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PAGE SIX Os Interest to the Wealth Creators VOICE OF THE SOUTH CARO LINA FARMERS? The Farmers’ Alliance that was such a power in the South eigh teen and twenty years ago, and that under different auspices might have accomplished much for the better ment of the farmers, was worked to a frazzle by the politicians. The farmers boosted their “leaders” into more or less fat offices, and the net result of the Farmers’ Alliance go ing into politics was that the real working farmers were left holding the bag, with no benefit either in finances or principle, and the people in general got a more or less incom petent set of public servants. In other words, the politicians bamboo zled the confiding farmers, and the great energy of the “farmers’ movement” was diverted from the channel where, if diligently directed it would have benefited the produc ers, to where it helped only the sel fish office-seeker. After the death of the Grange, it was freely conceded that it was killed by politics. When the Farmers’ Al liance succumbed there was no dif ference of opinion among the doctors that conducted the post mortem — “fatally contaminated by politi cians.” So when the Cotton Grow ers’ Association was organized it was the universal acclaim that it should be a “business organization,” and shun politics as virtue shuns sin. That organization has really accom plished much for the farmers, and indeed the South, and is capable of doing much more. Its moments of greatest weakness have been those when it has seemed that political tac tics rather than business sense would be its policy. In those moments it has lost something in membership, and something in that strength which comes only through the confidence of the general public. Now we come to the Farmers’ Un ion, which has just held a State con vention at Greenwood. There is work, good, beneficial work, for an association of farmers. They can be mutually helpful; they can do much to improve the standard of labor, to prevent contract-jumping, and to as sist each other and the country gen erally. But there is no helpful place for such an organization in politics. There is no place for farmers at tempting to control the management of other businesses. For example, we find this resolution, reported by J. Belton Watson, member of the legislature from Anderson, adopted by the State convention: We wish to go on record as being unalterably opposed to the foreign pauper element being distributed among the manufacturing interests in this state and other Southern states, and ask that the state support of the immigration bureau be withdrawn and our state and national represen tatives are hereby requested not to encourage this pauper immigration. Mav we ask if the fanners of South Carolina are opposed to the mills of South Carolina running to their full capacity? Do the farmers of South Carolina wish to curtail WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. the consumption of cotton in South ern mills, and by that curtailment in demand reduce the price of raw cotton? Do the farmers of South Carolina wish the manufacturers of New England to hold at a disadvan tage the Southern mills, causing a reduction of Southern mill profits, and militating against the welfare of every employe, native and foreign, in Southern factories? We are sure they do not. Yet that is what the spirit of the resolution breathes. And where is the “foreign pauper element” that has been introduced into South Caroli na manufactories? Do the farm ers of 'South Carolina term na tive mill operatives “paupers”? Where is there evidence of a “pau per, ’ ’ foreign or native, in the South Carolina mills? The fact is that no persons unable to pay their way from Europe can be now introduced into South Carolina; another fact is that the immigration department is much more interested in bringing here men capable of purchasing land or farm ing on shares than in introducing laborers of any kind; it is more con cerned in bringing to this state men that will engage in a hundred indus trial enterprises, producing here those things which we now purchase from other sections. And every increased inhabitant and every additional in dustry is of financial benefit to the farmers of South Carolina. Had those resolutions been intro duced at the instance of Northern labor unions, or at the urging of the owners of New England cotton mills that might wish to cripple their com petitors in this section and so re duse the consumption of cotton that the price will decline, we could un derstand them. Coming, as alleged, from South Carolinians, they need explanation.—Columbia State. OUTLOOK FOR COTTON CROP There has been wonderful improve ment in the Texas cotton crop dur ing the past ten days, and the out look for a satisfactory yield is now considered as quite encouraging. For a time it looked as if the Texa? far mer on the average would not get his seed back, as in many instances almost the entire crop had to bo planted the second and third time, and when the plant did come up it was almost overwhelmed with grass and weeds. In this section of the state, as well as in many others, there is a great deal of cotton planted in land that is badly infested with Johnson grass, and while the cotton was being plant ed so many times the Johnson grass wa; growing, and it was a race be tween the two that would have been easily decided in favor of the grass had it not been for the untiring en ergy of the fanners While thev have thus been compelled to give their cotton crop much more atten tion than usual this year, they have gone about it in good spirits and have made every lick count. They have generally succeeded in getting the crop remarkably clean and during the favorable growing weather of the past two weeks it has made excel lent progress. There are some prognosticators of the cotton crop who express the opin ion that it is going to exceed that of last season ih Texas, and predict the state will make all the cotton this year that it will be able to gather. Whether this is true or not, it is evident that there Is a marked im provement in the situation and far mers generally are quite hopeful over the outlook, many of them, however, still sticking to the 15 cent propo sition. Texas is the greatest cotton pro ducing state in the union, and the situation here is always carefully noted by outside observers. Our fine prospects are already known all over the country, and no doubt will be used as effectually as possible in an effort to continually hammer down prices. But the farmers are rapid!v perfecting a new system of marketing through the use of warehouses, and the indications are that they will be able to control marketing this year much more effectually than ever be fore. They seem to be nearing the point where they will largely put the speculator out of business, and are indulging in the hope that never again will there be any cheap cot ton. Over-production, however, is a danger that yet has to be reckoned with, regardless of the speculator.— Fort Worth Telegram. OUR GREAT STAPLE. The Chicago Record-Herald, under the head of “Our Great Southern Staple,” thus discourses: “The Southern States have been developing new industries and have made notable progress of late years in manufacturing. With all the changes, however, they have still to be thankful for cotton. During the last fiscal year, when our exports amounted in value to $1,880,851,024, the exports of cotton alone came to $481,166,011. This is more than two and one-half times the value of the exports of breadstuffs or of meat and dairy products, and is greater than the total value of these exports plus the exports of cattle and sheep and of mineral oils. “There was an advance over the value of the cotton exports for the previous year of nearly $81,000,000, the figure for that year being $400,- 427,014. This marked an increase from $379,743,454 in 1905 and from $370,505,583 in 1904. In two of the four years the value of the cotton exports alone was greater than that of the other exports mentioned, and in the other two years it was nearly equal to the value of those exports. “While this exporting is going on there is a large home consumption of cotton, the number of bales produced in 1904-’OS being 13,557,000, the number exported 8,033,793. But whatever the home consumption may he, the world depends upon our Southern States as its chief source of supply. A failure of the Ameri can crop would paralyze the cotton manufacturing industry. The Brit ish consumption alone in one year is greater than the output of all coun- tries except the United States, and many a foreign town owes its pros perity to our Southern cotton fields.” This great cotton product is not only the South’s but the Republic’s greatest commercial asset. Foreign people who buy our bread and meat and out petroleum are not absolutely obliged to buy them, be cause-they can be gotten elsewhere. Ours are cheaper and at the same time better, but those products can he found in other countries, and in many cases nearer home, but they must have nut cotton, because it can not be procured elsewhere in the world. This, however, is no reason why our producers should undertake to make the world of consumers realize that American cotton can be treated as a monopoly and held at exorbitant prices. Whenever cotton shall be put out of reach of the masses it will go out of consumption. Those persons who can wear linen and silk do so no matter what may be the price of cotton, but the amount of it consumed by such peo ple is only a trifle. The great mass of the cotton is worn by the great masses of the world’s population, and those masses must be able to buy it with such part of their earn ings as may be available for the purpose. Raise the price of shirts out of reach of the masses and they will give up cotton and wear paper, which ingenious manufacturers will maka for them. If our cotton crop were held at the exorbitant prices that are sometimes proposed, and there should be no relief from the extortion, the cotton monopolists would come to the fact that when the masses are ruled out of the market there will be no market. What we should continue to do is to make cotton for the great masses of mankind and sell it at such figures as will pay our planters a fair profit and still be in reach of those for whom the cotton is grown. Then we of the South will continue to control the cotton supply for a century to come. But all the time we must re member that we are working for the people, not for the wealthy few.— New Orleans Picayune. • , - t ——- • I ... ALABAMA COTTON MILLS. The census bureau puts the number of spindles in Alabama in 1905 at 772,727 as against 419,968 in the year 1900, and 79,234 in 1890, and 49,432 in 1880 . Although the state’s figures for 1905 are disappointing, yet the rate of increase officially presented is as large as any other state presents. So long as we keep on increasing our spindles as fast as our neighbors in Georgia and Carolina do, we have little room for despondency. Our Alabama mills in 1905 held 11.- 480 operatives whose annual wages amounted to $2,457,928. The home mills consumed 198,820 bales of cot ton in 1905. According to the census we had in 1905 but 46 cotton mills,