Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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City of Union and Suburbs Hat ' ? ^ B" W W T % I *B~ A V * ^ I ^ T M ?* ^n*?n #n<* ^u*,or')8 Fiv?- karge Cot ton i Mills, One Knitting I I I I J I I B ) * I I /B I J Five Graded Schools, Water Work#, nn<l rspinuiuK Mill with Dye Plant, Oil H H I I I . B J ^ LBf I I j Beweragf System, Electric Lights, Three Mill, t-urmturw Manufactuiiug Mid . > 1 V W W I I I W I J L J Hanks w ith uggiegate capital of $260,000, Lumber Yards, Female seminary. ' h JL JL A -L y .L \~J.t ^ X Jf -M_ JL If X JL^A V^S % Electric Railway. Population 7,000. VOL i.V. No 6. ~~ PNTON'. WIRH CAROUjoTntfbAf jp BRIARV 10, 1905. ?<].(|() A YEAR" ' We Have M On Cotton or k .f \ . Collateral, and Pi to have an int Wra. A. NICHOLS , THE PUTOttfrOr f AMERICAN C-OTTOI The Soo the Only D< pendente?Europe N - r ? m * ^uui|itiiiui "-r riaiiutcH turersi Pear Shortagi the greatest 'manufacturing* in dustry of the world, employipj more than two billion dollars o capital; and annually producing . >an equal amount of manufacture) godas, or three hundred millioi **? aoll&rs more than the value o %> the primary forms of manufac ^ turel iron and steel; it is th dominant power in commerce; i brings to us from Europe a _* _ :n: ..... average ui a milium uvuais wvw ? day in the. year. And yet hoi little do we show our apprecia tion of it. We gin it with the gin made b Whitney more than a hundre years ago; we compress it wit macniney a century old; w waste its substance and destro its vitality; we even sell its bes seed to the oibmills and plant th inferior, Then we wonder wh its virility has been weakened an its product lessened. But a better day is dawninj The ablest scientists are seekin to improve the quality of tl seed and the method of cultivj tion; experts are working on be ter machinery to gin and cles and compress cotton; the worl is anxious to fill the South fields with labor that its produ tion may be increased to ke< pace witn the world's constant growing demands. . , Ever since cotton became tl greatest power in commerc European countries have strive to find a source of supply suf cient to make them independe ? of our Southern States. F three-quarters of a century tl agitation has been carried o ? and as far back as 1840 a larj number of expert Southern c< ; ton growers were employed 1 English companies organized f the purpose of developing cott " interests in India and other Br ish possessions. In that yc eight men were engaged i Natchez alone for this purpose. COTTON AND THE CIVIL WAR. T afn? An wVian tho C.ivril Ui \SMMp ww livIA VltV VIVtl f ? cut short the cotton supp bringing about great disasl alike to the spinners and opei tives of Lancashire?cotton bei so scarce that it sold at one til for one dollar and ninety centf pound in New York?the m vigorous efforts were made English people, as well as by 1 government itself, to deve cotton cultivation in Egypt, dia and elsewhere. But South still maintains a practi monopoly of the world's cot production. Climatic conditio soil, labor and other advanta to loney to Lend other Acceptable I we shall be glad erview with YOU! ^ v- . t QM SON, Bankers. mAf *a f combine to injure the t>?rmajr nencyof its control 'of this inand seeks to deptete the price of lo what he is compelled to purchase. _ Foreign spinners, and to a con^ L" sideraole extent the spinners of Z. New England, have had no interest in the South other than to nt get their cotton at the lowest ie possible cost. Natural!^, they nave been even more pronounced 15 fhanl' I . Western farmery or of foreigners, ? f since immigration seeks the home I 1 of prosperity and not of poverty. 8 r With an increasing demand for t j laborers in industrial enterprises t n and cailroa/i work, the supply on \ f farm&has steadily grown smaller, _ and the former poverty of the t e growers. largely produced by the s t cotton-mills of the world them- ? n selves, was responsible for pre- , y venting an influx of other laborv ers. j The flnancial editor of the New \ York Sun recently, in discussing ( y the influence of the mills upon \ ci prices, said. ^ 1 For years spinners or their , e agents nave had the whip-hand j y of the Southern cotton-planters, , ,t and have been enabled to keep e cotton prices exceedingly low. ( y For years Liverpool buyers made < H practically what price for cotton they wished,. time and again j frustrating the efforts of South- , [g em planters to secure a fair reie turn for their toil. Now the ( a_ dread balance of nature is turned t- against them, and their undue in gains in times past are pitilessly Id wrested from them. There is ?8 this thought, too, that is upper- j c- most in ine minds of all those ?p who h>ve looked at the matter jy from end to end, that it is highly improbable that for years to le come American cotton will sell e, at what may be called low figures, that is to say, prices that will not make the industry a very nt profitable one for American proor ducers. lis The advance in prices during n, 1902 and 1903 has generally been ?e discussed as if it were a phe)t_ nomenal condition due to wildi by speculation in cotton. On the or contrary, there are only two on periods in the last hundred years it- in which cotton has not averaged ar higher than during these years. in FORTY CENTS A POUND. Prior to 1832 the average price of cotton ranged from about 14 ar or 15 centsJto as high as 40 cents w* a pound, in 183Z-33 the average tor price in New York for the entire fa- year for what is classed as midng dling cotton was 12.32 cents per roe pound, reaching in 1834-35 17.45 [ a cents. These high prices continued by until 1839-40, when there was a the decline to an average of a little lop less than 9 cents for the year, la- going steadily on down to 5.63 the cents in 1844-45, the lowest point cal known. From this there was a ton quick rally to higher figures, ros, 1 running from about 11 cents to ga?|l8 cents a pound, up to the war. 1 ^fWTf^iowar the scarcity I cotton forced prices to unhearfl of figures, which reached at oil time in New YQrk $1.90 a pounl Omitting the war period ail the few years immediately fol lowing affected by the war seal city, the general average <1 prices between 1849*50 and 1881 IdO^as fn&th about 11 centos 1 4)Qund to 13 l-^&nts, at fffnes cotforwgold at over 2fl cents a pound. In 1890-91-therB began a IqnggjItifld.Qf low price! period^^Sf||^^9BfRSBS|| <mits cottfcnMHHre v ( : V la fapt; ditiond produced* it SfajglflMpyifoftS that the net duction w? &lra|ljMMSlj$S< low prices with ah for the yeaRjM8SHK*l^^@ wh eh ?ow prices>gvg rfil cauSes are gains? the possibility of an early ncrease; the boll-weevil, the :reatest danger which has menced the cotton industry, the deerioration of seed by reason of he bast seed having been sold >y the tenants and poorer farmers to the oil mills, the deterioraion of soil under the tenantry iystem,* and the lack of labor, rhese are all factors which canlot be ignored. The boll-weevil is a problem ?or which there is as.yet no soution. We can only nope for its lestruction upon the ground that n this advanced age science rvill prove equal to meeting the avages of an insect when an nterest of such tremendous importance is at stake. It is the consensus of opinion >f the best authorities of the South that there has been a marked deterioration in seed, thus lessening the vitality of the plants, and lessening their ability to meet unfavorable weather conditions which a strong and virile plant would overcome. This can be remedied, but it will take several years to do it. It may take the most active cooperation of the national govern ment through the Agricultural Department, but whether it involves the expenditure of one million or fifty million dollars is immaterial in view of its importance. AN EXAMPLE OF INCREASE. The industrial development oi the South has increased to suet an extent that this section now has sixoy thousand miles of rail road against twenty thousand ii 1880, and one billion two hundrec and fifty million dollars investe( in manufacturing against tw< hundred and fifty-seven millioi dollars in 1880. This has mad' such a demand upon the field for factory and railroad hand that the shortage in cotton labo can only be overcome by price sufficiently high to tempt mei back from industrial employmen to the farm. This is not probabl except on a limited scale. The only other way in whic this need for labor can be pei manently met is by the incorr ing of hundreds of thousands c farmers and farm laborers froi other sections or from abroa( or by the invention of a succesi ful cotton-picking machine. The abnormally large yield < 1904 waa due to exceptions causes which may never occi again. During the early grov ing season unusually favorab! , weather gave the plant a goc 3f start, later on a drough 3- of unprmnented Ien rth, whicl le extendejWrom New Englanc i. thrbugttKapisylvania to the fai id So#,Ved the most favorable 1- season JjKwhich there is an> r i^(|Hrd flr the opening of the f cotton bpl nnd its picking. The )- av^^^leld of ??.ttori 's e lsSflwSfeage of lint ran from l thuvlive to thirty-eight per fil some cases as high F;^| ^prty-five per cent. ilson of the Agrifl w? Kfinicr.tment thinks the of this was that in QBuEmHng to peculiar weather W^UBgfk, the plant did not take nutriment in the soil the crop of 1904 abI pie unutilized nutriment |mH9K3 well as that of 1901. iTpnf^Hhicing this exceptionally Kg&aMHportion of lint. Hence iH^Kl crop of 1904 stands as I^H^^BPtion, and does not in MBgchange the situation. the poverty resulting flw-pricc cotton, it was HB^HK>ossible to tempt immi|HHto the South, but with a jn H*ange of values for cotton prosperity which has agricultural interests HB||HH&uth, the problem of sej ISflHuditional population bel cQgjtiffnu'bh easier. There is al? Ra marked movement of IMB frbm the North and 1 flr this section, and here I in the cotton belt are ^^^Kof Italian laborers, whose only in diversified agriIjtfHftait in cotton growing has ffS6^1}remarkably successful. ! Kt>ld idea that negroes were My^Ho cotton production has wSfc^cotton-gn^^^^S^^K the most marked advance^ are those in which white farmer^jure . .< * in tne largest majority, rne. Italians have demonstrated that foreigners can come into the South as farmers and farm laborers to their own great financial profit and to the benefit of the South. TURNING POPULATION SOUTHWARD Heretofore .the world at large has had no interest in turning population southward.* Now Eu- , rope and America alike are deeply concerned in making it possible for the South, by heavy immigration, to meet the world's demands for cotton. Not long ago one of the largest cotton mill owners of New England, a man who had never had any interest in the welfare of the South, except to buy his cotton there, said to the writer: "The world faces a cotton famine. A crop of even eleven million bales is entirely too small, and some means must be devised by which the South can, within the next few years, increase its production to at least fifteen million bales. I can see only one L 1_ !i. l_ 1 _ ^ way m wnicn n, is possioie ior j this to be brought about, and J that is for a combination of the people of the South, of the railroads, and of all others interested in this problem, to unite in turning to your section a great tide f "of foreign ropulation to supplel ment your labor supply, which is r inadequate to meet the emer gency." 1 He but expressed the feeling 1 of thousands of cotton manufac1 turers in New England, in Enga land and on the continent of i Europe. They fully understand e that it will be a far easier propos sition to increase the Soutn's s production by increasing its labor r supply, than it will be to develop s cotton growing in Africa or elsen where. it; If they will turn their attention e to this line of work with energy i ermal to that, whioh thev have for h years given to beating down the r price of cotton, regardless of the i- impoverishment of the producer, ?f ana will devote to it one-tenth n of the discussion which they are 1, giving to the uneconomic attempt r to grow cptton elsewhere, ir competition with the South, theii >f difficulties will soon vanish, pro al vided they recognize that unless ir cotton brings a fair firofit to th< 7- grower, they must suffer from i le supply unequal to their d mands Hi There is ample territory for the 1 F. M. FARR, President. 1 r ?t : Merchants and Pla I i Successfully Doing Bus i am Is the OLDEST liankli Q h?n n OHi'itHi and nnrplt H 9| istb -on v N NTIONA' E H has paid dividends n 1 I pavn FOUK |mt cont. fl B In the only Hank in Un| B baa Hurglar- i'reof vau B B pays more taxes than A i_ WE EARNESTLY SOL extension of cotton growing in the South. Mllions of acres of good land can be had at reasonable prices. But a small part of the possible cotton-growing area of the South has yet been put to cultivation. Moreover, there are about fifteen million acres of the richest cotton land in the world, which could be reclaimed by the expenditure of about twenty million dollars by the national government in leveeing the Mississippi River. The fifteen million acres which would thus be saved from overflow could alone produce almost as much cotton 1 as the entire South yields today. But even without this and without adding new area, better 1 cultivation and more thorough J fertilization will enable the South ?once free from the menace of < the boll-weevil?to produce a ( much larger crop on the acreage c now cultivated. Given fairly < profitable prices, that section } which during the last -century J created the greatest and most ? far-reaching industry of which ^ the nineteenth century can boast,, 1t PgQg&ce, which has t-he. cumate 1 * flKf.ithe j able to meet the utmostmSolW^ the world fbr cotton.?Richard' H. Edmonds in The Youth's 1 Companion. "V < ? -*? ??. i NeWs from Chester. . j / t1 Dear Editor: I will attempt to i narrate the current events of this j place. _|| The weather has been intensely cold for the past few days, so cold, in fact, the Broad came very nearly becoming a solid sheet of ice. On last Wednesday, Mr. R. C. Thomson was severely burned. Mr. Thomson has been in ill health for some time; the day on which he was burned being very cold, he requested that the hot water bottles be placed in his bed. The request was Complied with, when lo! one of the rubbers bursted, thereby depositing the boiling water on the sick man's body from the waist downward; his present condition is considered rather precarious; he. however, evinces wonderful fortitude in his extreme suffering. Miss Beatrice Pratt has returned home, after a month's visit to Columbia, Rock Hill and other places. She reports a pleasant time while gone. Mrs. N. J. McGurkin anticipated visiting her cousin, Mrs. Ed Worthy, of Meridian, Miss., during the coming spring, but recently received a letter from Mrs. Worthy, stating that they Vi'iA fol/ori 11 r\ rocirlotipa in TJnepn A IUU tUIVVyil U p A V/kJIvlVllV/V All AVVUVVj Texas. Mrs. McGurkin says she is undecided now, as to the definite date, when she will attempt to visit Mrs. Worthy in her far Western home. Mr. J. R. Page has moved to Wilkesburg. Mr. Joe Hill has gone to Chester for a few days stay. Mr. and Mrs. J. 0. Pratt visited Mrs. Pratt's father at Wilkesburg, recently. Mr. Philip Adelsteimer, of Chester, visited his sister at Lockhrrt not long since, e ( Mr^. Janij Lennuond has been / ?sa> J. O. ARTHUR, Cashier. h: e nters National Bank, iness at the "Old Stand." i Union, us of ?1(X\000. Hank in Union, iounti:ifr to $200 400, Interest on deposits. Ion inspected by tin officer. It. and Hafe with Tlroc-L^ck. >LL the Hanks In Union oombined. ICIT YOUR BUSINESS. at her father's, Mr. Thomson's, for some time. Mr. S. B. Pratt, of Blairville, paid a flying visit to his father's family one day last week. Mrs. Nannie Howell ia somewhat indisposed at this writing. A dog, said to be affected with hydrophobia, caused quite a commotion among the smaller fry of white children and colored folks, by passing through this place one day recently. I hear there were several dogs and also some shoats bitten by this dog. Not long ago some one tried to telephone for a physician to come in haste to some person who was very ill in the neighborhood. When it was found impossible to :onvev anv -- -r watCVCl )ver the phone, therefore some )ne had to go in person for the ioctor, when had there been lothing wrong with the phone, lis assistance could have been lad in half the time. I do not vonder that-the telephone sysem is so often found "out of 5S?Ck\V/ -b io hy fho it, shot at, cut at or tried by any >th?r means ^d^astion thsjt the m the groiii\d. ' NOW it seems to ' ' me that tnis treatment would \ reader ahything in<&pablte of, y conveying messages. I wonder' .. * r . : v that ^he telephone companies do not ^resent this inconsiderate treatment of their propfcty. Not long ago I waa-driving over a road, by the side of which the ( telephone wire was suspended, , , when I became conscious of the buggy wheels rising in the air, seemingly withcmt any aid. I was unable to understand the cause, and trying to find out, was prevented from so doing by iL ~ 4. 4.1 i r\? uie vverturu ui me uuggy. v^u rising from the road and going to ascertain how such an unusual thing had occurred, I was sur- ; prised to find the telephone wire Eartly down in the road. It had een dislodged from two Or three posts, partly hanging on the ground in a semi circle. The driver did not notice its being ther*. and drove over it. The weight of the buggy was not sufficient to sever the wire, but drew it up againt the adjoining post, and completely upset the buggy and effected a most com' plete overturn. Had the horse been wild, there would have been an entirely different result; as it was, there was very little injury. . 1 Not long ago, a colored woman who lives in this neighborhood, haaring an unusual commotion on ' the other side of the partition of her small dwelling, went in haste to ascertain the cause. Great was her consternation to find her small son seemingly bent on suicidal intentions. His mother asking him to attempt the absurdity. The sad-eyed son of Africa mournfully regarded his maternal parent and replied, "I jess doan' see nuffin 'ere wuff me living on fur no how*" I never have learned the cause of the dark laddie's despondency. | I believe the health of the general community is very good, except a few cases of measles; at least there is no general epidemic prevailing. Agricola. ! . , , For sale at The Times office Rev. Irl R. Hicks almanacs and weather forecast. Price i 25 cents. .