Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE CAMDEN -CHRONICLE II. ?, Nile* mid K. N. Mefcowell 1 B*' ' ; iJ?- ??, Camden, 8. C., February 28, Ittll) The 4'hrouiele is befog public d a day ahead pf t im<* t hltn wi-^-k. Tldi in doue if* order to get befeute the farmer* and bunim** men throughout tin- imiulv the apical of (Jovernor Copper and the Ceutrai OuoMiilttff thart every farmer meet at tbf Court House in Camden off Friday to Mga' the pledge* for holding their cotton mikI reducing the acreage another year. Thla I* %ii*?Umt?ti-tlly the bi||ort get-to-gether movement ever un dertaken tit the Houthern State* for the betterment of it.it only tin* ffttion fnrun r, but every utber busjne*ti and ptofewlonaJ man in tin* Houth. If the plan fall" through tbU year, uod we do not !>? - lieve it will, It will l?e uaeleaa to ever it tempt u nether like movement, for -planters were never in ft loiter |*?dtlon to win out in tlu> tight having Wall Htreot und speculators fix the price of cotton. Home argue tf??t It will be uaetess, because 3f the many tenant and ignorant planter* who do not read. These people are to be reached by personal a|>peals. The intcMlgeut farmer who reads and think* for himself needs no encouragement. to reduce. }t+s acreage, and it is^thi* class who will have to spread the propaganda to the small and Ignor ant our*. Reports huvc been received from other state* inj.be cotton belt, and it appear* that other Mate* are even ' more aroused than Houth Carolina, for they have suffered from the boll weevil as .well an /row the manipulation* of the market. Alabama and Mi**insippi reported that the people are more arons nd than at -any other Umo in the hia tary of thofe States. , Texas already btH made auch a. report. The movement in taking hold deeply in all the cotton growing states, and we confidently be lieve that when another crop i? placed on the market the farmer* will got what hi* cotton in worth and will be In a position to nay -what he will 'take for it, >Jt wiH be of local Interest to many people " to know (that the plan being adoffctod throughout tbe. entire. South Ih that originated by Mr. John T. Maekey of the First Nationnl Hank of Camden. Of course some states have made minor ehanges, but the plan Is practically the ?atne. . ' : ? I'obllaher*. It does not look like prohibition in f>amden judging from the amount of illicit liquor being sold in roctt?t ?teys. The police made two arrests Saturday night on account of drunkenness and it is said by thoKc Who know, that it it) easier to buy blind tiger wtyfckry here than ever before, provided you have the prion, and the police seein powerYcfil to catch the offenders, so shrewd have they become in their trade. About a year ago the gang was broken up to a cer tain extent when the police station Vms broken into and two trunks of whiskey stolen therefrom. A raid by the police captured part of the Htolen goods but the main thief escaped, and left Cam den for probably a year. Itecently he has returned to Camden and wan placed under bond for his ajxpearanco at court. He has surrounded himself with his agentis and is again plying his trade getting anywhere from $1- to $15 per quart for his goods, and at the same time furnishing an easy way for a lot of hriH worthless agents to make a living. If the courts cannot handle this party or parties, then it looks to us that here in an opportunity for a law and order movement to get in some good work. Fourteen members of the- Spanish branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, were arrested by secret service men and members of -the police bomb Mquadroii in two raids in New York Sunday. While they are charged form ally with having seditious literature in their, possession government agents claim ed to have evidence they were hatching a terrorist plot. Frank Francisco and Krfward J. I>owd, of the secret service, as weM as New J'ork detectives who as sisted fhem in the raids, declared ihfx ... had obtained evidence which would be used in an attempt to prove the pris ?*" oners had planned to assassinate Presi Wilson in Boston, but this asser discredited by Capt^ Peter of the secret service, who direct roCn who frankly jtrv/kafaUA they were anarchists, stopped here on fheir way to Boston. The grave -feature of the alleged plot and the immi nence of the attempt to carry it into k waa declared, made it es be imprisoned at once, at police -head prints were with - HION TIIK PLKlNiK TODAY 7^7 A ? IMimi lea* <-otto|i this year. Tbi* i* wo new appeal to the cotton farmer*, but never Wa* the ueed *> imperative or the *iguirt?-anc?- ?ao great. There have liccn H?vefal meeting* ill Columbia. attended by fa riner* from every county in the State, ai.ul at the In^l convention* .on Feb. lfttb, the sentiment for rwluc? I UK the acreage l?.v oUe third of la*t y-Jtr* 'crop wo* unanimous. A State Central <xmnnilieti has be -n named. with .f. Skottown Wniiiinmaker t *? of St. Matthew* a* chairman. Tbia committee ban mapped out a definite plan of action which eeuteri around having one particular day on which the fn< m J ?** are ?>< k??> U* iMmbi* an<i to sign pledge* tbat tlu?y will not plant more than iw" thirds of la*t | *fop. Governor Cooper luut la* tied h proctama t ion in which lie *et* forth tbat the acreage ?i?OMt be reduced, and he ban nauied Feb. 2$th as "I'ledgc Reduction Oav". The detail* of the meetings are loft with tin* county committee*, the nucleus of which wo* appointed by the State ( 'fiit rut council in order that then* mi^ht be Home one to call the meeting* and -<tmt the organisation on the autre ra) oountlea, AJiewly reports are. coming In that couutlee are taking up the matter en (boNtaHtUvdly and that there will be a wdid array - of farmer* a|?inat the force* In t he manufacturing centers that are trylu* to etitabllfth the price of <vtt,?n for all future cropa. The cotton farmer in the only man in the world Who hat. nut the opportunity to eatablUh hia own prices. The time baa come when the fanner muxt atlek U> hia guns. ^ - "The battle ery of the South", aaya Mr. Wuunauraker, la "Commercial Freedom." thirty live cent* per pound for baala middling for 1018 cotton. Thirty three nnd one third pet cent. reduction iu acreage. Fifty |>er cent reduction in' commercial fertilise in for 1010. The stake* are great. Suocesy is certuiu. Succwa menus a uew commercial South with cv?imncnctal freedom and marvel OUm change in every phn*e of i-ommercHal life of the South. - Small crop* menu more money. That Is a matter of record. Incontrover tible. Don't put all of your ejegs iu one banket, la the advice of the thought ful men who' are studying the dangers to the South. This is not a local -ugitation. Bverj county in the State wo* represented by it?* Nader* in the recent State convention. In the great Southern Cotton (Vuigres* in New Orleans on the 11th the *ame action wa? taken that was taken in Columbia. On the 11th there wna a great State convention in Texas, at tended by ljQpO cotton fanners who- declared that they 'will fight to the last ditch? .v ' ' ? The leaHoniug farmer need* no ur^iug to attcud the meetings on the 28th and take the leadership iu the tight, l^rguuiae with the wlseut aqd moat active -mnmiliso-coiinty. at the 'bead. " w ;n&tLfohal(Ier"your duty done whfhi you sign . the pledge^ and it ix a nolemn pledge ? but aee that every man in your school district Kigii* it, and that there are committees to encourage them to hold their .. 11HS crop and to stick to the pledge for 1010 acreage uud fertilizer reduction. 'Let the 128th of Fet). "Fledge Ked.iotiou Day" menu the day on which the cotton democracy of South Carolina will declare its independence forever from the uliena of WhII Streek who have beo:i forcing them to aOeept any price and then have mocked the poverty of the South. At the New Orleans meeting the following rewdutiou wa? adopted: 4th. Tlwt any? man who because hi* neighbors nnd the 00>tt0U pwducera genemHy are reducing <*ottou acreage nImHI for selfish ends undertake to prolit through such general action by increasing hm'oyu acreage or by refusing to reduce the same, such men shull be <1 >eined us lacking in public spirit and Kood citizenship as to forfeit the confidence nnd support of the community in THE COTTON SITUATION Madison hun several thousand bales of cat ton lying in her warehouse, oil her old public Square and in her streets. There are hundreds of bales in the coun ty. All over tleorgia the situation is ; the same. Cochran, Ga., has .7000 bales, vacant lots, side streets aud even the "sidewalks being temporarily full of the 4leecy staple. The farmers and the bears aud cotton mills are pitted against each other, mills and "bears" on one side, and the South ern farmer on the other. Just how tin* 'Contest will end remains to be seen. But here's ho|riug that the fanners will win ! The South i? entitled to a fair prico for its cottou crop. It was grown and gathered by high priced fertilizer and higher priced labor. The Western far mer has enjoyed high prices for his farm products ever since the European war began. Even in 1014, vj^ien the South was in the low ground** of sorrow be cause of the tumble in the price of her cotton, the West waxed fat and pros perous her grain and rattle being In great .demand by the armies of the world.* The Mndisouian deeply sympathizes with our farmers. If we had our wishe?, cotton would be f>0 cents a pound* And yet our sympathies and our wishes avail us naught in the face of indisputable facts. Let ut rehearse J*1 re a few of those stubborn facts: Prior to the signing of the armistice on November 11th, prices of all commod ities were inflated. The Allied govern ments, including our own, were heavy purchasers of raw Cotton for the manu facture- of clothing and tents and of ex plosives und munitions of war. The fac tories of this country were running over time, in order to supply the unprece dented demands upon their output. Wages were high. With the cessation of hos tilities came a falling off in the demand for cotton. It was no longer needed to manufacture explosives, nor for muni tions of war. Labor troubles began. Mills closed down. I'rices of manufac tured goods (wholesale) had to be re adjusted to a peace basis. The Peace Conference in Europe with its <i>mplex questions of international interest; the Ilolsheviki outbreaks in Russia and (Jennany's internal unsettled conditions, and her defiant attitude; labor strike* in the Unrted States, and n thousand other things affect the price . of ootton. Our farmers might as well I realise, ? therefore. ? that they ? may ? haveH a long, hard, up hill pull ahead of them before they carry the price of cotton back to 35 cents again. Protest meet ings and promises to cut the acreage are old, old storiew to the bears. They hark back to the days of the Orange and to the Farmers Alliance. And yet, as an Atlanta correspondent of the Savannah Press says : "You can figure it out for yourself. The situation rests in the hollow of the farmers hand. ! He can produce cotton or not produce it, just as ^e sees fit He can produce I a 25 per cent crop, or a 50 per cent. Crop, or a 75 per cent. crop. And the 1 is obliged t? have every bit he >ex, and obliged to have it at the '? price, provided the farmer keepa o and doesn't relax his grip on fellow's throat. This cotton a death grapple. It is like ed in mortal combat. The lor strength, snperior en rior courage is going you don't believe the -if you don't he ft situation down 1 ? !f you don't locked in the listen to the ell, regional the South east:" "The annual tonnage of fertilizers moved in this section is about 100,000 carloads," says director Wincheli. "This tounagc is normally handled in the months of January, February andvMarcht necessitating streuous efforts by the rail roads even when the' movement t is well distributed over this period. Usually by February 10th about forty per cent, of the tonnage has been moved, but at the present time less than fifteen per cent, has been moved. A continuation of the policy of postponing fertilizer purchases, which may result iu requiring the roads to move a ninety-day, movement in thirty days, will precipitate a serious situation both for the farmers and the carriers." You may rest assured,, therefor^ that the fertilizer folks are growing a bit uneasy. Farmers are refusing^ to buy "guano" at present hdgh prices of same, with low priced cotton staring them in the face. All of which goes to show that this curtailment of cotton acreage is more than a propaganda. It is an accomplished ? fact, tip to the present* and there is no reason for believing that it will cease to be a fact and become n mere propaganda ; but on the contrary it is indicated by every sign of any prophetic value that it is daily becom ing a bgger fact and a more unchange able determi nation. Let us hope that the seasons will be unfavorable to an early planting, thus aiding in the matter, of acreage cutting this Spring! ? Madison (Ga.) Madison ian. Death of Mr. Koach Sowell. Mr. Itoach Sowell, a prominent farmer of the Jones Cross Roads section, die<l at his home Tuesday afternoon at 4:45 o'clock after a critical illness of several weeks from heart trouble following an attack of inffuenza. ' Mr. Sowell was in his ftfitli year and is survived by a large family connect j ion, among them his wodow, a brother .Mr. Henry Sowell, of Lancaster and the following sons and daughters Mrs. Amos Ryrd nnd Mrs. Henry Adams of Jones Cross Roads, Mrs. It. Lynn of Douglas section ; Will Sowell of Inman, John SoweH of Wilmington, N. C., Joes of ('amp Jackson and Misses Elizabeth Almetta aud Ethel and son, Heyward. The four last named reside at home. The funeral services and interment took place Wednesday afternoon at four o'clof* at Douglas, Rev. T. A. Dabney officiating, attended by a large ! gathering of the friends and relatives | of the deceased. Mr. Sowell was a | native of Kershaw county and a mem I ber of Rcthel Methodist Church.? Lan caster Citizen. ? ? . x * I _ _ * _ J Good old-fashioned ham and eggs are getting back down to a price that re sembles the halcyon day* of peace and plenty before the war, when a poor man's dollar would buy twice as much clothing or fuel as It will today. In stead of CO to 75 cent* a dozen, which those who could scrape up the price were paying two or three weeks ago, the fruit of the industrious hen baa now dropped down to 40 cents, and t)M price is sure to go still lower To the County Comihitteemen : This is one of the most important movements ever un dertaken in the Sbuth. The fight is being waged riot for this year alone, but it is the turning point in o.ur commercial His tory.* If we lose it means additional commercial slavery with low price of cotton, New York ^continuing to dictate the price for our product, and it therefore means not only the loss of millions of dollars to the South this year, but millions in years to come. If we win, it means a new era in* com mercial history of the South. It means commercial freedom and it meai|s the saving of millions to the farmers and busi ness men of the -South not for thtfc year, but for the years to cohie. It means the greatest change in the business inter ests of the ISouth that has ever taken place. It means a vast change for the better in all lines and in every phase of business touching 4he South. We tjannot affoni t? leave any stone unturned to make this matter a success. Remember the success in your county defends upon the prompt action of yourself and committee. : Please without -7 fail advise us first what day you will hold meeting of your committee, and second^ advise us as soon as possible when you have held this meeting and thoroughly, organized the entire county. Remember that men vitally interested in the South from every standpoint of blood, tradition, and self in* terest have sworn that we must not and will not be defeated, and that pledges will be put into hands of every farmer in the South. ? Please remember that many of the States are ahead of. ; us in this movement, Texas today having 1,?>00 men working in the field. This is one time7 when reduction of acreage one-third and the holding of cotton for higher prices will be carried out to the letter. Victory is ipi eight and we are determined to win, and we ?are counting on you in. this move ment and feel convinced that with the information before lis, and that while every section of America today is enjoy ing unthinkable prosperity except the South, that the South is being delayed until" our movement has been completed and that with the reduction,. of of doubt' But that the South, as a result of the loyal work of her citizens, will enjoy?not - oritur the" highest prifce " on record, but commercial freedom, something we have been dreaming of and longed for for a decade past* and that she . will enjoy the greatest prosperity ever kno^n in the history of the South and that she will control her own business af _f&irs, and that our citizens will be^free and independent., ? Assuring you of all good wishes, beg to remain, GOV. V S. WANNAM AKER, J. H. CLAFFEJY^^r R. M. MIXSON, v - JOHN T. MACKEYf ^ B. F. McLEOD, , W. W. LONG;' T. J. BRITT, T. G. McLEOD, ' " J. .. Committee.