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PAGE SIX TARMEXS’ UNION DEP A KTMEN T WHY WE ARE PROSPEROUS. Are we Americans a prosperous people ? There would seem to be only one answer after reading the report of the department of agriculture re cently made by Secretary Wilson. It appears from this report that the val ue of the total farm productions in 1907 exceeds that of 1906, which was far above the record for any pre ceding year. The total value for 1907 is $7,412,000,000, an amount 10 per cent greater than the total for 1906, 17 per cent greater than that of 1905, 20 per cent above that of 1904, 25 per cent in excess of that for 1903, and 57 per cent greater than the total value for 1899. If we let 100 represent the total value for 1899, the value for 1903 would be represented by 125; that for 1904 by 131, for 1905 by 134, for 1906 by 143, and the total value for 1907 by 157. During the fiscal year 1907 the exports of farm products exceed ed the imports by $444,000,000, a balance that has been exceeded only four times —in 1898, 1.899, 1901 and 1902. These official facts, taken in con junction with the authorized figures recently issued by the treasury de partment showing that there is more money in the country per capita than ever before in its history, should be quite sufficient to add a far-reaching volume to the tone of optimism al ready spreading, from the healthy provinces to the centers of finance. A country with such conditions pre sent is in defiance of reason and com mon sense when it fails to realize it? own good fortune. Temporary mists may obscure the environments, but no kind of artificial flurries can long em barras- its prosperous growth and ad vancement. —Chattanooga Times. ARE THE FARMERS HOLDING COTTON? Much is said and written these days about farmers holding cotton. In the papers they are advised to hold on to their cotton. By the of ficials of their organizations they are urged to hold it until the price shall have advanced. In their farm ers’ meetings they are resoluting to hold their cotton. From all this it must be that the belief is spread that the farmers are really holding their cotton, and that the country is full of it. The belief is held by people only vaguely informed about farm matters that every farmer is hold ing a part of his crop from the mar ket, and that a very considerable por tion of this year’s crop remains still in the hands of the farmers. This is a mistaken belief. There is, of course, some cotton still on the farm, but in this section at least this quantity so held is not greater than usual. The majority of our farmers have picked their crop and have sold it, as is the case every year. Cotton was high when the cotton season opened and the farmers rushed it to market. When the price began to decline it had the effect only of caus ing the majority of them to hurry their picking and selling, for fear the price would drop still lower. And the outcome of it all is that at this tibe no extraordinarily large por tion of the crop remains unsold. Os course, there is still cotton in the country. Quite a remnant re mains to be picked, in sections where labor has been scarce to do the pick ing. And some cotton already pick ed is being held. But this is the case every year. Almost invariably cot ton advances in price in the spring, and there have always been provident farmers who have held a part of their cotton until spring. And so it is now. Some cotton is being held for a higher price, but the proportion is very little, if any, larger than in other years. The cotton receipts show it. While they are off over a million bales for the entire cotton belt, it should be well understood that this shortage in receipt is due to a short crop and not to an increased holding by the farmers. In Augusta the receipts are practically the same as they were to this date last year, which also bears out this same conclusion. Our sec tion was more favored this year, and cotton did not suffer during the grow ing period as it did in other portions of the cotton belt. Hence our receipts are up to last year’s, which in other places they are not. It is always best to recognize facts as they are. And the facts about cotton are that no unusual part of the crop is now remaining on the farms. Still, some farmers are holding cotton, and these may be encouraged to hold on to it, for when it shall dawn on the rest of the world how short this year’s crop really was the price will go up higher than it was at the beginning of the season. —Au- gusta Herald. COST OF LIVING AND SCIENCE. Certain professions or callings probably will exist as long as man does, whatever may be his degree of ultimate perfection, physical, mental or spiritual. Thus it is inconceivable that a time will come when men will not crave song and songsters. On the other hand, there are certain callings which are self-extinguishing, the med ical profession, for instance, as has recently been pointed out in official addresses by eminent American and British physicians. Abolition of dis ease carries with it logically extinc tion of doctors. An interesting case of how applica tion of knowledge sometimes tends to cripple those of the same class with those who discover and pro claim it is noted in the current Popular Science Monthly. The editor points out how severe has been the pinch felt by scientific men, most of them on salaries, in consequence of the rise in cost of living during the past ten years. He estimates the number of those In this country en gaged in scientific callings as only 5,000. He fears that unless there is a decline in cost of living, or an in crease of salaries there will be “a negative natural selection drawing the ablest men away from a scientific career” into more remunerative call ings. Such an outcome he thinks would be deplorable. He algo calls THE JEFFERSONIAN. attention to the interesting fact that had it not been for applied science and thus immensely increasing the gold output of the world, the rise in cost of living would not have been as great as it has been. Consequently, it may be said, as he ventures to say, that one group of scientists by their application of knowledge to a practi cal problem, have made life harder for many workers in the same field, and have contributed to lessen the number of men willing to accept the scientist’s present pecuniary reward. —Boston Herald. CO-OPERATION IN THE SOUTH. In the South there are two organi zations, one strictly a farmer mem bership, and known as the Farmers’ Union and the other which admits anyone and is known as the South ern Cotton Association, which also fixed the minimum price of cotton at 15 cents as had already been done by the Farmers’ Union at Little Rock. To show the readers of The Farm ers’ Advocate what is being done to arouse the people to stand by the price, we publish the following ad dress of the president of the Georgia division of the Southern Cotton Growers ’ Association: “To Cotton Growers, Merchants, Bankers and Allied Interests: “The minimum price of cotton has been fixed at 15 cents, both by the Southern Cotton Association and the Farmers’ Union, with nothing to di vide us. Let’s have our price. “The South’s opportunity for fi nancial freedom is at hand as never before. The farmers are situated, as a rule, where they can command the value of their cotton. “It can not be denied that there is* no profit to the grower in cotton un der 10 cents. His profit will not be much at 15 cents. “Consideration of the present cost of the elements which enter into the making of a crop of cotton, will at cnee make apparent the small pit tance going to the farmer. “There is no question as to the ability of growers, merchants and bankers, combined to handle this sea son’s cotton crop at a profit to them selves and in a manner that will con duce to the upbuilding of the South, They can do it if they will. It is not contended that any one should hold his cotton to the injury of his creditor, but everyone knows ’hat at present prices, SSO per bale can be advanced by merchant or banker, and the debt thus canceled. This would put our cotton money into circulation, protect our ejedit, and the cotton can still be held until the mills and the buyers are ready to pay our minimum price of 15 cents, which it is un questionably worth. “Except in 1905, with the efforts of all organizations combined, we have never gotten as much acerage reduction as we should have had, but the results of our efforts have, in my judgement, turned us to the true rem edy. This remedy lies in the proper marketing of our crop. In the past every bale has beep sold in compe- tition with evej-y other bale. This indiscriminate marketing must give way, as it is doing, to the market ing through a system, with proper warehousing in evry county and state under local control, and with ware houses backed by local holding com panies sufficiently strong to take care of distress cotton and the cotton of people who will sell. A reasonable minimum price must be fixed, as has been done for this crop, and no cotton must go from our control except on payment of the minimum price plus the carrying charge. The cotton crop will finance itself if fairly treated. Hence, I repeat, the farmers, mer chants and bankers of the south, by proper co-operation, can make every bale of this crop bring 15 cents. “Therefore, the appeal is to every farmer who does not have to sell, to sell none of his cotton for less than 15 cents. The appeal is to every merchant to press no man where he can possibly avoid it, but to co-oper ate to relieve the indebtedness and get 15 cents for the staple. The appeal is to the banker, who forms the last link in the chain, to co-operate both with the merchant and the farmer and see to it that not a bale of the south’s great product is sold at less than 15 cents.- We must get rid of debt and establish our independence, and in this we must have the co-opera tion of merchants and bankers. “Cotton growers should remember that the fight of their lives is at hand. The New York cotton exchange has revised its system of gambling, and made it still more seductive. Let’s have none of it. Let’s repeat last year’s experience, and market our crop with spot cotton two to three cents above futures. “Above all things the crop should be marketed slowly. It should be sold only to meet immediate de mands —no more. Now is the time for us to get our price. The mills need and want our cotton, and by slow marketing they can get it only at our price. This is the only method that will bring our price, and to this end I now ask the aid and assistance of every Georgian of whatever faith or order or organization. The farmers of Georgia know that I have never deceived them, and if we stand to gether now as one man, there is no power that can stop our onward march to success —a success that will mean the good of all. We advocate only that which will add to the south’s wealth, aid her every business, upbuild her every financial, educa tional, moral and religious interest, leaving happy and prosperous her people, as the result of our success.” —Farmers ’ Advocate. WHY NOT LOAN THE FARMERS DIRECT? Hal L. Norwood Thinks Cotton Good Security For State. To The Star: —I observed in the last issue of your paper that there was some probability of a special session of the legislature being called for the purpose of passing an act authorizing the money in the state