic entomological problem of the < res to solve. , 1 105 YEARS OLD, NEVER SAW MOVIES j ????? London, Dec. 28.?''I live because 1 have God's blessing, and that is why < shall go on living." ' i ' """ 1 ' 1 ^ ? A , /v U AV 1 A i'iiis is me expimiitnun m nci i 'e given by Mrs. Elizabeth Pennick, ^ native cf Essex, v.ho at the age of 1 )5 years is srill active. Although her i emory is beginning to fail her, she ade accurate references to her life : forty years ago, when she worked the field?. ; Mrs. Pcnnick gives the following : ivice to people who desire to live a ntury: Do not drink anything stronger tan tea. Leave tobacco in ail forms religusly alone. oovli- ricri and work i iid all day. Faithfully observe your spiritual lilies. i Eat simple food and plenty of it. ' Do not worry. Mrs. Pennick sees no harm in dancg, providing it does not interfere ith the quiet ar.d simple life. Mrs. Pennick lives at -the home of ,:illiam Harrington, aged ninety L'ai ?. Since he became a widower ventv years aso she has been h'.s ousekecper. Mrs. Pennick has nevi* had a photograph taken, has never pen inside a sinema and has not been ) London for forty years. ??ra>? No Mixed Tricks j "Would you marry a widower, [aude?" "Xo. I prefer to tame my husband lvself."? .Tudcro. ) COMPARISON OF PRESENT WITH CONDITIONS OF PAST "T. J. W." Writes of Boyhood Days ?Discusses Educational Condi- I .. . _ I ditions.?Entertainment a t Union School If this letter is too lonp; to read Please tell me the reason why; So read just what you can of it, And pass the rest on by. j I am going to tell you something good Some day that will make ycu smile, And if you don't laugh you may call: it chaff, I And pass the rest on by. i If the public will bear with me I ! :im going to say a little something of | my boy days. Again when I look out into this broad land of ours and view j he present situation it hardly seems : Dossible to me that I have lived to see ! such a change. First I want to speak of this edu-; national storm that is passiivg over, ^ur land, and I would not throw a! ;hing in the way of cultivating the : minds of the young for anything, but > ^ . .1 ?_ . ! >omctnnes i Tear mat mere is a nan-. ?er of putting too much stress upon ; secular training, possibly with a neg-! ect of spiritual culture. If we are j ;o better the condition of the world! ;he two must go hand in hand. Look nto our colleges and other high insti:utior.s of learning and see how many young men are preparing themselves "or the ministry. The president of our South Caroina I ufneran synod tells us that .here is not a single new student en ;ered the seminary this year. Yet, >ur Newberry Lutheran college is ;uming out more and more young nen with their diplomas who are drifting off into some other occunaI ;ions of life every year. j On the 715th page of the Annals of j \'ewberry you will find this quota-! ion: ''Since the founding of the colege 102 young men have been graduated, the fiist graduations -being in; LSG9. Of this number 7 are dead; of he living 97 alumni 28 are farmers -1 md merchants, 1G are teachers, 10 ire physicians, 11 are lawyers, and 12 are clergvmen or in the courss of preparation for the ministry." This account of the work of the old Christian college gives the Gospel ninistry a third of her material to Tattle against the wiles of the devil.' rVhat per cent is God getting new out >f this great educational rally? Mfan ^nA oc ;in article JL 1113 13 IlUb uiumuu ?f criticism upon those who have the eins of our educational institution n hand. But the point that I am lrivir.g at is this?if the world is to >ecome better through education, it j nust be Christianized along with oth-; ?r secular training. One drive after mother is being- put on to better :quip and maintain our high schools ind colleges. What is being done to naintain and better equip our semilaries? This is a serious thought that leserves our consideration when I hink how inferior the whole line of ;ducat:onal equipment was in my boy lays. And look across at the present situation. I am made to think, when vill the human mind be satisfied? I walked three miles daily to school *nd it was an all day iob. There was 10 time for playing ball or engaging in any ether line of athletics. We rot plenty of exercise on the road. \nd am not ashamed to say that my lear old mother spun and wove cloth "or David B. Kinard to hek> pay my :uition. Yes, ihe little school house vas very inferior in those days. But they were not only used for .lay schools, but also for prayer meeting: and Sunday schools were held in them throughout the year. Now please point out the country school building that is being used for public worship. Mr. Editcr, I read your Christmas reflection with very much interest.' Yes, I was brought up under the Santa Claus doctrine, but I am net much of an advocate of Santa Claus. I can't#see where there is any good in teaching the children deception. They i learn to lie soon enough. Yes, I remember well about the old hi? wide fire place at home. And in those days all of our good old mothers smoked their pipes and there were holes built on the inside of the chimneys about ten inches square which were called ?tcok holes. They would 1 i *- \ ] keep their nome maae looaccu ami pipes in these holes?and .1 would stick a rod of some kind in one of those holes and let it extend out some distance from the tire to hang my stocking on and when I awoke on Christmas morning which was usually before day, I would rush to the tire place to see what old Santa had brought me?and I never failed to fir(1 a couple of red apples, some candy. a pack or two of fire crackers, and now you may be sure that there was a happy boy at the old country home. Yes, I too remember that it hardly ever happened that Christmas failed to bring: a beautiful white snow which would generally keep the earth covered for several days and when the fsnow began to melt the little birds; I would flock to the uncovered places ! of the earth, hunting for something to eat. Somehow, i was always very 'anxious to kill or to catch the little | ! (birds. I would make a dead-fall out iof a piece of plank, put some crumbs | of bread under it, tie a long string to ; jthe trigger, and conceal myself as; well as I could. Very often I would trap a little snow hopper. The larg-! or children soon taught me a now: way to catch birds. They told me; to just set some salt and throw on the bird's tail and I would have no trouble in picking him up. And sure enough I wasted a good deal of mother's salt following the little birds, but I never managed to get any on their tails. Yes, I was up to date on the rabbit i box business. There were raibbits by the hundreds those days. The negroes were slaves and were not allowed to hunt very much. My older brother j was an expert in the rabbit box bus- i iness. He seemed to know just which j side of the fence to set the boxes on ' and very often we caught from three to four in one night. I remember one morning we went to look at our box- J es and our old dog generally went! with us. The first rabbit we took' from the gum my brother stuck him ! and Jaid torn down tor deau. .But ne didn't lay there very long before he arose to his feet and the only thing we could see was his white tail bouncing through the pines. We put the old dog in behind him and it was not long before he treed him in a hollow tree in old Uncle Abraham Moore's woods. We didn't want to cut Mr. Moore's big oak down but Brother Drait said we *ould have that rabbit if it took the balance of the day. So we went to the house and got some rags-and lire and put it in the hole behind the rabbit. When the smcke be- j gan to shoot up the hollow tree the J rail/bit- thought it was getting rather rough in there and he made his way back near the place he went in. Then we took out tin* nre ana my orotner reached his hand in the hole and brought out the old gentleman with the hair pretty well all singed ofT his hind legs. We saw that he had bled pretty freely but we thought we would try another plan on him. Broter took a stick and gave him two or three licks on the head and laid him dcwn again for dead. We looked around to see if the fire was rll out and when we turned to get our rabbit we could only see the glimpes of him going back through the woods like a! drove of field larks in a whirl wind. , tv We had often heard of cats having ^ nine lives so we concluded that this CO rfibbit was mixed with cat and we * . . . , v v . ! would nave no mo-re to go wun nun. m I thought if you were not tired of reading: I would mention the Christ- pj mas exercises over at Union on Fri- Uj; day afternoon, December 23rd. The ta weather was all that could be asked th for and a large crowd was present. gC The exercises began-at the appointed gT hour with song by the school, "Siler.it Nlgbt," and most fitting prayer by ar .Rev. McKecwn. Mr. M. L. Strauss made a few remarks in the way of or introductory and welcome. By this s-( time the house was packed to an un- rj( ccmforts'ble extent. Rev. ,J. B. liar- cc] man was the next speaker. He said dr when he came into this community, he thought of meeting with strangers co but found most of the faces familiar iy, to him. Rev. Harman spoke briefly ?t upon the line of education and paid y.t the teacher, Mrs. Bessie Pu.^h, a very ri( high compliment, saying lie had \V preached behind her teaching, and he er know she was one of the best teach- ta ers in the county. He then spoke of the blessed old story, beginning with is the premise after man became a vie- j tim of sin, and telling of the fulfill- j ment at the time the wise men of the! East were led by the star to the hum-! - - - ' i * t . _ i.t_ _ r? _ I bio place in ?5etftienem wnere tne ou- j viour was bcrn. He grave the true j spirit of Christmas, saying that the ! birth and life of Christ was a lessoir of service and that it is more blessed to serve than to be served. Col. Aull was a little late. He j came in during the time Rev. Harman ! was speaking and pushed his way; through the packed aisle near the j front and Mr. John C. Xeel came in behind him, and we were sorry that! Mr. Xeel had to stand during the timehe stayed in the house. There was i " - -r-- u.:? ; rcany nci room xui mm iu clcihu comfortably. After ihe conclusion of the Rev. i i Harman's speech Cel. Aull was then | introduced. He first told the children! that he was not going to talk very j long and keep them away from the ! presents that hung upon the tree. j Col. Aull spoke along the line of co-l operative fpirit, which is not only] iv, -of having a better school; but the only means of making any-! fhir.ir better. He advocated an 8 mills ta>: upon the property of the, " district, savins: that there were a cou-i ' * J pie of generous hearted men in the district who had subscribed liberally to supplement the fund to enable the school to run seven months. But this was no; the proper way to raise mon' I Condensed statement j The Commerci; at the c\ Loans and Investment Overdrafts secured an< liberty Bonds (unpled Cash on hand and in be Capital Stock Surplus and Profits.... Dividend No. 49 due Ja Bills Payable Deposits We wish our custom' New Year. It gives us cellent statement of ou a prosperous one, and bring even greater pros The clouds of inactivity to a very marked chan: of endeavor during the JNO. M. KINARD, Pi J. Y. McFi F uttmt JL J. J. 'N J. y r* "The Bank t frt -Knilfl inn ,1 school. Col. Allll CFl rsed what Rev. Harman said in mpliment to Mrs. Pugh. When Col. Aull was through speak-1 g Mr. John C. Neel was called to' e front. He said while he owned operty in the district he would urge >on the people to vote on a 10 mills x which was the only plan to make e school what it ought to be, that iod roads and good schools were the eatest hope of a country. The tree was beautifully decorated id the teacher had prepared 32 cks of fruit and candy which hung 1 the tree, one for each scholar, be- ; :les a number of other gifts of va-' , i aus kinds, which were all distrmut-1 ! bv old Santa Claus, and the chilt en were made happy. Then a fish pond and a cake walk j included the exercises of the even- I i g. The school spirit of Union is j ill growing and if the trustees and itror.s will stand by the teacher the ; ;xt Christmas exercises that are held ill be in a new building where ev- j ybody can be comfortably enter- J allied. A happy Xcw Year to one and all , the greeting of your humble friend, j T. J. W. I l I i j ~ To abort a cold and prevent complications take j faiotalbs ! ! J The purified and refined calomel tablets that arc nausealess, safe and sure. Vest pocket size, 10c; large family package, 35c. Beware of im:*aI: ens. ; Statement: from report to State Bank ] Condition of il Bank of Newbei i 1 O 1 If lose oi Dusmess oibi uvl*. jlc RESOURCES: ;s d unsecured ged) inks LIABILITIES: muary 1,1922 v#" ers and friends a prospero pleasure to call attention t r bank showing- that the pas we confidently expect tht perity to our customers and r are rapidly passing, and w ge for general improvemen j i noo ; guuu yvai esident. VLL, Vice Pres. and Cashie LOYD BRADLEY, Asst. C HUNT & HUNTER, Attys. lev/berry, S. C. hat always treats yoi The conditi< The Bank of at the close of business Dei RESOURCES Loans & Discounts Building & Fixtures Bonds Cash on hand Total LIABILITIE Capital Stock Surplus & Profits Dividend unpaid Deposits Money borrowed Total DR. GEO. Y. HUNTER, President DR. JACOB S. WHEELER, V J. F. BROWNE, Cashie J. A. COUNT Will be at B. A stable s, Wed tie nary 4th, to b of Mules from 4 old. Clyne i '' 1 ammmm mmm i i i i , ? i Examiner of the ry, S. C. )21. ...$ 825,681.60 732.06 ... 140,950.00 ooo ntin qc &OLi,yjO I .cu $1,199,421.64 ...$ 50,000.00 ... 112,337.56 3,000.00 50,000/:$ 984,084.08 $1,199,421.64 us and happy ,o the above exit year has been ; New Year to friends at large. ;e look forward t along all linec. i r. ashier. i right" on of Prosperity cember 31,1921 > 5308,667.84 4,000.00 47,675.00 26,035.85 S38fi.S78.69 s $ 25,000.00 20,759.82 1,000.00 339,618.87 None $386,378.69 ? ice Pres. r. S, Asst. Cashier. Illll Hi nihil illWIWWffiM k. Havircfs 1 T sday9 j aiioy one car - io 9 vears J 8 D I orus. I