Keowee Courier

Prosperity Here for the Farmer,
Declares Commissioner B. Harris --Head of State Agricultural Department Makes Statement.

Columbia, Feb. 22.-Declaring that prosperity for the farmers is in their hands, B. Harris, State Commissioner of Agriculture, has given out a statement in which are contained his suggestions for improving the financial condition of the farmers in the State.

In his statement Mr. Harris advised the farmers not to plant over 30,000,000 acres in cotton during the current season, which, he said, would leave 11,490,000 acres to plant in other farm crops, which would support the farms in the event of a bad cotton year.

The statement, in part, is as follows:

In 1924 we planted 41,490,000 acres in cotton. The government estimate up to Feb. 1 was 13,133,000 bales. It required 3.15 acres to make a bale on an average. Cotton has sold on an average of about 22 cents per pound, so that the 13,133,000 bales have returned to the farmers $1,446,830,000.

"How much better it would be if the farmers of the South would only plant 30,000,000 acres this year. If the cotton crop is grown in as much per acre this year as last, it will make 9,523,809 bales, which would easily sell for 35 cents or better per pound. At 35 cents per pound the 9,523,809 bales would bring $246,000,900.

"Then in working the thirty million acres we would save the expense of working 11,490,000 acres of land in cotton at a cost of $21.41 per acre. This is a very low cost, but it will take this amount on an average to work it. Over the cotton belt the cost of working the 11,490,000 acres will be $246,000,000."

Mr. Harris declared that the only way for the farmers to control cotton prices is to control production. He asserted that prosperity lies in making the farms self-supporting and in getting on a cash basis.