The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, December 06, 1922, Image 5

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National Seer> Before Charlc ( t: .J , .C(< . .f <t . ', ? * ' > > > . ;??? , : 1 -' 1 ,y'"lVT ADDRESS BY COD. IIAKVIE JORDAN, NATIONAL SBCRE" ' TARY AMERICANCOTTON " ASSOCIATION, ON. "THE MENACE OF THE COTTON BOLL WEEVIL AND PRACTICAL CONTROL METHODS." DELIVERED BEFORE A GATHER- ' ING OF SPINNERS, BANKERS AND FARMERS ,.AT CHAR- . I LOTTE,, N. C., NOV. $3RP : ... The gravity of the crisis confronting the cotton industry in the United States cannot be praraU.eled by any situation previously facing the growers since cotton was first pi&mea in tnis country more than one hundred years ago. So' long as soil, climate and labor were the only nefcessary requirements to produce cotton, the South grew, the staple in abundance and each year harvested a surplus beyond the world's requirements. , The cotton-growing industry in this country is now facing disaster from serious curtailment in. production because of the ravages of an insect destructive to the fruitage of tho cotton plant and which science and the practical efforts of tho growers seem powerless to overcome. , . The cotton boll weevil first invaded practically 95 per cent of the entire cotton area, reaching now into the central and northern tiers of counties in North Carolina. The widespread destruction of the cotton crop from this insect for the past two years has been far greater than at any period in the history of infestation. In this connection, the statistics carefully gathered by the United States Government .give a startling account of the appalling disasters to the crop wrought by the weevils during the past few years, and to which I invite your very serious attention: Table of losses from boll weevil infestation expressed in bales bf 500 pounds of lint, since 1016, as compiled by the United StateB Department of Agriculture: Year. Bales. 1016 2,994,000 1917 2,095,000 1918. . .2,325,000 1919 .2,780.000 1920... 4,595,000 1921 6,277,000 At an average selling price of 16 cents per pound, the amount of destroyed cotton by these rapacious 'insecta'in 1921, represents a total net loss from that spurce alone of $470,775,000 in gold or its equivalent, to the purchasing and debt-paying power of the people of the cotton BtateB. r eWflolTSWfyof 1921, amount--* Ing to 7,900,000 bales, was the smallest production in the past quarter of a century. With a largely increased cotton acreage In | 1922, the total production for this season will hardly exceed 9.G00,000 bales, which, with the exception of the heavy disaster in 1921, will be thp smallest crop produced fl.'nce 1901. The net losses to the growers in production this year, due to widespread weevil infestation and dam ago, may be safely estimated at 4,000,000 bales, which, at an average Helling price of 20 cents per pound" represents another tptal aggregate loss of $400,006,.00(?.^, The weevil Infestation now spreads over, the entire cotton belt from Southwestern Texas to the Northern tier of counties in North Carolina, covering practoally 97 per cent, of the total cotton area. TILE AMERICAN COTTON CROC AN INDUSTRY OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE. The total producton of cotton of all kinds in foreign countries does not exceed an annual growth of 8,000,000 bales. The world textile j consumption of cotton at the present time is about 20.000,000 bales per annum. The United States must, therefore, furnish at leust 12,000,000 bales of cotton annually, if the spindles and looms of the world are to be IrAnt in nnorntlnn tn - ?? ?1-- iv l?C needs of civilization for cotton clothing and other fabrics for which lint cotton is used. But for the largo surplus of American cotton produced in 1920, there would necessarily be many millions of spindles closed down for the want of raw Cotton. The short crops of cottop produced in tho South during 1921 and 1922 would only provide sufficient staple to meet the needs of American and Canadian mills, with only a small surplus to be carried in stockH, without permitting any exports of raw cotton to leave this country. Foreign mills , depend upon the ! {7nlted States for at least 8,000,000 bales of cotton annually under normal consumptive requirements, and this demand, if supplied during last year and this year, ' had "* there been no large surplus In 1920, would have left no cotton for our domestic mills. * v The Hlirnllin nf Amnrloan brought over from 1920 has rt'ow boon absorbed and the supplies ot raw cotton for the future to. meet domestic and foreign demands tor the American staple Was reached a aeriouB stage of acuteness which can only be relieved by the production of at least thirteen or four-' v t^en -m llftOff bAJea in '?##1.'! r>; -?n "in" vieV^ofih^ -fact tWht the \ - h etary Speaks Me Gathering, ? ... v'- ,v i world's cotton textile "industry depends 'tljtontho United States tor about 84 per -csnt of -the-.wqrlA'a cotton of 7r8^. inch . staple and , above,, .th^.. extreme seriousness of the present situation becomes quite cleaf'lh otriphasizinifthe American cotton crop' as a National and. in<ternational necessity of the deepest concern. V I v. The cotton industry oft ,.the United States is the most valuable monetary asset of the N&tdoi), both as a 'domestic product and for" ?x| port. Tb<^e..are.mojre people cm] .ployed an<i capital invested in,the, production and manufacture . of : cotton in this'country than in any other single industry. The exports of American cotton have held and maintained the bal:.ance of trade jn favor of the United States in its international commerce for many years. The problem of the rehabilitation of thfe-cotton-growing' industry "must, therefore, be considered, not fiom a local or sectional standpoint, but as a problem of the deepest national concern. The correct solution of the boll weevil menace must not be left to the growers alone or to the Ineffectual 1 efforts of governmental weevil ex| perts, but every department of the cotton industry and every business I directly or indirectly denendent | upon the cotton crop should Give whole hearted support and coop| oration toward practical and efficient methods of boll weevil conj trol which have been tried ou'. with | success by many successful far| mers in the heavily infested boll weevil areas. LARGE PROPORTION OF COTTON GROWERS IS SMALL TENANT AND SHARE-CROPPER FARMERS WIIO MTST RE REACHED AND ENCOUR| . AGED TO SUCCESS BY PRAC. TICAIi AND EFFICIENT LEADERSHIP. * i< It has .been fully demonstrated that cotton can be profitably grown under boll' weevil conditions. ' The methods employed in many instances are simple and inexpensive. The general application of these methods, already I known to be successful, must be secured by the great masses of the small tenant and share-cropper farrners who are largely left to ' their own deviceo by the absentee landlord' ; it has b?en established by practice "that the cotton Btalks must be plowed up before frost; the tor rac^s, ditoh banks and hedge rows cleaned off or burnejl before cold I .weather,; that In _ _P. ...a a well i pulverizod seed bod muct be preI "fja'red'f that weli selected seed must be planted; that liberal fertilization is irx perative; that not exceeding eight acres can be safely planted in cotton per plow and that the culture of the growing plants must be r apid and often until the Crop is matured, which means the intensive culture of cotton so as. to increase the yield of good quality cotton per acre. The cot'ton rows should be close and the plants thickly spaced in the drills.. Every effort must bo i matfo to push fruitage and matur| ity by .the.middle or.-latter part of I July.1 When the. weevils, firpt apj pear on the young plants tne inseedfl must be picked and destroyed. The infested squares in May must be carefully gathered i and burned. Poisons must be ap| plied to the young plants In liquid | or .powdered form by the simple r and inexpensive devices now recommended. The spread and propI agatlon of insects must be checked i on every cotton farm infested during the months of May and June i in order to prevent the heavy migration of the weevils, beginning j about the. 15th of July, which destroys the crop. If the multiplied millions of the insects can be prevented by weevil control methods actively employed on every farm, there will be no extensive migration and the fruitage of the crop can be saved. The cotton crop in heavily infested areas is destroyed each year bv ...^ jimuonB of insects that are propagated on fields where no efforts are made for weevil control/ and so long as this condition Is allowed to continue, the production; of cotton will not only be extremely hazardous to all the. growers, but must necessarily result in an abnormally high cost of production due to extreme shortage in yield. The methods of ' culture and weevil control which I have outlined to you are simple and inexpensive, which every farmer, large or small, can adopt with success if all the growers are reached and -shown what to do. This can bo done by the establishment of one or. more demonstration cotton farms in each infested county rand the placing of the proper literature : and directions in the hands ' of every grower in such counties; Such a campaign will necessarily cost a considerable sum of money but which in the aggregate will be infinitesimal computed to the enornious "Tosses which are each year taken from the crop by. the weevils and the destruction o'f the pUrcJja?r ing and debt-paying power of r so many thousands of cotton grhw^ra. During ,th<* tw.o-ywB-itiBny' thousands of the small one and 1 two?hor?e renters and( share-cropper farmers h'&vV left the cottnp . fields Kast of-ehe 'fiA'salsdlppi HMHMNMteaEdMliMH .V.1-?m v :% . ... **? ?.?>.vS .--ii >..?- c. J , ^ ^Rrate^l industrial caters. In i order i'o provde a Uvlns wage for Hhemfselveg-and families. This is especially-true of . Ihe . ' negro . (farmers who .constitute-the j mf\~ ,.r Jority percentage of the .lspor engaged 'in' cotton production, ' The 'hlosihg'of our ports to fore!tf^'emigration has-created a demand by Northern industries . for, ; negro . labor and the, Sputh Ofl'V. invites an attractive fieild from which to,draw that'class of labor. ' v - ; If this exodus of negro ' farm labor-from the cotton belt cpBtipues, it meanB tht. vast tracts of land heretofore planted In cotton and other staple Hariri products will lie dormant because there Is no other source frbm which farm labor^ can. bp drawn.; Better 'living conditions and higher yages must bj provided for the labor on'cottoh fafms oir the'present ' serious eXodus of su6h tabor will contitiue to northern industries. The>problem can only" be met , and BOlved by teaching the masses of the cotton growers hovy to successful^ "overcome the boll weevil * menace and maintain the price 'of cotton oh a profitable basis to the growers. The people of this great Republic have overcome every vital economic, problem which has confronted them since 1776, and it must no* be said that the AngloSaxon race has gone down into defeat and despair before the rapacious presence of an insect. Heretofore there has heen no widespread concerted effort made for practical weevil control so as to reach all the growers and enlist their effective cooperation. The United States Department of Agriculture has maintained a weevil laboratory at Tallulali," Louisiana, for a number of years and Federal experts have carried on experimental work in many sections of the belt. Last year the VirginiaCarolina Chemical Company established demonstration farms in forty-three counties in four states and. the results were most satisfactory in every instance, indicating that cotton can be profitably grown under heavily infested weevil conditions by the adoption of simple and practical methods already estab nsfied. Scientific Investigation and experiments should continue even upon a much larger scale than heretofore, but the methods which are already known to be successful, if properly applied, should be carried to and impressed upon every farmer in the boll weevil area. This work the American Cotton Association will. undertake on a large scale if those who are inter' ested in the speedy rehabilitation . of the cotton-growing industry will furnish prompt financial support ? and cooperation. . The American Cotton - Associa- . . tion can reach 600,000 cotton grow-' era through its Journal, COTTON NEWS. Its close affiliated connections in the cotton-growlfig counties will enable the Association to easily organise, a demonstration cotton farm in-alt-of * the' ' cotton counties heavily infested with weevils in 1923, The Association has the facilities and machinery foir doing this work more effectively and efficiently than any '"other organization or agency in the South. The old system of credits tiy supply merchants and local banks to cotton growers, based upon, an extensive acreage in cotton, has - ceased to operate, and the great masseB of the growers find them selves upon their own individual resources which aje extremely limited as a*refluit of tho deflation I period oir'ld20 and 1921,. The ex- 1 traordindf-y- hazards of growing cotton under boll wefeVll conditions and the average high cost of pro- * ductlon due to limited yields of lint cotton per aero, are combining to make tho industry unattractive and <. unprofitable to many thousands of the growers both black and white. To overcome these serious difficulties during this period of recon- ' struction and rehabilitation of the industry will call for the united support and effective cooperation of the Government, State and Fedprfll Qnrl n 111J A " M...V4 u niiiinKuuvH on me pan of the general banking, manufacturing and bigness interests of the whole country. The problem is too extensive and acute to be sat- ' isfactorily solved by the growers unaided. A third continuous disaster to the American cotton crop will not only magnify, discouragement among the growers, but it will greatly retard and disorganize the cotton spinning interests of this country and abroad. Jt will mean, enormous prices for cotton and cotton goods Which the world population is in no condition to pay. The sensible policy at this time to pursue is to determine upon a rational widespread campaign of ? education among the growers which will enable them to grow profitable crops of cotton upon the most economic basis of production; to encourage the growers that the boll weevil menace can be overcome through the Intensive culture of cotton and an encreetlfi ?nniioo Won of- weevil control methods on every cotton fayix).,.. The hour tor. united effort^ to preserve the great staple crop of " this country from future disaster jp has struck, arid I 'beg ybUr. most , serious consideration of the; mat ters to which your attention has been ^called. . U 4? better to treatand'cure a pending calamity . than to await" Its occurence. The ericatt Cotton Association With its . splendidly -organised < - rriachlriory 4 covering every county inthe" ddt-*' ton belt and its. extensiyjp facilities for publicity to reach the growers, staridAr'ready \d do Its' fulf duty and In the imperatively needed } cam, i paifcn w.htoh JiSBMihead. your supk. , ,4?ort m most urgently ^egijrqd' PRia?Ay? PROFlTAHLK BOL.F WEEVIL. RATION liKFORK PLSJS Experimental work can be con- j ' tinufd,.,by tftow who arc seeding. more ?ri>eilive and 'definite niejthod of boil w*eVlt cbntrol than. la fknown ttft^esent. At tfcir-' sdi&e' time, enough la Jtnown to tno^le i; every^pttpji farmer to >? profltible'yifeld of cotton in i?2S,_ it. metbo<f&1*&lren.dytrled out end" proven' febcbesaful are active# utll'4aed by every grower in : every oounjy. Scattered, efforta ; here and there will not prove successful. Too many farmers Were indifferent . this year and, consequently,' loet their ^rbps. No man can grow a Rood crop of cotton who leaves .his fields at the merey-.of the Insects. The ; manij n >?v uuvbu v UIAAO Up Hit* 1111HU 1U .be as diligent as saving his crop from weevil depredation' as the weevils are to destroy it, had better leave ' cotton off; his program ' next year. It will be economy for him ancL his neighbors. Every field of cotton that has been picked should be promptly plowed.' Corn and hay fields should be turned under. Ditch banks, terraceB and hedge rows should be cleaned off and the trash burned. A cotton farm shouiji be made so clean In the fall of ths year that a weevli will wear himself obt hunting for' a cover crop in which to hibernate through the- cold weather of winter. The fewer the number of old weevils there are to come into the fields next spring after the young cotton plants are up, the easier and quicker it will be to destroy them. Old stumps in the fields should be blasted! or burned out. Bark on dead trees near the fields should be stripped off as that is ohp of the most attractive peaces for large quantities of weevils to winter behind. If the cotton stalks cannot be turned under, they should be ripped out and as they die the weevil larvae will also be killed and such adult weevils as remain in the field. Cotton should never follow cotton., Where grain or othpr crops were grown this year, cotton should be planted next year. Its never safe to risk planting more than eight acres to the plow in cot nn Knll aa?.4IW.? was irwvtl UUUUlUUIlO. KWgjROEnC WEEVIL CONTROL, METHODS IN MAY AND JUNE WIUj WIN THE FIGHT. A .jUjoroughly pulverised ' seed bed Is the first step toward preparation for the crop nest spring. The - application ^ of a high-grade 9-8-3 fertilizer, at the rate of. 400 to 500. pounds per acre, or about two??gps tp the plow, should be used,' especially in those sectionswhere cntemlcal fertilizers are usted.i Jih, tHe.South; Atlantic and Middle "Ghilr States east of the Mississippi' Delta" cotton cannot be profitably growh Without high or liberal fertilization of some kind. It is useless..?$ depend upon the natural .fertility of the soils in.those states because the crop must'be rushed to lhaturlty dnd the artificial application of- plant, food is imperative to get quick growth and frultage.t Chemical nitrates and arse nic_ poisons are both said to be quit$ Scarce and advancing 1.'. price," so that orders for these necessary goods Ahould be placed as promptly as possible. Disappointment is certain next spring if purchases arc delayed.. Manufacturers will not stock up unless they attfWsed ahead as to the de ififchd. ' After the cotton Is chopped to a stand and weevils are found in the fields, activities to destroy them should be at once started. This can be done by picking the adult weevils andf first punctured squares, or the tops or tne pianis can oe pui?oneu by the mm of molasses-water-arsenato mixture appliod with a small mop. at the end of a stick, or calcium arsenate in powdered form can be applied. "Whatever method is pursued it must be prompt and efficient. The destruction of one pair of old weevils early in the season may prevent the propagation of several millions In sixty to nin'ety days. If every cotton farmer "will Work to clear his fields ot the early infestation it will prevent the propagation of millions later on aud, check the fearful ravages of the crop from the migratory flight ?-ot--the insects -shortly -after Juiy 15th each year. To save the crop, this migration of myriads of the insects must be checked. This can only be done If every grower will do hlri duty In May and June. Fields which are not protected and left to the mercy of - the weevils will be the undisturbed breeding places for millions of the insects which will not oniy destroy* the rrultage or etich fields, but will invade other farms -whore proper weevil methods have been made and destroy the crops thore as well. ltv must- oe borne in mind that ther-yeC*vils travel "from 60 to 126 -miles-'from -July 16th to September . .16th, and not .only neighbors ipM8* . .worK together to: prevent this perennial migration; bjtt every cotfnty In tfcd'Infected territory must chop-" erh<e fbHhe-'same end. 'If1 the miv. graUwr-bertodcan be held in c^eck : and Ogetfidds.cleared of the weev-' /M** an^ ^une, a good1 crop of cotton can be grown in 1923. IV " fd sffri&y up loathe growers Whethr er they shelf-win inr'tifelf Efforts to t v make urcrop oc whether the1 weevils shotlvbe allowed; to contihue. .to). , d^ptroy. several, million, bales Of caV. ton eo badly needed.by the world as wAf W the /itfnfe'fsT ' : i rmrY'i TrAT *OF?RD~ NBWjsi ;-v^SrWto -r, . \% |,, . .,r?. j tfhehealtb,of this eoifctnurjuy 1* ;i Yiirly good afth'a writfnfe. Therd in n. dlwvtiHe preVdfesirtj among a fat >hb?ft hereabouts kaoVn' 3tf head- ,j ache and aOfo throat, from which several'have1 died aid the probabilU . ' ties - a'rathat" m6re wtl 1 follow t soon. j Mr, Lioyd Ounter" 'and- wife' ylalted the'latte^s brothelr, 4df.r-C." *1^ Rlsh. last Sunday. '* * Wlra". Sarah JdnC ^isW' hfear Gilbert htirt been Bpendng 'sometime down on 'Tllaek Creek with he* daughter, ^ Mrs. Agrriea Hall man. ? "v \ * * Mr . an\l Ho'ward ah(iylcWkI- * ren were lakt;Sunday's gw6at Mr; ' and lira. "C. Hi eh. 1. *. * Mrer.'SiL. Robertson visited Mrs. a Li. A*.' Howard Ids}'- Saturday' even- i ing. ' Mrs. H. A. HoVard Visited Mrs. a Efflo Rish last Monday evenjng. .... r Mr. Fayette Rish has'moved- on j Mrs. Nezzie Crout't place near here ^ where he' will engage in ' farming 'next year. " ' Mir. J. T. Hall man 'has moved ' from near Crout'a Mill on Black 'Creek to near his" father's. Miss Jessie Robertson and brother, v - "* Klenny, made a business trip to'Leesville last Tuesday. i Mr. E. F. Kyser Is"now driving J, his new "John Henry" and letting u old "Fan" rest. Let "er go Bill. If you want to enjoy a handsome ^ new car or some spondooKx hustle ^ in the subscription campaign. Some- ? body is going to win. I NEWS FROM ST. MATTHEWS. _ 6 The health of this community is || very well at present. Mr. and Mrs. .L. M. Steele and children spent Sunday at Mr. C. P. McCartha's. WHY LOOK OLD! Gray Hair Tells the Tale One Visit to the A LaMode Beauty Shop Solves the Problem. 1 h - ^ : 1 ' ' . . . j ..i 'V;-rjTirfr- i ii n . .MANS FR Endicott-Jc WORK SH * . ' * ' ' ' - . * The best known work shoes Comfort have won for them th ^ WITH MILLIONS OF FEIEN1 .... ..k f - \JL IThis Blucher in - jegj brown and Black Elk is built for ex* /$3m3 ceedingly long ser- MMW vice. Very wggflgj moderately priced at $3.25 " Visit 6\ir Bargain Basement ai other values in good Shoes for Lever's Bargai 1613 Main St. r i -n' ' .. ^i | THE IfNtVB We wish to annou have oil hand a i cars and we are ea - carload in a few J Also several iised DuPreAutt : : j fk-irfw vvjj --r ?i ? * *?' '. ?V4?'.VJi ?: l>exingt*i ft imffiWtnu Mr* and -Mrs. Art-hie Kefcler spent Sunday-.with tb?- former's parents, ;gp|j^P8 ' .n<? chcld&?*ipfeiit Sunday *Hth Mrs. 3a?lJ**fftoi*% parents, Mr. *nd Mrs. V.;D; 6MH(ii J* tmH ^ EW-. iteafer tnade a bueiieae trip to thd city Saturday. 1 - ' .v Mr; Rudolph Keister dined arith rlr. Cromer -Keosldr Sunday . l-CJUJas Oirirs: Keisler spent Sundap vjth 'MjU?8 Mae- And Lcswe :rout. Mr. JRenzor Ketolpr .-spent Sunday /ith Messrs.- Sila,s-and Gnllle ICdls Mr. J. H.' K?Mer tfnd ! family pent Sunday* ttftemoorlAt Mr. J. A. teieler*s. Mr. -and Mrs. Oren -Ii'ndler have new visitor at -their -house. You nay. be : sure he is vefcy ' welcome. it.' Llndler is" wearing a 'smile as >road as-hiA-face because,'* Ifs a boy. Mr. and Mrs... J. A. Cfrout and on, Caiiieon, spent Sunday at Mr. . A. Kelsler's. . M/ss. Annie Keialer spent Sunday rith Xise B^hel McCartha. v Mr. and-Airs., Fletcher Price'vlstcd Mr.. .Price'a slater. Mf. and Irs. Maxie Crout at Lexington Satirday night and Sunday. Air; and Mrs. J. M. Keialer and Irs. Lona Ptflce, weVe shoppers in .eesville Saturday evening.' Quite a umber of folks visited at Mr. Oren .intlier's Sunday. ^m HEDGEPATH PICTURE FRAMING SHOP.?Pictures framed in all kinds to suit your order. Automobile wind shields .and head lights. Seasonable' prices for first class worfc. .Mail orders given prompt attention. Phone 3089. 1047 Main ptreet, Coljunfeija. 8. C. lt-p " i i" m mm I in n IEND r " \ ~ ihnson's IOES " ... in the world. Wear and ie name of "THE SHOES >S." - . ii i ffTinini^* ad see this and many the Whole Family. n Basement Columbia, S. C. . I / . J&Ctr R3AL CAR nee that we now number of new peeling another t&ys." cars on hand. Vi.ir v?irv , >>. rCompany ^: -v-nV* .^ ' / ' '. ' * i.,?y;',':;''> *':" V'V - ;: V >'.4 * / '< s ^ ' \:';'M