The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, May 12, 1921, Image 4
Cnnuty Serurir
W. F. Tolley & L. H. Cromer. Jr.
Publishers.
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1921.
STORY OK A "CREDIT FARMER"
This story of a prosperou Dillon
county farmer given out by the Dillon
Herald and its veraicty cannot be
questioned. It describes a condition
which exists today in many sections of
Williamsburg county and in thousands
of communities throughout the cotton
hp't
How did I get on my feet?" asked
the farmer in reply to a question
from the merchant. "You remember
when I started I rented a one-horse
farm on Mr. Blank's place. It was
fairly good land and the rent was
reasonable enough. I had no capital
and my worldly assets represented a
few pieces of chear furniture which
I bought on the installment plan. 1
went to the credit merchant. Credit
merchants were plentiful in those
days. "You are a hard worker," said
the merchant, "and I will take a
chance on you. Your line of credit
this year will be $350.00, including
fertilizers, and you will hnve to put
15 acres in cotton."
"I gave the lien for $350.00 and
planted the 15 acres in cotton. I
worked like a beaver. On fair days I
ploughed and on wet days I cleaned
ditch banks and hauled vile smelling
guano from town. I remember late
one cold rainy evening as I came in
from town with a load of guano I
saw my little boy and girl, scarcely
more than tots, way down in the field
cutting splinters from a huge lightwood
stump. As I unloaded that
guano with the cold rain pelting me
on the back of the neck I looked up
occasionally and saw that little boy
and girl trudging* homeward with
heavy loads of wood. At nigm J ate a
frugal meal of white sides and com
bread, washed down v;ich black coffee,
and by 8 o'clock I was in bed. I
arose early in the mornings and waded
through dew and grass doing the
chores around the place and by sunup
I was in the field. I ploughed all
through the hot blistering summer,
and the only rest I got was when the
crop was laid by and I got a few day's
fishing down by the banks of a sicklv
i/>rtVinrr cti-oam T rtid nnt have monev
ivviuug cvtvuu*. * V?.M .... ^
enough to get five miles away from
home and I was too tired and exhausted
from the work of laying by my
crop to walk. When fall came I took
my wife and children and went out
and gathered that 15 acres of cotton.
I went to town and got enough money'
to have it ginned and as fast as it was
ginned I hauled it out to the merchant.
When the last bale had been ginned
and delivered I asked the merchant
for a settlement. He had my bill
drawn off with pretty red lines at the
bottom and when I asked him to let,
me have the balance in cash he look-:
ed up in surprise and said: "Why, j
man, you have no balance. The bal-1
ance is on the other side of the ledg- j
er. You have come out $40 in debt!";
I questioned his statement, but he
went over it with me carefully and (
when we got through I was convinced
that he had given me a square deal 1
and sure enough I was in debt to him
to the amount of $40. He said he
was sorry, but I was net the only one.
Very few of his customers had been
able to pay out that year, but I could
give another lien right now on next
/?vr?n inrlndinr the old balance
1,
in the new lien, and my wife and
children could manege along on during
the winter. I gave him the new i
lien and the next day I brought my '
wife out to town and she bought a
few cheap articles amounting to probably
$20.00 and we went back home.
I went to work, however, with renewed
determination. I hculded guano for
the next crop through freezing rains 1
and continued to watch my little chil- j
dren as they struggled along under J
the heavy work of the farm. The sun |
was just as hot that summer and the ;
food just as scarce. When the crop
* was harve>ted I took in the la?t bale
and asked the merchant how we stood
-this time. He had another sheet ready
with pretty red lines and when I looked
at it my eyes almost bulged out of
their sockets. Instead of having a
balance to my credit I was in debt to
the merchant something over $100.00.
My feelings are better imagined than
described. lJut what was I to cio?
Jobs were scarce and then again I
was not a skilled workman. If I got j
a job somewhere it would have to be j
as a common laborer. The merchant!
h oc o Viml man and he patted me on :
the shoulder and said. "Oh. well, John,
don't get discouraged: try it another
year. Make another lien, including
the old indebtedness in the new lien,
and bring your wife out and buy your
winter needs.' I thanked him, but told
him 'Xo, I will study this thing over
for a day or two.' I went home that
r.ight and talked it over with my wife.
We sat up till a late hour and I made
a vow then and there that, with the
help of God. I would come from under
this thing which was making slaves
of myself and my wife and children.
1 went back to to n ;he next day and'
asked the merchant how much he h
thought I could get along with the a
next year. When he told me I said,
'All right, just make the paper for i
half the amount.' His reply was 'You f
can't live on it.' I told him I would r
look out for that. \^ell, to make a g
lo ng storyshort 1 managed somehow "
to live that year and when I went to s
make my settlement I had about $7o *
to my credit. The next year I rented v
a few more acres, hired a little more C
extra help, lived hard and at the end $
of the year, 1 had a nice little cash ^
balance to my credit. The next year s
I did not give any lien, reduced my c
cotton acreage to suit myself, increas- h
ed my grain crops, raised a few hogs o
for local market, and at the end of the a
year I had about $2,000 in cash and o
enough corn in the crib to run my t
place through the next year, with a p
little to spare. Well, that was the be- "
ginning. That cash balance increased v
fionm year to year; I purchased a a
small farm, and in r year or two pur- c
chased another farm and before long r
the future began to look bright and
rosy. I sent that boy and girl off to e
school and educated them. I continue t
to farm in my owr. way, increasing a
or decreasing my acreage as I see fit, t
and it has been a good many years \
since I have had to touch the pen for a
any man." "Well, good-day; I must ?
be going." remarked the farmer as I
he clambered into a high-powered
car and dashed off down the road. ;
rev. e. a. Mcdowell
.addresses veterans. (
Continued from page One. 1
r
ing the lawless effort of the coercer. 1
What becomes of our boasted American
liberty, I ask, when coercion takes t
the place of the consent of the govern- <
V
ed7
One of the fundermental principles, t
yea, the very corner stone of Ameri- 1
canism is that one written by Thomas ?
Jefferson in the Constitution, "that all i
free government is based upon the t
consent of the governed."
If you had not fired upon the flag f
that waved over Fort Sumter, if you ?
had not thrown yourselfves into the d
malstrom of the tide of a four years a
bloody war, you would have proven d
yourselves unworthy Americans, for c
you fought for the Constitution. I f
declare that you had no other choice, r
You had either to fight, or to tamely i:
lay down your necks under the grind- i
ing heel of the coercer and oppres- \
sor. Had you done this, you would
have been unworthy of hte blood that f
coursed in your veins. Unworthy of c
your fathers, who at Hobkirk Hill, and r
Eautaw Springs and Camden, and i
Cowpens, poured out their blood to r
bequeathe to you the sacred rights of c
self-government. g
You have heard it said "that it is
better to have loved and lost, than j
never to have loved at all', So, we may o
say, that you did better to have fought e
and lost, than not to have fought at c
all. ii
But I want to say to you, honor- p
ed veterans, that you did not lose, r
for the truth and the principles for n
which you fought, and for which youi s
honored comrades fell in battle, are p
still marching on. The beat of the t
drum calling you to battle is no Ionge'- "
heard, but there is a force, mightier y
than an army with banners, still s<
marching on. si
"For truth crushed to earth
Will rise again.
The eternal years of God are hers,
While error, wounded, withes b
in vain, V
And dies among her worshipers." 1<
It is the truth the eternal principles
of liberty for which you fought, ^
and for which your comrades died,
that are still marching on today and
will continue to march as long as there
are lovers and exponents of liberty
left on the eath. You lost the battle, n
but you did not lose ycur cause, for, n
you fought for principles that are tj
eternally right. Jefferson Davis' m
parting words i?i the United States
senate were: "We arc being depriv- \
ed in the Union of the rights which
our fathers bequeathed to us. When ?
this is done, there is but one thing \
left for us to do, and, that is to de
clare our independence and take the .
hazard. Putting our trust in God. we j
.-hall vindicate the right as best we ,?
may." ?
Having said this much in defense ]
nf tV>p iiisnVp of vour cause. 1 now a-k
you to consider with me. the honor
that the whole world acknowledges
should be accorded you for the cour
age and self-sacrificing dovof'on thatj!
you displayed in tackling your job. ' \
Perhaps never before in the history
of the world, was there ever a war. .
of so great magnitude, fought under J
circumstances so dispropotior.ate, un
less it was Gideons' .
As to the comparative populations
ol the two sections, there were fifteen
millions in the North against five mil- .
lions in the South. Two and a half
millions of fighting men in the field
to a little more than a half-million .
on the part of the Scuth. The North \
had the standing army and navy of
the United States, the United States
treasury, nine-tenths of the factories ]
of the country and access to all foreign
powers. The Soufh had absolutely .
nothing, as a preparation for war, but
icr conviction of duty anil the courage :
.nd patriotism to back it up. j gj
L'nder these circumstances she held j I
n check a mighty army of invasion g
or four long desperate years and cn i B 4
nany a gory field of battle bore off M
gloriously, the palm of victory. ( I
There were hours v. hen the issue ? M
eemed to hang in an even balance. I H
H
Lfter the first battle of Manassas, g E
. hen Alebrt Sidney Johnson pushed B V
{rant to the verge of destruction at
H
Shiloh; When Lee's plan to destroy g Ei
TcLellan after Malvern Hill almost lj K
ucceeded, and which would have sue- s
ecded had Stonewall Jackson been at g Q
lis side; when the British recognition B
f the Confederacy came near being
i fact; When Grant's men stood, at ^
>ne time, sternly rebuked and refused
o move; When Abraham Lincoln
i?.used on the verge of determination
to end the war at any cost;" these
cere hours, when in spite of unequal
irmies and other conditions the palm
if ultimate and final victory was alnost
in the grasp of your hand.
The sublimest spectacle of its kind
ver witnessed in modem times, was '
hat presented by the remnant of Lee's j
irmy in the closing days of this mighy
struggle. Men without pay, almost
vithout bread, with tattered clothes
ind ragged shoes still willing to anrwer
the call of the dium to another
>attle.
You, my honored veterans, were
imong those heroes, and we would be
>asc ingrates if we did not call down
ipon you, after sixty years, the rich
?st blessings of heaven, and stop long \
?nough, on an occasion like this, to
jay tribute to the memory of your
nartyred comrades, and wreathe your
>rows with chaplets of unfading glory!
"^>me six and fifty years have rolled E
iwav since the last drum-beat of the E
^ivil war died upon the summer's i
"??'? *Vio lnst hnclp-blast to bat-! I
/I unu fciiv 0 _ ?. _
le faded among the distant hills. fl
Hiat fair structure, the Confederate ?
Sates of America, ther fell like like I
i mighty giant of the forest, never I
o rise again. I
Beneath the debris of that mighty I
>ile, the hopes, the aspirations of the I
South seemed buried forever. But the ff
lesigns of Providence are inscrutable, I
ind His ways unsearchable, so that to- j (
lay we look out upon a Southland, B
>ur dear Southland, arisen from its I
all, rejuvenated and invigorated, and I Unarching
in the vanguard of advanc- I W1
ng civilization!" We shall still trust I ' n
God and the right, and go far- I ^
card! B ?,
Your love for the flag now forever I H
urled, and your devotion still to the I In
ause for which you fought, can by I H
10 means be interpreted as indicat- f [if
ng a lack of loyalty to your govern- I jfljj
nent, for the same patriotism that B Ml'
ailed forth your devotion to that I
.marantees your loyalty to this. B Ml
And now let me express the great B fir
oy that it gives me to greet so many B Jgj
f you on this annual memorial oc- BR
asion, and. as your Chaplain, to re- E H
ssure you of my profound interest B n
n your spiritual welfare, and to ex- E
iress the prayer of my heart that the fi
emaining days of your life on ear:h
lay be as earnestly devoted to your fi
nivitnni interests as it has in the g
ast been to your country's; and when
i) each of you the time comes to
pass over the river" may it be to join ,
oui- great leader, Stonewall Jack- v
on, and with him "rest under the
hade of the trees."
0 mi
Panama and straw hats cleaned and
locked. Work guaranteed. S. M. OA
Ungate at Kingstree Shaving Par>r.?Adv.
o
l few doses 666 break a cold. .
o ca
For Mayor XH1
Friends of Mr. W. R. Scott anounce
him as their candidate for
layor in the coming municipal elecion.
I 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I M I I IM4
| COTTON 11
| SHIPPING i |
; For best results :: g
t ship your cotton to " 1
S THE J g
i: JOHN :: I u
FLANNERY " g
I COMPANY :: I _
:;i 1
? TTT.-n M-u i 1 j?.
; W ill HictiitJ yuu nu- i |
: eral advances on con- j j | jg
signment of cotton. \\ i |g
j The :: J
: John Flannery :: ?1
Co., :: ^
: Savannah, Ga. ::
: 5-l2-4tc i:1
I I I I I I I 1 I I I 1 I I I I I I 1IHHI-1
: ivw> iriaim
ru? I
Buy Summer Time
Furniture Now!
4 f
YOU ARE VERY PROBABLY OOUNO TO BUY
SEVERAL ARTICLES OF "SUMMER FURNITURE" '
THIS YEAR SUCH AS PORCH ROCKERS, HAMMOCKS,
PORCH SHADES, REFRIGERATORS,
AND MANY OTHER SEASONABLE THINGS,
AREN'T YOU? THEN
Why Not Buy Now and Enjoy
it Through the Whole Season?
WE HAVE A BIG LINE OF ALL KINDS .OF
THINGS TO MAKE THE HOME MORE COMFORTABLE.
WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES AND FAMILY
TO MAKE HOME AS COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE
I '* * \
/J 9TZA good Refrigerator is
r a necessity?not a lux4\?zFJtll
(/Mt/Xrt4<j?Q?jiLnry, and like anything
.. ? ? e^S6' ^ t0 ^
KHHtII We carefully looked in
J^?p^ to claims of all manu1
facturers before we
|IJ' 1- V decided to handle the
jgKgLJ lines we sell. Come in ,
prices and show you ?
. . the superior points of
^ ^r? I
We are overstocked on Organs and will
ike you some attractive prices and terms
Every family needs some sort of musi1
instrument and a nice ORGAN is a good
expensive way to gratify this need. ftp
ir ORGANS are all very ornamental and Ig
iTe toned. Let us quote you prices.
ivingstree furniture. Uo.
"The Largest Stock in the State"
mtral Warehouse Building, IHWPCTDri? C f
rnier Mill Street and Hampton Ave. MliuOliuiii, 3. t.
Cheer Up __?iE@
m \s "'"home ceaffl
BBBBBBBBBBBEBBIBillH JOfaujaJ.ahn-BSMSKHWBBMMBBBMCTBBPHWfrB"'B "B -. B B -B " 'W~wrgs'
k