The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, October 23, 1909, Image 4
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1909.
The sumter Watchman was found
?4 In 1*50 and the True Southron in
ls6f. The Watchman and Southron
now has the combined circulation and
Influence of both of the old papers,
and is manifestly the best advertising
medium In Sumter.
????mmmSSSSSaSSB?
It 11' tOTTON MA UK KT.
Ttie following article was not writ?
ten in sum i t or about the Sumter
cotton market, but it tits conditions in
this city wsth such exact nicety that a
wM Inf irsied resident of Sumter
ooutd not lave described conditions
snore accurately and explicitly. The
article refers to the Anderson cotton
market, and as will be seen the cotton
sellers of Anderson are no better
pie** ?1 with the average price system
than arc .Sumter county farmers. The
erstem must be wrong or there would
?tat h- ?.? much dissatisfaction and
com pi not Why not give the plan of
buying ?trtetly by grade a fair trial?
"It necnui to us that the trouble
with the Anderson cotton market is
that the cotton is not sold on its
merit...
"An average price is offered, and
every bale that comes in is sold at
that price, whether it is middling, low
middling m good middling.
"It M? on the same principle as if an
aver.it;>? price were fixed for Hour and
all Krade? of flour sold at that price.
"fcJvety bale of cotton ought to he
sold on it., merits. The farmer who
ha* estra good cotton should not be
required to take less than it is worth.
The farmer who has inferior cotton
should not he paid more than It is
worth
4 It Im claimed that by the average
jprerv system the farmers get more for
shear cotton as a whole than they
tvfjsjd get if they sold it strictly on a
gram* basis. We think there must be
aoeae mistake about that. It is not a
reasonable proposition.
But urhuther the claim is true or
net. the present system is causing a
great dial of dissatisfaction.
'The question of excess bagging is
a matter that will adjust Itself. If
tee ?nu h begging Is put on a bale of
cott ?n the buyer has a right to de?
duct the excess, of course. But he
ea*MMH stand up for that right in full
gm*4 faith unlejss he has paid the full
wi'o for the cot? >ii.
MM*jVcu'y ?r thitty cent, w >rtn
beginn? mi a tale of cotton is a
?in ? t SI I Tt I uld
he (hat en tne Anderson market cot?
ton will ?all for Ita real value, no
more and no less.
"There la no more reason why the
rnHU should pay more for cotton than
it is ?orth than there Is that the far
mere should sell cotton for less than
It ??. worth.
"And yet this Is what happens ev?
ery day under the present system of
fining a? average price?cotton sells
elfkcr too high or too low. The av?
erage price is unfair to either the
bur, r or the seller, and we believe it
Is unfair to both.
I/et the Anderson market be put
back on the old basis, that of grad?
ing all tne cotton and selling each
halo on its merits. Let a trial be
mad ?, anyhow, and lets see if this
will not solve the problem.'*?Ander?
ten Malt.
KUMTKIfH GKKATKST NFKI>.
A IvivvUng Man Fndor.se* tlie Plan to
Ituild a Modern Hotel.
To the Bditor of the Dally Item:
Tbcre la a splendid opportunity for
QuUrfde capitalists to Invest their
momy In an enterprise which is sure
Si give big returns on their invest?
ment* and that Is to build an up-to
dat" mod rn hotel. There is a cry?
ing ?i^ccAsity for another. The Idea
of a city the size of Sumter with,
sag tS.tyO people, a largo floating
sopul.itlm. having only one place for ,
the accommodation of the traveling j
pubbc is almost inconceivable, but so
It la The writer was asked by a
Northerner on a train entering Sum?
ter whi h was the best hotel. When
told Ihe only one w . the best, In
fac< tt wj. Holwon's choice, tithOf g*>
to II? ? (inly hotel or take your ehanOOS
at ?.?*?! ? boarding house. Now in a
city gs thriving, progressiv?* and ener
getl' * . sijmt.t, mich a condition of
sffaiiN ihould not exist and if the
CtiambT of Comcmrce, th?? mer?
chants, thy bankers, and the citizens
gee vi illy well o?*?rt themselves Sum?
ter v.-it! have a commodious, well
egu'tw* -t and well constructed hotel,
wlo H Ail* be an attraction t> the
city ml materially increa.se the value
of *m 'O^rty, and be in keeping with
the stately and imposing postofflce.
when completed.
N ? ?' Is the lime, the place and the
sptiortanuy far capitalists to invest
theb surpl'i* money in a paying In?
vest in n? and at the same time help
te bwuttfy the thriving city of Sum?
ter. and the traveling public well ever
pray. et:.
A TftAVF.IJNO MAN
H. . -? (\. <?ct. 20. 1909
Th I ? ?' ?1 rei IpU of cott??f 1 Ml ttllg
rnaik.-i U date esceed 17.000.
Farmers, Union News
?AND -
Practical Thoughts for Practical Farmers
(Conducted by E. W. Dabhs, President Farmers'* Union of Suniter
County.)
The Watchman and Southron having decided to double its service by
semi-weekly publication, would improve that service by special features.
The first to be Inaugurated is this Department for the Farmers' Union and
Practical Farmers which I have been requested to conduct. It will be my
aim to give the Union news and official calls of the Union. To that end
officers, and members of the Union are requested to use these columns.
Also to publish such clippings from the agricultural papers and Govern?
ment Bulletins ay I think will be of practical benefit to our readers. Ori?
ginal articles by any of our readers telling of their successes or failures
will bd appreciated and published.
Trusting this Department will be of mutual benefit to all concerned,
THE EDITOR.
All communications for tl is Department should be sent to E. W. Dabbs.
Mayesville, S. C.
A BIG YIELD OF WHEAT.
Georgia Farmer Grows 300 Bushels
On Six Acres.
As requested I will try to inform
the readers of your paper hjw I made
3J0 lushels of wheat on six acres of
cemmon land, says T. C. Kelley. < f
Henry County, Ga., writing in the
Southern Cultivator. I call it common
because it formerly made only about
half a bale of cotton per acre, this
land was cleared about fifteen years
ago and has had no extra care, being
worked by tenant until last fall some
farmers began agitating the wheat
question. Some contended that you
could not make wheat without cotton
seed or manure, and not having much
manure, and cotton seed being worth
$1 per hundred, they didn't think It
would pay to use seed at that price,
s ?me even said seed would buy more
flour than your wheat would make.
1 decided I would see if wheat
couldn't be profitably raised with
commercial fertilizers. About the 1st
of November I ran a stalk cutter,
chopping them fine, afterwards I scat?
tered about 500 pounds Ollt-Edge 10
2-2 guano (made by Atlanta Oil and
Fertilizer Company) broadcast per j
acre and broke land crosswise with ?
scooter ploughs then laid off lands
nro*? ormrwdte way and broad?
cast, the same amount of guano (5ao
pa .ids per acre) again and sowed
IM I i. :.el of wboat per acre and
ploughed in with some single scQOtef
ploughs that I broke with first time,
harrowed It over after ploughing in
until I got surface thoroughly pulver?
ized. Wheat came up a perfect stand
and began to grow nicely. About
Mnrch 15 I scattered two sacks of ni?
trate of soda over the six acres, leav?
ing out two small lands. This I th'nk
increased the yield considerably, as
there was a decided difference In the
lands. I left and where I put the ni?
trate over. Below I give expense of
making wheat:
Preparing and sowing.$ 6.00
Broadcasting guano. 1.00
1 ?m shels w heat at $1.30 .. .. 7.80
6.000 pounds guano. 60.00
2 sacks nitrate of soda. 12.00
Harvesting with binder. 6.00
HauMng wheat to thresh.. .. 5.00
Thresb's total. 35.00
Total.$132.89
Deduct this from 300 bushels of
wheat at $1.20 or $390, we have a
clear profit of $257.20, or nearly $43
profit per acre. Besides, I have a fine
crop of peavine hay growing on tho
land, also my land will be in fine
shape for a crop another year.
I have land that will make twice as
much cotton per acre as the land T
sowed in wheat, but it won't near pay
the profit that my wheat did.
P. S.?I only had 280 bushels of
wheat threshed, but fed about 30
shocks to my stock, conservatively
estimating it I place it at 300 bush?
els.
FOREIGN BUYING OF COTTON.
Surprise Expressed at Amount Going
To European Mills.
Boston, Oct. 16.?Considerable sur?
prise is being evinced among Amer?
ican cotton mill treasurers at the
present enormous volume of cotton
exports, which are going to the mills
of Europe, and particularly to Eng
| lend, at a time when the Americans
. have not entered the market to any
I extent for their new supplies of the
staple. Exports since September I
have been larger than in either of the
last two years, | total of 984,000 bales
this year comparing with 822,000
bales for the same period of last year
and 621.000 bales for the same period
of 1907.
Considering that foreign mills are
in a much worse postlon than those
in this country, and have, in fact,
t ? ?>n curtailed to about 5 per cent of
capacity for som<? weeks, it is a ques?
tion whether these exports represent
recent purchases of ootton at prevail"
Irvr hltfh prices. It is good opinion
thai they rather rcpr< nt deliveries
n contracts mads earlier >?> ihs year,
at lower prices, to mills which "hedg?
ed" at that time.
Notwithstanding this view, it is no
secret that the present situation is
causing considerable disappointment
among American mills, which were
unquestionably depending on a small
foreign demand to mal:e for some?
what lower prices for the staple this
fall. Many mills in the South and
also in New England have already
come to the end of their supplies of
the old crop, and are now buying
from hand to mouth for their current
needs. Few, if any mills, however,
are stocking up for next year's busi?
ness.
THE FEEDING OF HOGS.
Live stock Association Will Take Up
Important Matters at the Next Ses?
sion.
The" Live Stock Association will
meet Just after fair week this year,
possibly during the fair, the exact
date not having been set yet.
One of the matters that is of vital
Importance to this association is the
feeding of cattle and hogs so as to
produce the best results.
Since cottonseed oil mills have
grown so common in the South, cot?
tonseed meal has become a standard
feed for cattle and has proved most
acceptable and profitable, both for
dairy cattle and beef cattle. This fact
naturally led to experiments in feed?
ing horses, mules and hogs These
experiments have been boti . ecess
ful and unsuccessful, according as
proper or improper conditions were
observed.
For feeding horses and mules, cot?
tonseed meal may be. with profit,
mixed with corn, using one to two
pounds of cottonseed meal per day.
There have never been any failures
or difficulties by this method.
The best ration tried for hogs was
two pounds of cottonseed meal and
eight pounds of corn well mixed, cov?
ered with water and allowed to. fer?
ment. The above ration of ten pounds
Is about right for three days' feed
for a 75-pound hog.
The ration produces a gain in
weight of one pound for every five
pounds fed, while a pure corn atlon
requires about 13 pounds of feed per
pound gained. The total average gain
for three months was 57 pounds per
head, with the mixed ration, as
against 16 1-4 for the corn ration.
It is shown that the farmer saves
60 per cent, of the cost by using the
meai for his hogs.
Dr. Whittaker to Speak.
Rev. J. E. Whittaker, D. D.. pas?
tor of Holy Trinity church, Lancaster,
Pa., will be here to lecture in St.
James church next Monday night.
Subject: "The Reformation of the
Sixteenth Century."
Dr. Whittaker is a very prominent
and influential member of the Gen?
eral Council. A man of pleasing ad?
dress, fine speaker and puplit orator;
an author, and a man of wide experi?
ence and very capable of handling
ids subject to the delight of his au?
dience. His lecture will be edifying
and instructive. Next Monday night,
and the public Is cordially invited to
attend.
Doll iiazaar.
The members of Sumter's Home
Chapter, D. A. R., are preparing to
hold a Doll Bazaar about the last of
November. There Will be dolls of all
kinds for sale, large and small, be?
sides other features attractive for
young and old. A new game is prom?
ised for the little ones. The proceeds
from this sale will be used in fur?
thering the work of the D. A. R.'s,
which is educational and patriotic.
Mose Pierson, alias Si Plunkard,
who escaped from a court constable
after having been convicted of lar?
ceny In the Court of General Sessions
more than a year ago, and recently
captured in Florida, and brought
back, was brought Into court Mon?
day and the sealed sentence left by
Judge Watts read to him. iif was
given two years on the chalngang.
TIIK IDEAL UNIVERSITY.
President Woodrow Wilson of i*rince
ton Says That it Should insure the
Aua kenin? of the Whole Man.
The word "university" means, in
our modern usage, so many differ* nt
things that almost every time one em?
ploys It, it seems necessary to define
it, says Woodrow Wilson, President of j
Princeton University. Nowhere has
it so many meanings as in America,
where institutions of all kinds display
it in the titles they bestow upon
themselves. School, college and uni?
versity are readily enough disting?
uishable, in fact, by those who take
the pains to look into the scope and
methods of their teaching; but they
are quite indistinguishable, often?
times, in name. They are as likely
as not all to bear the same title.
The American university as we now
see it consists of many parts. At its
heart stands the college, school of
general training. Above and around
the college stand the graduate and
technical schools, in which special
studies are prosecuted and prepara?
tion is given for particular profes?
sions and occupations. Technical and
professional schools are not a neces?
sary part of a university, but they are
greatly benefited by close association
with a university; and the university
itself is unmistakably benefited and
quickened by the transmission of its
energy into them und the reaction of
their standards and objects upon it.
There is an ideal at the heart of
everything American, and the ideal at
the heart of the American university
is intellectual training, the awakening
of the whole man, the thorough in?
troduction of the student to the life of
America and of the modern world,
the completion of the task undertak?
en by the grammar and high schools
of equiping him for the full duties
of citizenship. It is with that idea
vhttt I have said that the college
stands at the heart of the American
university. The college stands for
liberal training. Its object is dipcip
line and enlightenment. The aver?
age thoughtful American does not
want his son narrowed in all his gifts
and thinking to a particular occupa?
tion. He wishes him to be made free
of the world in which men think
about and understand many things,
and to know how to handle himself
in it. He desires a training for him
which will give, him a considerable
degree of elasticity and adaptability,
and fit him to turn in any direction
he chooses.
If the American college were to be?
come a vocational school, preparing
only for particular callings, it would
be thoroughly un-American. It would
be serving special, not general, needs,
and seeking to create a country of
specialized men without versatility or
general capacity.
Knew Its True Value.
SylvesteY Long, of Dayton, O., tells
this story of some commercial friends
of his:
A customer who bought in a small
way from the wholesalers and whose
credit was not of the sort known as
gilt-edged, visited the city and pur?
chased a $2,8 00 bill of goods, paying
$2.500 in cash and giving his note for
the remaining $300.
After the transaction had been
closed and the paper and currency
had canged hands the customer said:
"Now, after a deal of that size it
is customary to give the purchaser a
present. Come across with it.."
"We'll throw In a pair of suspend?
ers," laughed the salesman, tempor
izingly.
"A pair of suspenders, eh! Say,
quit fooling. I really mean it. I ex?
pect you to do something in acknowl?
edgment of my patronage."
The salesman went to the manager
with the problem and the manager
said:
"Well, if he feels that way about it
we might encourage him a bit. We'll
do something that ought to please
him greatly. Give him back his $300
note. Make him a present of his pa?
per. That will make him a cash cus?
tomer, raise his credit and save him
money besides."
The salesman went back, pleased
to be the bearer of such joyful tidings
of liberality in busienss.
"Well, sir,' he said, "we've arrang?
ed about that present, all right.
"Here," with a flourish, "is your note.
We give it back to you."
The customer did not beem enthu?
siastic. Instead, without looking at
the note, he asked:
"Is it indorsed?"
"No," said the salesman in aston?
ishment.
"Then I guess you better gimme
the suspenders," said the disappoint?
ed customer.?Chicago News.
The United States government is
spending $86,000 in the erection of
new barracks and other buildings on
Sullivan's Island.
The Marlboro county grand jury
charges that there is something
wrong in the accounts of the trees
! urer and superintendent of education
and recommends the employment of
;?n expert to check oxer the books.
OLD H ADMEY AT WILLINGTON.
Judge Longetroet, Author of "Georgia
Scenes," Studied at BdgefleM
School, Where Cnlhonn, McDnale,
Legare, PCCtgru, Crawford and Pat?
rick Were Trained by Mose* Wad
doll.
(George F. Meli- n in the Chattanooga
By the fathers and mothers of
many of us few names were cherished
with more fondness than that of Au?
gustus B. Longstreet. I recall how
my fathe r, who went to Georgia as a
Xew England schoolmaster, used to
laugh over the pranks and jokes of
"Ned Brace." as delineated in that al?
ways refreshing book of humor. '
"Georgia Seem s." As the author of
this book. Judge Longstreet will long
live, when his work as lawyer, judge,
preacher and college president shall
have become dim through age. Bish?
op O. P. Fitzgerald of Nashville, in
his "Longstreet?A Life Sketch," tells
us Just enough about the boyhood of
this noble and useful man to make
one wish that, even within a brief
space he had given a nearer view.
The first glimpse of the boy is as a
pupil in Richmond academy, in his
native city, Augusta, Ga. The tasks
are irksome. The teachers are with?
out love and sympathy. In after years
he spoke of the school as having been
a "hateful penitentiary-" Surely, there
must have been some use of the rod
or the dunce cap that left so unpleas?
ant memory. Men who have risen to
great eminence \v?re treated in school
with v/hat was called "a dose of hick?
ory oil.' Thomas Carlylo, the great
English writer, confessed that it was
once applied very helpfully in his own
career. While at school he boldly
told the teacher that he had grave
doubts about the Bible and Christian?
ity as divine. To this the principal of
the "Blue-Coat School" replied:
"Come this way, my lad, and take off
your jacket." Soundly thrashed for
his skepticism, he ever afterwards, he
sahj. found himself clothed in his
right mind, and his vanity gone.
Wttliam H. Crawford, who came
very^ near being a president of the
United Stntes, was for three years a
teacher in this academy, at the close
of the eighteenth century. It must
have been a little later on when Au?
gustus was having much trouble. He
said that it was the language In which
the rules of the book were given that
he could not understand and the
teachers gave him little or no help.
After a while the father of Augus?
tus moved to Edgefield district in
South Carolina. There the boy spent
two happy years. Under the open sky.
In the freshness of country life, amid
the resinous smell of old field pines,
he waxed strong. His ambition came
to be to show himself the best run?
ner, the best jumper and the best
wrestler of his neighborhood. This
free, easy, joyous life, it was granted
to him to enjoy no longer than two
years. Richmond academy was again
to claim him as a student. He was
loath to return. The experiences and
trials of former years haunted him
like a cruel vision. However, the turn?
ing point of his career came through
the new associations he enjoyed in
Augusta.
George McDuffie was clerking in
the city. The two were only about
forty days apart in age. They chanc?
ed to be thrown under the same roof,
and became roommates. The rare
promise which McDuffie fulfilled in
after life as a statesman was display?
ed whih a merchant s clerk. His mind
was filled with a burning desire for
good knowledge. Such books and
newspapers as came in his way he
eagerly read. Slowly, but certainly,
his love for knowledge was commu?
nicated to his companion. In his joy
over the good things he read he in?
sisted on reading aloud to Augustus
Longstreet. At first the latter found
it irksome, then endurable and finally
delighted. After this, as it were, their
intimacy grew and ripened. Their
tastes had become congenial. Their
association reacted beneficially.
Through observation young Augustus
derived constant aid. He saw that
young George, after reading a book or
newspaper, remembered far more of
tne contents than he. Therefore, he
sot himself diligently to the work of
improving his memory and of dis?
criminating in the choice of reading
matter.
Two more years were spent at
Richmond academy. When these were
ended young Longstreet and McDuffie
were sent to Dr. Moses Waddell at
Willington, South Carolina. This was
the most famous preparatory school
of the South. Dr. Waddell. who af?
terwards accepted the presidency of
the University of Georgia, was know
as the South s "Thomas Arnold," and
Willington as its "Rugby.' Here were
trained such men as John C. Calhoun,
William li. Crawford, Hugh S. Le?
gare, Jamee L, Petlgru and other men
who came to enjoy like fame. Among
students were, in embryo, a vice pres?
ident, foreign ministers, members of
cabinets, governors, senators, con?
gressmen and men of every honorable
station In life. MeDufiie rose to a
United stat?s senatorshlp and to the
governorship of South Carolina.
Longstreet became a judge. While
News.)
the nominee of his party, the Demo?
cratic, for congress, with his election
assured, he gave up the nomination.
He became a preach* r, sub qusfttty
to become the president of church
colleges and State universities. A po?
litical careefi so auspiciously begun,
was forevef abandoned, though he
h
never lost interest Injpoltlcal affairs.
The boys who attend the academies
of the present, with their fine build
Ings, beautiful grounds and comfort?
able quarters, have little idea of what
was the character of Wellington when
Judge Longstreet attended it. As
most academies in the South before
the Civil War, it was situated on the
I principal s lands, in the depths of the
J country, far away from any city. In
J its most prosperous days it was at
I tended by 130 students. These lived
J in log cabins, whose chimneys were
mostly sticks, though sometimes of
I brick. In long rows they fronted each
J other. Strung out underneath the
j over-arching oaks, they formed a
J long street. At its end stood the two
I room school building, a frame struc?
ture. One room was for the little fel
I lows, the other for the?more advanced
boys.
Besides books, here the boys were
taught the doctrine of self-help. They
not infrequently built their own huts
or cabins. For fuel they were re
I quired to gc into the woods for the
J supply. Once , addressing the students
of a college, he urged the lesson and
I benefit of manual labor upon younp
men. He sfdd that during the three
J years of his pupilage at Willington al
I the fuel consumed on his hearth was
j cut from the woods by himself and
I room-mates, and was borne a long dis
I tance to their door. Often they gave
j four hours to this work, following it
j with five hours of evening study,
j Those were days of heroic effort and
J aspiration. Among the students like?
wise engaged with him were George
IN. G ilmer, who became a governor of
j Georgia; Hugh S. Legare, who be
I came a cabinet member ^nd minister
I to a foreign court and McDuffle,
j whose positions of honor were num
I erous.
Under Dr. Waddell, Willington pre
I pared students for the junior class
j of any American college. Calhoun and
J Longstreet entered this class In Tale
I college, Patrick Noble, who was gov
I ernor of South Carolina entered the
J same class at Princeton, while Mc
I Duffle entered the junior class in
J South Carolina college. After two
I years at Yale and one year in a Con
I necticut law school, Judge Longstreet
entered upon his long, varied and
brilliant career.
Cotton Bearing Trees.
A test is to be made of the value of
the fibre of the cotton bearing trees
which grow wild in Sonora and Sin
aioa, Mexico. The tree is known to
the Mexicans as the aldone. The staple
of the cotton Is not as long as that
grown by the American planter, but
there is no need of ginning it. Merely
flaying it with a pole while it is
spread out on a canvas or a floor will
rfd It of the seeds. The staple is about
an inch long.
Charles Cummins, a rancher who
has a hacienda near La Past< rilla in
Sonora, has been experimenting with
the cotton and is preparing to put up
a small mill to weave cloth as an ex?
periment. He believes that he will be
able to produce a cloth as good as
anything that can be made from ordi?
nary cotton, and if so he says there is
enough of the product in Mexico to
supply that country with alll the cot?
ton goods it will need.
The Mexicans have never attempt?
ed to weave the fibre, but they have
for ages been using the lint for filling
matresses and pillows, and they find
that it is far superior to ordinary cot?
ton as it is spongy and does not gath?
er into knots.
The bolls are much larger than the
cotton bolls. The method of Mexi?
cans in gathering the cotton is to pull
the bolls just about the time they are
ripe enough to open and before they
begin to drop their contents, and to
let them dry, when they will crack
open and the lint can be moved read
i4y. The lint is then piled on a can?
vas or a floor and is Hailed after the
old-fashioned way of threshing
wheat, anc* the seeds readily dropout
of the lint. The fibre is then gather?
ed up and is ready for use.
Mr. Cummings says the fibre *s
stronger than the American cotton
and he believes the cloth will be more
durable.
That Tired Feeling.
John G. Johnson. Philadelphia's
famous lawyer, was discussing drunk?
enness from the legal point of view
In the smokeroom of the Rotterdam.
"No," said Mr. Johnson smiling,
"the law doesn't take the eccentric
view of drunkenness that prevails
among hard drinkers.
"A hard drinker's view of drunken?
ness is very odd. I once knew a man
whoh ad been seen by several wit?
nesses snoring over a large beer and
a small whiskey in a saloon. This
man, though, swore be was not
drunk.
M *l was only." he said, 'fatipued
with drinking.'"?Chicago Journal.