^
COKER GIVES COST
OF MAKING COTTON.
Facta and Figures All Should Know
Concerning South's Great Crop. |
The Coker Cotton Company, of
Hartsville, of which Mr. David R.
Coker is president, has Just sent out
to its customers a cotton news letter
which in comparatively brief space
covers the sttuatiou of the South to
' day 1q a way that is exceptionally in-^
forming and comprehensive. Mr.
Coker discusses the cost of making
cotton and the effect upon the South
and the country of the present low
prices and gives facts and figures
which ought to'be known to all. His
letter follows:
As the staple situation has shown
very little change since dur letter of
December 1, we thought that our,
customers might like to have us discuss
the cost of the production of
cotton and its relation to the present
and future situation. We believe that
few outside of the South, and by no
means all m the South, realize the
distressing features of the present
situation or are able to diagnose
their effect upon the civilizution of
the South and the future ot the cotton
industry. A brief consideration:
of the facts, however, will promptly
convince everyone interested in the
^ (industry, whether in the North or
f *- -** the South, that there is 110 future
for it at present prices and that a
continuation of present conditions
would threaten the civilization of the
South.
Government statistics show that
the everage production of lint cotton
in the South is between one-third
and four-tenths bales per acre, but
in order to show how impossible the
present situation is we are going to
first discuss production figures under
the ideal conditions of a bale per
acre production at 15 cents?a price
abo\e the present market.
Tl-e bulk of the crop of the South
is produced on a share crop system,
the most popular share contract in
this section being one under which
the landowner furnishes the land,
buildings, planting seed and fertilizers
and the tenant furnishes the livestock,
tools and labor. Ginning and
baling expenses are divided. Land
lord and tenant divide the cotton
equally, but the landlord receives all
of the seed. Under this plan let us;
see what would be the returns to;
landlord and tenaut on a tewenty -j
acre crop of cotton producing one
bale per acre.
Returns of an Ideal Furni.
The farm will contain about thirty
acres including a little woodland and
a few acres for corn and other minor
crops. If the land is good enough to
produce a bale per acre a fair valuation
for the farm including buildings
will be between $6000 and:
$10,000. A minimum charge for rent
on the cotton land, therefore, to cover
interest, repairs and taxes would
be not less than $25 per acre. The
landlord expecting a bale of cotton
per acre would buy not less than $20
wort!, of fertilizer per acre for the
cotton and, as he must exercise supervision
over his croppers, a charge
of $5 per acre for supervision should
be made. The total of these expenses
is $51 per acre. His returns will be
uu?~ uuu uuie 01 cotton at ia cents?
$37.50; seed, $10; total $47.50; less
one-half ginning. $3. Gross income,
$4 4.50 per acre. These figures show
a net loss to the laud owner of $5.50
per acre. Some may object to the;
charging of rent and supervision toi
crop expenses. To this we answer!
that these are necessary preliminary j
expenses for ciop production with-'
out which capital cannot be secured.
To make this crop the tenant furnishes
u mule and'feed costing per,
year $125; depreciation on implements,
taxes, etc., $25; hire for pick-;
ing ten bales of cotton, $150; onehalf
ginning, $60; total, $360, besides
tlie labor of himself, wife and
throe children.
Receipts from ten bales of cotton
at 15 cents per pound $760
Expenses besides labor of family 360 !
I.nlanPA
Divide this amount by 305 and you
get the magnificent sum of $1.07 per lay
Willi which the tenant must pur-,
chase clothing, shoes and household '
equipment and must supply a large;
part of the food for tlie family and
besides must pay the doctor and!
tbe preacher if they are paid. It is j
true that the tenant raises some corn I
a few vegetables, and sometimes has!
a pig or a few chickens. The pitiful
poverty under which most of them
live, however, keeps them moving
from place to place, the average
term of farm tenancy being about i
two years, and it is the exception ra-j
ther than the rule for the tenant to
have any livestock besides his mule
or any poultry.
Please note that with cotton at 15
cents per pound $1.07 is the maximum
amount that a tenant can receive
for the labor of himself, his
wife and three children in producing
the ideal yield of one bal? of cotton
per acre on twenty acres and this isi
a larger acreage than the average
one-horse crop in this section and
must be further curtailed this year.
The item for picking ten hales is absolutely
necessary for the tenant and
his family cannot gather more than
half the crop in time to prevent seri-;
our deterioration of the grade.
Please remember that the average
production in the South is less than
four-tenths bales per acre. The production
in this State, however, for;
the past year has slightly exceeded!
one-half bale per acre. Based on one-,
half bale production, the tenant far-j
nier's expenses would be reduced by,
fhn Item of ni/.hln? ? 1 C A rwl l.Alf
i.(*v item v? pivaiufj, yi ou, unci nan >
of the ginning, $30, making his ex-j
penses $180 instead of $360. He
would receive for his half share of
ten bales $375, leaving $185, or 51
cents per day for the sustenance of
his family. But at least half Uie ten-i
ant farmers make less than one-half
bale per acre in South Carolina or
less than one-third bale per acre in
the rest of the cotton belt except
In North Carolina. How can these
i?
THE DILLON MKRA1
I
people keep body and soul together
much leas maintain a decent a tan-'
dard of citizenship. If cotton does
not advance materially?
Aftermath of War "Prosperity"
During the years 1917. 1918 and
1919 we had a period of comparative
prosperity in the South during which!
both the landowner and tenant class-1
en made more money than they ever!
dreamed of. Many, however, never!
having Been a hundred dollar bill be-!
fore, ha^ no training in thrift and'
spent their money without thought
of the morrow. Many are poorer citizens
today than they would have
beeu if we had not had this period of
prosperity, for, having hud a glimpse
of financial heaven and being again
plunged into the hell of nbject pover-;
ty, they are naturally bitter and discouraged.
The only remedy for the present,
situation upon which all seem to be
ugreed is acreage reduction. Most
cotton sections know no money crop
except cotton. How can the hindowner
or tenant figure to keep body
and soul together on a greatly reduced
acreage of cotton even if the
present price is doubled? Yet they
must somehow do this if better pric-!
es are to be hoped for.
What the South needs is a steady'
price for cotton which will allow a
fair return to the landowner and de-|
cent wages to the tenant. At the.
piesent costs of the commodities
they must buy for crop making purposes.
30 cents is, we believe, the
lowest price which the industry (
snouut consider. Thirty cents will1
not pay the landowner or tenant on
the very restricted acreage that must
I) planted this year. It will give the
tenant farmer producing a bale to
the acre on ten acres only a little!
o\er $1.50 per day for the support j
of hi s family or about half of this if
hp makes a normal yield of one-half
bale per acre.
A few weeks ago the writer was
talking with a banker from West
Virginia who told him that he had
just O. K.'d a payroll for small
coal mine and that the average daily
pay of the laborers was over $17.40
per day. remarking that these laborers
were working six hours per day i
but that they were employed only 60 |
per cent of their time on account of |
car shortage. I have other evidence!
to show that the coal 'miners are receiving
at least ten times as much as
the cotton laborers, who are also paid |
far less than the laborers in the Western
wheat farms or in the mills of
ar.y section of the country.
o
Orchard Demonstrations This Week.
Editor Herald: ? Since sending out
my schedule for orchard work for
next week I find that Mr. Musser.
from Clemson can be with'me two
days instead of only one as first plan-|
? ? S g] ? H H S ffl @5
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i' Wa
| 5000 P
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41 Half Price S
| GOODS, SHC
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| FRIDAY, J
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1 WARD KcLADJ
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a Rowland, N. C.
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THE "OLD REUA
THEDFORITC
White Haired Alabama Lady Say:
and Go Bat The ''Old Reliab
Came am
Dutton, Ala.?In recommending Thedford's
Black-Draught to her friends and
neighbors here, Mrs. T. F. Parks, a welltnown
Jackson County lady, said: "I am
getting up in years; my head is pretty
...UUA 1
nunc. > nave accu meuiuncs ana remedies
come and go but the old reliable
came and stayed. I am talking of BlackDraught,
a liver medicine we have used
for years?one th?i can be depended upon
and one that will do the work.
"Black-Draught will relieve indigestion
and constipation if taken right, and I know
for I tried It. It is the best thing I have
ever found for the full, uncomfortable
U), Dm/NT. SOUTH OAHOUX1,
1 ??^????
ned. This will giro me a chance to
put on on? more demonatratlona in
the county. 80 Instead of the datee
and places stated in my letter of
Jan. 10th we will be at the following
places Instead: Tuesday. Jan. 18. at
10:00 e. m. at Mr. R. J. Dew"s orchard
one mile west of Latta. The
same day at 2:30 p. m. at Mr. L. L?.
Stephens' place In the Bermuda section:
Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 2:00 p.
m. at Mr. H. M. Rogers' place Just
above Little Rock. Thursday, Jen.
20. at 10:00 a. m. at Mr. Hiniard
Rogers' place near Lake View. The
sum0 day at 2:30 p. m. at Mr. B. R.
Roberts' place near'Fork.
At these demonstrations we will
bike up pruning, spraying, and
worming, and will b? glad to help
any one place orders for fruit trees
or spray pumps. If you are interested
in' orchard work I hope you will
attend one of the above demonstrations.
Yours very truly,
S. W. EPPS,
County Agent.
o
The War Finance Board.
Yorkville Enquirer.
As to whether the revival of the
v^ar finance corporation of the government
is going to tend to relieve
the situation in which the agricultural
interests of the country find
themselves, will depend largely upon
the manner in which the activities of,
the board are administered.
The activities of the war finance)
board have been revived over the!
i>i nn-iii s \eiu nnu aireaay tn^ indications
are that, having failed in !
its efforts to prevent the passage of|
the bill, the administration is going!
to see '? " that the benefits it hoped J
foi are not going to be realized.
For instance we are told that two
of the original five members have I
resigned and although the remaining
three constitute a quorum, Mr. Houston,
the chairman, is so "busy with
his other duties as secretary of the
treasury," that he will not have time
to look after the business of the
board and of course it is doubtful as
to whether the senate will confirm
the nomination of such new appointees
as the president may select.
That is not exactly the state of affairs
that the Yorkville Enquirer anticipated;
but the general effect is
exactly what was anticipated. This
administration has never been especially
noted for its respect for con
gross, or for the constitution either,
for that matter.
The Yorkville Enquirer recognizes
the desirability, even the absolute
necessity for deflation, and readjustment
as much as does President Wilson
or Secretary Houston; but at the
same time it believes that it has a
higher regard for common justice and
the eternal fitness of things in this
ibhbsbbbbsw
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EB
nted I
'EOPLE 1
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; Auction and g
ale of DRY
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jginning a
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AN. 21, at 11
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UN COMPANY, 1
Opposite Post Office gj
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BLACK-DRAUGHT
5 She Has Seen Medicines Come
le" Thedford's Black-Draught
1 Stayed.
feeling after meals. Soar stomach and
sick headache can be relieved by taking
Black-Draught. It aids digestion, also
ssists the liver in throwing off impurities.
1 am glad to recommend BlackDraught,
and do, to my friends and
neighbors."
Thedford's Black-Draught is a standard
household remedv with i
? - w...?j U IVW1U Vf
over seventy years of successful use.
Every one occasionally needs something
to help cleanse the system of impurities.
Try Black-Draught. Insist upon Thedford's,
the genuine.
At all druggists. u. 13
I m^Ti i ^ - teMi; -
THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY
connection.
If, instead of beginning a year
with a nation wide propaganda to the
farmers to produce and produce on a
basis of then inflated prices, all gov-*
ernmental and controlling financial
powers had sounded warnings of their
intentions and told the farmers what
to except, there 'would be no reasonable
ground for quarrel. Everybody
with a grain of sense knew that the
conditions of a year ago could not go
on indefinitely; but nobody except
the federal reserve board and the
most powerful centers of organized
finance could know whether it would
be this vear or nevf TTnrter th# <<ir.
cumstances the farmers have a right
to feel that they have been caught
in a deliberately laid trap.
But of course if the grain growers,
cotton farmers and stock raisers
had been honestly warned a year ago
as to what was coming, we would
not be having any deflation now, because
in the face of tremendously reduced
production, the country would
be paying for things about what they
are worth. Also, those people would
be in a position to pay what they
owe and continue business on their
own resources.
As the thing stands now it looks to
the Yorkville Enquirer as if big busi-l
ness is merely playing to wrest the
farmer's produce from his hands
CITATION.
The State of South Carolina County
of Dillon, by Joe Cabell Davis,
Probate Judge:
Whereas, B. A. Harrelson, Jr., has
made suit to me to grant unto him
letters of administration of the estate
and effects of B. A. Harrelson,
Sr.
These are, therefore, to cite and
admonish all and singular the kin
died and creditors of the said B. A.
Harrelson, Sr., deceased, that they
be and appear before me, in the
Court of Probate, to be held at Dillon
on Tuesday, January 25 next,
after publication hereof, at 10 o'clock j
in the forenoon, to show cause, if any
they have, why the said administration
should not be granted.
Given under my hand this 10th
day of January, Anno Domini, 1921.
JOE CABELL DAVIS,
Judge of Probate,
1 13 2t. Dillon County.
FINAL. DISCHARGE NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that S. D.
Graham, Executor of the estate of
Estha Scott, deceased, has made application
unto me for final discharge
as Executor and that Thursday, January
27th, 10 a. m. in the forenoon
has been appointed for the hearing
of the said petition.
All persons holding claims against
the said estate are requested to file
them with the Executor on or befor
10 a. m. in the forenoon on January
27th, or this notice will be plead in
bar of their recovery.
JOE CABELL. DAVIS.
Judge of Probate,
1 6 4t. Dillon County.
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at less than half Its value and then
make the ultimate consumer pay the
price that should have originally gone
to the farmer, leaving the profit in
hands of "big business" and leaving
the farmer flat on his back, poorer
than he was In 1914.
The revival of the activities of the
war finance board, directed in good
faith, can easily restore a good part
of the losseB that are now in prospect
for the, farmer. If the farmer
rF==C^^!^
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You need only
your eyes to b<
the Paige se
"Lakewood" mc
ly beautiful mo
But go just o
please, and take
stration behind
that is capable
miles per hour.
Then you will
car represents
important deve
field of six-cylii
6-66 l.akfuood 7~Po*iMQet 7
6-6ft Lurch nwnt III- /"winfl
6-66 Fit*- Pueeenjer Coup*
6-6C Set m I'tLteenQcr Sedan
All ?nodrl: k-ifl &
weahtle Shorn* tht
FAIGE-DETKOIT MO
M amnfteatteeert ctf Prntf* h
\ J. EARLI
I Dilloi
THE MOST BEAUTIF
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3D PRI
rtihzer M
Nitrate of Soda, 1
ate and Kainit.
represent The Am
mical Company and
ice on mixed goc
0. 8-3-3. and ft-l
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I1IIMMI llllh II mi mi 111 IIP
irin & Thoi
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can hold out for some sixty or ninety
days longer, he can probably recover
those losses regardless of whether
the w*r finance board functions or
not. Whatever happens, however, the
farmer should take waring now that^^p
under no circumstances must he rais^^Kr
this,year one pound or bushei mpr
of anything than he can raise tly/'
his own individual resources f
and cash, without having recot^ t'
extended credit. <v|
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1
the evidence of
5 convinced that ^
ven passenger *
del is a supreme- ~
tor car.
ne step farther,
5 a single demonthe
power plant
I of seventy-fivo 1
realize that this ,
one of the most *,k.,
ilopments in the j fXn\
ider engineering. J t
/h4 i Ijd be )
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'ourino ^ ir, $+7V*f.O. b. Drtroxt * ' _/lfi tffcblC*
irr Sport Yj,pc 2X9fi f.o.b. Detroit L# y
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37 Hi J. a. 6. UftiuU ^
f rxkibiirH at A uio- j m
tsufkjul ike conwtrj/ i
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iTOH CAR CO.. DRTROIT
(uWt Cmrt omd UUar truck*
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