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' -I V. v COTTON PRICES. Ex-Gov. Heyward's Address to The Farmers on the COTTON SITUATION. He Thinks That All Should Stand Tojtelhcr for Hislifr Prices?Ohrs Much Valuable Information on the Cotton Vuctttion, Which Will Prove Interesting ItradlnK, Not Only to Farmers, hut to All. Ex-Gov. Hey ward was one of the principal speakers at a farmers' contention held n Orangeburg recently. The meeting was held for the purpose of considering the cotton situation and this subject was thoroughly treated by the former governor. He said: "The question of most vital Interest to the cotton planter today, his crop being practically made, is the question of price. in this he not alone is interested- The whole South Is equally interested with him in the producton and lharketing of the cotton crop, because this crop Is today our most important industry, contributing aa>.'1t did last year $800,000,000 to Che business of the South, $500,000,090 of which came to us as a resuljrof exi?orts. The pro ducers of cotton realize the faot tbw in this question of price more 1+ al -take today than simply the one crop of this year that a new psjflnf in the industry is being entered' upon and a new basis of values determined. Economic conditions are swn that t.be period of low values 'lytiich have recently prevailed is no ]r?nger possible. A new commercial " joasis of value must he agreed upon. /We are in what might he termed a ffl transition state because of the great ft tiuctations in price, which are the tendency of the day. prevailing last , year to the extent of 12"? per cent. What the farmer wants is not only a MR remunerative price, and to this he is justly entitled and he has a right, to demand, but lie also wants that ^ price as staple from year to year as it p& j is possible to make it. In determinJ inn what that price shall he two Iin/ portant considerations must be inslst* '.^d upon?one as important as the oeV to the producer. The price ,,ai\must yield a fair profit to the proVer- 1>ul mi,sl not be so high thatV w'" 'u any degree check or curta, *be wonderful increase in the consumption of cotton which has taken 'ace during the last 10 years, for if idoes disuster will follow, free Fucts Established, v "Thre-fart? have now been indisputah' established in connection cotton industry and these rihn everything to the grower of ^.otton. The first is that the South has a monopoly the world over in the raising of cotton; the second, that the 1 consumption of cotton is increasing . wonderfully each year and the third that the South has the ability to keep pace with the Increasing consumption. These three circumstances combined mean that the South will he the richest and the most prosperous part of the greatest country in the world. "In order not. to he dependent upon the South for their supply of cotton foreign spinners have searched tlio vvorlfi nvnt- fnr ?i vainwp nf sjnnnh and with what result? The only countries which enter Into competition with the South in the export of cotton are Egypt, India and Brazil. Although cotton has been planted In Egypt since 1821 that country has uever raised more than 1,200,OOP hales, and that last year. The land in Egypt adapted to the cultivation of cotton is exceedingly limited, and the quality of the cotton raised does not place it in competition with the hulk of ours. India comeB next to us. hut India consumes nearly all the cotton she grows and will never become a competitor in exporting cotton to Europe. Brazi, where such efforts have been made to break the supremacy of the South, produces only 2f>0,000 hales, and the Brazilian mills use all of this. Peru and Mexico have undertaken to grow cotton, hut It practically amounts to nothing. So much for our monopoly. Of the greatness and the Importance of this monopoly, a prominent American hanker the other day said: 'Bring me all the grain, all of the provisions, all of the foodstuff, all of the steel, and all of the Iron of the 4 7 States of this great union, which was exported last year, and I will sell the cotton crop of 1907. and pay you cash, and yet have money enough left to capitalize 200 national hanks.' Consumption of Cotton. "The next question which interests us Is the consumption. Take n period of 10 years. In this time the consumption of cotton in Great Britain has increased 21 per cent. On the continent of Europe 2.r> per cent. "In tlie Northern Sta'es of this country, once the only part of the country where cotton was spun to any |it l (Till., UIUI in IIH' fSOUTllH .>rn States 149 percent. Tho demand foi all products of cotton, especially HI cotton cloth, is Increasing and widenlug every day. The civilization and evangelization of tin- world means B^B the clothing of the world. The cotton farn can know that when he contributes his quota towards the ^^H $21,000,000 expended each year in foreign missions that, he is not only Maying us treasures in heaven,' hnt that his 'own will he returned to him nBi^B with usury.' 9E|^H "And the world can never demand more cotton than the South can sup|g| ^Lpiy Less tban one-sixth of the land g|||g|K^Bin the South today is improved; and B^^^Hess than one-half of that is planted cotton. Science is being applied to ^^^^^^biriculture more and more each year. ||tag|l|g^Kid science will some day ennhle us IjjgaaplMH raise twice as much cotton upon H|j5&??^Br present acreage. Science will, toSSSOS^Hough fertilization, cause our BE||^5|^Rds to bear more stalks. Through BjaBjBMMM^Broved methods of cultivation, Hw|H? boils witi he grown on theso Hh8|^H(r and by means of the more a^HBHH^B'uI selection of seed especially |Vfl^U^^Hed to local conditions more will he formed on dvery boil. H and more efficient labor in RBHgB^^^B ntton fields?which labor is HA to come as time rolls on and 5S?|S^g*uth adjusts herself to changed HHHHns. is also destined to play part (n the Sooth's greatest H H I.ive Questions. Hj^H^H^^^Bich for the future of the cotj^^^HSHnBB^Htry. But you say: 'We ere 1 1 I nil1' III SB not ltrinc in the future. We will fcdxnit all you say. What of today? When one of you farmers brines your one. or 10 or 50 bales of cotton Into Orangeburg, having firmly made up your mind that you will sell it this very day, whether the buyer's views meet yours or not. whether he wauts it todky or not. ' Should one tell you about the future you might make reply in the words of that old missionary hymn?'every prospect pleases and only man is vile.' Of course there are degrees of villainy. The home man is not as vile as the man away off. The Orangeburg buyer is not as bad as the New York speculator. and he is not. for the simple reason that the home man buys something as cheap as he can and natural! tries to sell it as high as he can, whereas the other runs down the price of something which is the property of some one else and makes his profit out of the other man's losses. The simple question today for the cotton farmer of South Carolina and the South to ask himself is: 'Is not my cotton worth more, or will it not be worth more than 1 am now offered for it? If so, what shall I do to compel those who want it to pay its full value? Both of these questions should be carefully considered and carefully answered. They are just as important to the farmer as any of his investments are to the banker or the capitalist. To the farmer they frequently mean his all. It means the comfort of his family, the happiness and the future of his children. The prudent man is always careful how he advises his friends In regard to money investments. The same prudence should be exercised in ad vising the farmer in regard to his crop. If your cotton is intrinsically worth no more than the market price today, if it will not enhance in price it is to your interest, to sell no v. If on the other hand, it is worth more than the market, if you will get a better price by holding it. why. of course, it Is to your interest not to sell now. The answer which will lie given *o the first of these questions depends largely upon who is the party questioned. "Unfortunately there has been sol much speculation In the cotton mar- I ket that it is difficult for any one. even a disinterested party aner rare- i ful study to advise with any decree of! certainty. He ran only say what should he: what certain facts warrant. and In the long run it is facts that tell. To the second (liiestion there is hut one answer, should you determine that cotton is selling below its value, and this answer is that you must give your product to the market only in such quantities and at such times as consumption demands. An Illustration. "To illustrate: 1 am not going to pay you your price for a horse in the fall and feed him all winter when I do not need him to plow until spring. Especially is this true when 1 must borrow the money at eight per cent. When 1 need thy horse then and not until then?will I he willing to meet your demands. When you are so situated that you can keep the | horse at less expense than I can. and especiallv when you can insure him against dying, the proposition is simple enough. It is to vonr interest to keep the horse until I am in the market: even if you have to borrow a little money on the horse it is wiser for you to do this than it is for me to borrow the full amount of the purchase price. Itut if you insist upon my buying him now the difference miict lin hnnrnn liv Veil As it is ill the snle of a horse so it is in the sale of a i>ale or cotton. Ail carrying charges and all risks of fluctuating markets must he assumed by the producer, who insistos on selling hefere the consumer is ready to purchase. "In speaking to you this morning. I wish to discuss hoth the present and prospective prices of cotton, and also urge upon yon the only method which 1 see you can adopt to bring about more favorable conditions. "As a general proposition we willall admit that when the consumption of an article approximates its production. when the supply meets the demand-that price for the article is a fair and equitable one which will allow .the article to be produced and consumed at a reasonable profit to hoth producer and consumer. Of course with cotton 1 use the word consumer in the sense of manufacturer. As to Prices. "The first tiling to he considered is the relation between production and consumption. What are the facts today in regard to the cotton crop for the season of 1907-08? Do they or do thov not warrant the paying of a better priee than is now being oft -red? "The total cotton crop for the year ending Sept. l, 1907, amounted to I:t,51 0,982. an increase of over two million bales over the crop of 190a06, and a decrease of f>0 odd thousand bales under that of 1904-05 This increase was caused by the magnificent crops of the South Atlantic States being somewhat below ilio average. Last year on September IT* the agricultural department placed the condition of the Texas crop at 7 4 j points, whereas the report just issued . places the condition for this year at j ?><> |miiiws. uouisiana nisi year on trie same date was placed at 73. and this year at f>.7 points. Mississippi last year was placed at 7f> against ?">!? points this year. Alabama is placed at the same figure as a year ago. "As we come eastward. according to the government report, the condition of the crop is slightly better this year than it was at the same dsite hist year: but we must remember the hulk of the crop is produced in Texas and the Gulf States. Should we have an excellent season for harvesting and a late frost, even then all indications point to a crop of nearly a million hales less than was raised ltist , year. ijiist Year's Consumption. "During last year, of our IS..740.-J ^000 bales of cotton the world had up 'o' the beginning of this season consumed 12,000,000 hales, carrying! into the present season only 1,000.-; 000 bales, and this amount was widely scattered in this country and throughout Europe, making stocks' comparatively light at all points of ; consumption. yUnder these circumstances, with out any increase in the consumption of cotton during the coming season, the supply will not exceed the demand, but the chancesare all in favor of an iucreased consumption. As T have already stated, during the past 10 years the consumption of cotton by mills in Great Rrltian and on the continent of Europe averaged 23 per cent, increase and in the United States 93 per cent. Our cotton consumption has been increasing during past decade at the rate of about 5 per cent* yearly, and we therefore have a right to expect, especially in view of v 1 a A ? HKK ' " ' wtflKfv \ . f ". ?' *> the unprecedented prosperity of the 1 country, an increase in consumption 1 of at least one-half million bales. f "The years 1905-06 show an in- c crease of over this amount. There- t fore summing up: with a crop for < which all indications point to a i shortage of one million bales, a proh- < uble increase in consumption of five < hundered thousand hales aud carry- < ing over into the coming season not t more than one million bales, prices t can not legitmatoly be depressed by t the claim that the world does not ( need every pound of cotton which the 1 South will produce this year because t the supply scarcely equals and cer- i tainly will not exceed the aemand. 1 Fair Prices For Cotton. "X fair price for cotton for this f year and for every year as long as present conditions continue is a price which would be renumerative to the j farmer and which will also allow the manufacturer or consumer to realize a legitimate profit upon his investment. To this both are entitled, and this both have a right to demand. Neither will receive it unless they demand it. Of course the most difficult proposition to be encountered is the determination of a price which will l?e mutually agreed upon as fair and equitable by both producer and consumer. The first step to bo taken in arriving at such a price is to decide whether the prevailing prices are the proiier ones. Are they too low or are they too high? In my opinion they are lower than circumstances warrant. and I believe that if the farmers will take steps they should take there will follow an advance in prices. To what extent this advance will go T am unable to say: and no one. gentlemen. is in a position to determine this question; no one actually knows. "The farmer has a right, which every one concedes, to hold his crop for If. cents a pound and to hope that if properly marketed it will reach that t figure. 1 join with him in this hope because as I have already said, the i prosperity of the Southern cotton j planter means the prosperity of the South. As lie grows rich we all in the South grow rich with him. Rut 1 am unwilling today to take upon myself the responsibility of saying that, in my opinion, if you hold your cotton there is any absolute certainty of its emhnucing in price to 15 cents a pound. However, there are certainly more reasons why 15 cents is an eniutable price than the prices which are now being paid are fair, and under such circumstances there is every reason why our farmers should cease giving their cotton away at rates which at present prevail. Cotton in j Orangeburg today is bringing in the | neighborhood of 1 1 cents a pound to Hip producer T.ast year (ho a vera go : [ price throughout the South for cotton 1 was 10 9-16 cents a pound for middling. A year and one month ago ! today 9 l-S cents per pound was the ' marketed value of your cotton, but towards the close of the season, on ' the 27th day of August last, the same cotton selling in September at ' 9 1-8 cents a pound was worth 12 9-1 r. cents a,pound. Why today it has fallen in price nearly 2 cents? ' Certainly conditions do not warrant it. If last August, wfth a crop which necessitated the carrying over into the next year of one million bales. ' cotton was worth IS 9-16 cents per ' pound, is it not worth just as much today with a crop every pound of which will be consumed by the spin- ! dies of the world? That cotton today is selling for less than it. did 20 or 4 0 days ago is due entirely to the fact that the farmers by forcing their J product upon the market play absolutely into the hands of the specula- ' tors. Every possible excuse is used by the speculator to 'bear' the mar- ' ket. And whether or not there is any sense or reason in the pretexts which they give for a low market, its long ' as the farmers insist on disposing of ' their product as soon as it is made, these pretexts will have their effect. 1 I'nr I "If a storm is reported or even if < a slight atmospheric depression is i mentioned in the West Indies cotton 1 noes tip on the Now York exchange, i in tlie fear that the storm will re- I dnce the production. When the storm t does* not materialize the market is promptly reduced because the storm 1 has not reduced the production, t When the government report as hap- t pened this week states that the con- t ditiou of the crop is not as good as it i was a month ago, the New York speculators choose to place tin entirely different interpretation upon the report. They prefer to say that white is black, and black it becomes; and as a result the cotton market promptly weakens. "It is the speculator today who has ' the winning hand, and lie will continue to hold this mind as long as the farmers allow him every time to hold the trumps and to play them when he thinks best. "It is the speculator and not the cotton mill people, who, today, is forcing down the prices of cotton. The coton mills did not object to the prices which prevailed before the recent decline in cotton, for the reason that they were making a reasonable profit on the goods wliieh they are selling, having made their contract ( for goods based upon higher prices than are being paid today. It is not to tlie interest of the mills to have cotton decline. Already as a result of the decline, cotton yarns have gone down, and where such goods are manufactured by mills which have bought cotton at much higher prices than prevail today, it is not to the interest of such mills to have other mills make contracts for yarns at a lower hasis. "To have cotton now continue to ut-t iint- 11i?**ilis i ur i ru-ir competitor a who is short of cotton can purchase ^ what he needs for about three cents j, a pound less than the cotton in their p warehouses cost them The mill man p as well as the farmer wants a staple p price for cotton.: then both can. with t some degree of certainty, know what r they can depend upon. a The Values in Cotton. n "Cotton may be said to have two n values: the Intrinsic value and the | speculative value. Its intrinsic value a today is considerably more than the '' farmers are being offered for it. Its speculative value can only be determine*] by the manner in which the I farmers are willing or able to hold up their end of the line. "Conditions, taking Into consideration the supply and consumption. . make ihe intrinsic value of cotton no less today than it was when the n>ar ket opened. Its speculative value ? will he determined by the ability of the farmer to hold his cotton for advanced prices. Cotton has In the past c decade, with conditions far more un- h favorable than they are today, reach- h od IS cents. This, however, was the t result of speculation, for within five 11 months cotton fell to nine cents, the n 'corner* having been broken. t "Being interested In the warehous- n nf or cotton and Joining the several armers' organisations in advising the armers to hold and warehouse their :otton this year. I feel that I can not ake upon myself the responsibility >f saying to what extent you have a ight to expect cotton to advance. I lo say, however, that you are not le:eiving today what you should re:eive, and that I believe this year of ill years Is one in which a stand ihculd be made and higher prices intended for. I believe that holding xitton this year will be to you a proftable investment. I am as much inerested in its being profitable as you ire: for I realize the fact that -should >rices decline not only yourselves but he warehouse system will receive a lerlous setback. Secret in Marketing Cotton. "The secret, as I have already itated, in marketing cotton is for the armer to give to the market the coton as the market demands it; and his he can best do by warehousing lis cotton. Although I do not beieve that it would be to the inter?8t of the farmer at any time to hold ill of his cotton for the reason that he farmer then becomes the only mil in the market, being the only ine who owns cotton. If your cotton s gradually marketed every one who actually buys and owns 1,000 bales s to a certain extent on your side ti the tight to maintain the price? le does not wish to sell and it is not :o his interest to have the commodity which he owns lose its value. Bven where a mill has bought cotton tor its own consumption it is not to he interest of the mill manager for several reasons, to have cottou dediue. In the first place it gives his competitors who do not own cotton in advantage over him in the manifacture of goods and where he has ,o borrow money with his cotton as jecurity. as nearly all mills do, it nukes him liable to be called upon at inv time for additional margins. The cotton buyer is not materially interested whether high or low prices prevail. He is interested in each individual transaction. He simply buys tnd sells cotton based upon a higher iroflt for each day's work: and it ioes not make any difference to him whether the cotton which be buys mil then sells brings 15 cents or 5 ents a pound, so long as he make his irotit. When he become a speculaton he then of course, has that interest which every other speculator has, ind it is very material to hint whether In1 is on the right or wrong side of ho market Question of Holding. "Kveu if i believed- which I do lot do that It is to the farmer's iu:erest to hold all of his cotton at the opening of the season. 1 would he somewhat loath to give him such advice. for the reason that t realize that lany farmers are so situated that for litiancial reasons it would lie impossible for hiui to do so. This being he case, in such a crisis as this it is ill the more incumbent upon those who can afford to hold their cotton j mil take it off the market to do so. Ity doing this they not only help themselves but they help that man whose financial conditions are such that lie is obliged to dispose of a certain amount of his crop. "It is exceedingly unfortunate to ill interested ill cotton this year that l stringency in the money market ihoiild prevail just at the time when iu ^ucli..il.l ..I 'I on uuiiik us ousiness illegitimately. Vhen the stork and l?ond market is epressed it means tliat capital for a ime has become timid, and the more irnid it becomes the more tendency t lias to wlthdra.v from circulation, nd the more stringent money beonirs. Hanks Arc Taxc?l. "While the banks of the South, of ourse realize fair profltR upon the mslness created by production and landling of cotton, still oftentimes hey are taxed to their utmost capacty to furnish to this industry in its nany ramifications all of the money hat It demands. The hanks furnish noney directly to many of our fari * 1* It- * ? I t uitpii uivit: aiiu l*? 1 II*" i ulvantage of the cotton planter to keep off the market as much as he possibly can. in some quarters tliel heory prevails that the hankers and merchants of the South and the country generally are not helping the farmer all they should to hold on t<> his otton. If the stringency in 'lie nion?y market were local, if it were < ontitled in the South alone, if the man who buys* cotton were not having qual difficulty with the man who auis cotton to borrow money with j which to buy or hold, then there might be some basis for such an impression. The cotton industry is more important and of greater interest to Southern financiers than any tnd all industries of the South coinPined, for it is the basis of Southern prosperity. Not only this, but a liank makes it money by lending money to any and all who have proper collateral, and if the Southern tanks were in a position today to advance money to the manufacturer, he cotton buyer or farmer for cotton ransactions they would uuquestioniltly do so. Money Stringent in (aencrul. "The present stringency in the noney market is not confined to the >?>iitIt and to Southern hanks. it ireiails. I might say, throughout i he Jnited States and Canada, and the tame conditions exists in Europe. The unusually high rate of discount vhich today prevails in Itritish tanks testifies to the fact that the tresent money stringency is worldvide. and that for the time being, at east, the world's monetary facilities ire inadequate for the volume of insiness both in progress and conemplation. "It does not help matters for us o decry and to blame any one eslecially for the present condition of ffairs in this respect. The scarcity f money affects all alike, and we can o nothing but meet the situation as . e find it. realizing that we are today nnl'rnnlorl with o o/?n/iitu?? .. ...... m wiiuii iwii cinti mil ?l hoory. Many men differ as to the ause of this condition, hut in my pinion, the stringency in money is aused by the fact that the people of his country and of Kurope have sillily in the last year overreached liemselves in the amount of business hat they have transacted. Not only his, hut the large profits wnich have eon made in business have been inested in improvements, comforts, nd. I might say. luxuries of all inds. Therefore, for the present, at ?ast, money, which is simply a nied11111 of exchange, must catch up, as t were, with the many uses to which t has been applied. In addition to his the tendency of the day is to egulate and control the large corporte interests and trusts. While in lany cases this is proper and legltilate, and niost desirable, still for a ime at least It depresses securities nd will continue to have this effect ntil we can draw a distinction heween the corporation doing its btisuess legitimately and the corpora mer*. They discount the notes which others of our formers make to the merchants. When a farmer gives his I note for fertilizers that note before very long finds its way to the honk, and the same is true often with the mules and implements which he / buys. When the crop is ready to tie harvested the hanks have to supply ?j the money with which to inove it, , and until that time, everything has . been going out and nothing coming 1 in. When the Southern banks, therefore, are called upon to furnish money with which to hold the crop unites a large amount of the money wanted J goes to pay the notes made to the merchant and to the fertilizer mau I they are in times such as this, when money is as tight as it is now. and 'j they can not obtain funds from reserved centers?because tho ??m?? - conditions prevail there?-often unable to meet the demands which are ? made upon them. There is every rea- * son to believe that in a very short time the money market will become 1 easier and the banks throughout the South will be in a much better position than they are today to assist the farmers in holding their crops and 1 also to lend money to buyers and mills. "1 have recently made every effort that 1 possibly could to place the customers of my warehouses in communication with those who were in a r. position to lend them money, but unfortunately, for the conditions above stated, 1 have not been able to * make much headway. "The cotton garmer today finds ^ himself in this position: The conditions are such with his crop and with / its probable consumption, that it is very material to his advantage to hold his cotton, but on the other 1 hand he is embarrassed with the fact that in so holding it is necessary tor him to borrow a certain amount c | of money, which it is most difficult for him to obtain, l'uder these cir- . [cuinstances what is he to do? Why, the best he can do. Those who can . | warehouse cotton should do so: those ' who are compelled to borrow money on it should do so; those who have to I | borrow should borrow as littleasthev possibly can: those who have to sell '1 and can not borrow should sell as gradually as is possible. it is only by adopting this course that the present downward tendency of the mar- / ket can he checked and speculators made to realise that the Southern farmer is now in the saddle, and he ^ intends no longer to he dictated to as to what prices he should receive for his cotton. , llorrowitig Money on Cotton. "The great mistake which farmers make when they wish to afreet a ' loan secured by cotton is that they lay as great stress on the margin ) which the hank Is able to allow as the Interest which the bank charges. 1 The question for the farmer to hlwavs ask himself is this: How groat a margin, and not how small a margin. ran he get on with? It is had business for him to borrow on the cotton more money than he actually needs. He simply has the interest to 1 pay. And then, in addition, when he t borrows more on the cotton than the cotton costs and stores the cotton, hoping for a further advance in price, he immediately becomes a speculator to a greater extent than it is prudent for him to be. If lie is going ""to speculate with his cotton the safe rule with him to follow is to speculate only with the profit which ntav be made in the cotton and not with the cost of the crop. "Although cotton still reigns as king there is a crisis today in the affairs of his kingdom. Much will depend upon the outcome, for the issue is whether his reign shall be helpful or hurtful to those who are his most loyal supporters. The fight is being waged fiercely on both sides. "It is told that once In the midst of | a battle the color bearer carried forward the colors and planted them In advance of the wavering battle line. The soldiers called to him to bring the colors back to the line. His reply | Mill! 'Di'lnn tlin 1ln? ? " 4 ' ' I "" " ? ?'?" '"""in. So tod.-'v, from those who have at t j heart the t>est Interests of the rot- a ton farmer, comes the cry, not only t to stand firm hnt to advance to the \ standard and carry the fight Into the t I enemy's country. The road to vie- c tnrv is nointed out: to a victory _ whi"h will he as heneflcient as it will lie lasttnc. Vnd it onlv remains to . he seen whether the farmer will tahe that road or not." DRY TICKKT WINS. |, 0 Tlif City of Asheville Vcdrs (Mil the ^ liar Rooms. t A dispatch from Asheville, N. C., n says no such sight was ever witness- j ed in any city of the South as was enacted there on Tuesday of last Q week when Asheville by a vote of j, nearly 1000 declared for pronihition. The polling places were thronged " with women and children who bold- / ly pleaded with the voters to vote * dry. Large delegations of women and children surrounded each polling place singing and praying during the day. The campaign for, and against prohibition, which has just closed, has been undoubtedly, the most hotly contested and keenly interesting fight of the kind in the history of Asheville. The financial and business inter- L estshave been about equally divided, and each side has worked with much vim and vigor, .the prohibitionists being led by W. H. Whitson, a prominent business man, as chairman of the executive committee, while exRpnrcccntativo I I.Vo? CI 1 ... . .fw.ici viicnii, nas acted in the same capacity for the anti-prohibitionists. An interesting feature of the campaign has been the large number of parades organized by the prohibition forces there being parades composed of children, parades of women and children, and parades of men. the torch light parade of the prohibition voters which marched through the streets of the city Monday night being the largest of the kind ever seen in Asheville. The women of the city have taken a most active part in the fight for prohibition and their presence at the polling places in large numbers was ^ somewhat of a novelty in elections H in Asheville. Owen Wister, in a magazine arti- T~ cle of current date has sized up the 1 situation in Pennsylvania and his de- I finition is being generally accepted as the best yet. Mr. Wister speaks to the point. "Pennsylvania today," he remarks, "is a government of knaves at the expense of fools." L ' > / The Boy. j wouldn't be a single thing on earth Except a boy. And it's just an accident of birth That I'm a boy; tnd. goodness gracious! When I stop and think 'hat once I trembled on the very brink )f makin' my appearance here a girl, t fairly makes my ears and eyebrows curl, But I'm a bov! ust think of all the jolly fun there is When you're a boy! tell you! you're just full of business When you're a boy. ?t i- 1 n -i ? ucrc ? urea to uunu in an ine vacant lota, lo swimmin,' tie the fellers' clothes in knots, ?ie tin cans on the tails of dogs; why, gee! "he days ain't half as long as they should be When you're a boy. "here's lots of foolish things that make you tired When you're a boy. "here's heaps of grouchy men that can't be hired To like a boy; "here's wood to chop at home and coal to bring, Vnd "Here, do this?do that?the other thing!" Vnd. worse than all, there's girls, oh, holy smoke! . Vre they a crime, or just a joke Upon a boy? Vnd then there's always somebody to jaw. When you're a boy? somebody always layin' down the law To every boy; 'I'ick up your coat; see where you've put your hat; )on't stone the dog; don't tease the poor old cat ; >on't race around the house"?why. sufT'rin' Moses! "he only time you have to practice things like those is When you're a boy! Vnd yet I don't believe I'd change a thing For any boy; fou've got to laugh, to cry, to work, to sing. To be a boy; iVith all his thoughtless noise and careless play, iVith all his heartfelt trials day by V*"J iVith all his boyish hopes and all his fears. 'd like to live on earth a thousand years And be a boy. ( iven l"p die I'inUt. The efforts made by the State of Louisiana to keep out the cotton )oll weevil have been unsuccessful, tnd the commission having charge )f the matter has about given up the ight. The conclusion arrived at was that the weevil could not be externinated. but that its destructive operations could be kept down in a; neasure by the farmers in careful planting and theburning stalks. It is said the commission has had to urn and light the Guatemalan ants, vhich were imported to destroy the veevil. It has proved of a more men -1 tee than the weevil ever was, and is| tow seriously threatening both the! >rgange and sugar-cane industries by j ts ravages. These same ants almost: viped out the sugar plantations of Jrenada, in the West Indies in a ampaign which extended over ten rears. 1 P A I ? % . ? ix xnis is true, and tno American Vgriculturist says it is, it was a silly md disastrous experiment t?? import hese nuisances to the United states, vhich already has more insect pests han it can handle. These creatures an't be used like sleuth-hounds to un down any particular game, and .re sure to follow their appetities nto new fields. Thkrk should be a complete revoLition in the preparation and packing if our cotton market. We are told y those who have been there that housands of bales of American cnton reaches the foreign market with ot a shred of covering on them, 'his careless way of doing business auses our farmers to lose millions f dollars each year. Why not stop ? JATALOGl SSjpt# SSNI wpnEj ? arge Whito Iron Hod $S.90 KM* Ho*intlfni . 3o inch' . lut MP) oslin Blanket, por pair .. ..$1.68 Floor on Cloth,' per' i If? LION FURN1 Ciwh or Credit. COLUMBI THE ONLV In Columbia. South Carolina, maklni fhing in the Machinery Supply Lint Write us for prices before placir OOLl'MBIA SUPPLY iX On corner opposite Seaboard Air 1 VARDAMiW ROASTS ROOSBVEM Hp Id Iter Rrvohrtlonbrt and Pa*?tmaatpr In Yerbiagp. Governor James K. Vardaman, of Mississinoi ~ rK. r wrn* mmmrn Iiitvi V IVVT ^IVCU 111 reply to President Roosevelt's speech at St. Louis, strongly denounced the president's policy and called him "a revolutionists." The governor says: "Mr. Roosevelt is a past grandmaster in the use of words. With the great French diplomat, he evidently thinks that language is to conceal rather than express thoughts. Within the pile of verbiage there lurks the most pernicious principles and vicious politics that ever wrecxed a republic or destroy the rights of the people. "He nas preached purity in politics and at the same time accepted from the railroads contributions to corrupt the ballot. He accepts the ottice bought for him by criminal contributions and then turns around and undertakes to preach political honesty to people who corruptly bought for him the office he holds. A wonderful man. indeed! And more remarkable still is it to me that the people of Missouri are caught by the little cheap flattery and platitude, which he indulges in, when he comes on his shaking tours to the South. "The constitution of the United States is to this man a blank piece of paper, upon which he would write anything that his judgment might prompt or his political fortunes dictate. "Mr. Roosevelt is a revolutionist. He has no respect for the law of his country, constitutional or statutory, if they happen to interfere with the consummation of any of his schemes or plans. The fiat of his spasmodic will, superinduced by consuming vanity. is the only law that he respects." >l.\\(il,i:i) IN A CJIX. A Young Man Dies as a Uesult of Accith'iit. Henry Hyatt, aged 29 years, while attending to the steam gin of his father Thursday, about three miles below Dillon, hud his arm caught in the gin. The entire limb from finger to shoulder joint was fearfully mangled. Drs. Henslee , Mlchaux and Goddard were called in at once and did everything possible to save the young man's life, hut he never rallied from shock and hemorrhage, dying at fotir o'clock the next morning. He leaves a wife and two young children. We are sure there is not a newspaper of any intluence in South Carolina that does not sympathize with the farmers in their light to maintain pood prices for cotton. They may not all see the situation in the same way, but we believe they are all patriotic, anil are doing what they car to help along the good work. So don't let us criticise one another and divide our forces. Ai.l the people in the South will not become prosperous until the farmers can hold their cotton and sell it when the prices suit them. Then they would not bo compelled to take any old price for their eotton that might be offered them. We hone to li"c to see the day when such will bo the case. -C " "V Low Prices Guaranteed I KSW * Kycs A ecu ralvlv Fitted BYMAIL Framem fitted f?? face perfectlu Fit EE examination blank* CRYSTAL OPTICAL COMPANY 213 Temple Court. Atlanta, fia. This is He ((quarters FOB Pianos and Organs. You want a BWPdt toned and a durable instrument. 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