The Starkville news., January 02, 1903, Image 1

About The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
VOL. 1
Farmers Stay South.
The Atlanta Journal very apt
ly says; The South is perhaps less
given to vaunting its own achieve
ments than any other,, section.
Our own people, indeed, hear so
much of the vast possibilities and
output of the North and West,
which are so diligent ly exploited,
that they forget the often superior
resources of their own part of
the country.
We have heard a great deal
recently of the farming lands in
the West, and how the new
Egypt lies between the Missis
sippi and the Rocky mountains.
We have listened, agape with
wonder, at the marvelous stories
of wheat oceans and corn lakes
in Nebraska and the Dakotas.
And these pictures are mainly
truthful. That tjie great west is
“a land abounding in corn and
wine”-that it is one of the world’s
granaries—cannot be doubted.
But the fact is that whoever
wants to go into the farming
business, if he already lives in
the South, w T ould be better to
stay where he is. And if his
dwelling place is in another sec
tion, he would do w r ell to come
South.'
This sounds surprising. But
figures are frequently surprising.
The census of 1900 shows the
total value of farms and of farm
products for that year in the
various states. These statistis
tics give some striking results.
The figures recently given out
may be already familiar to the
reader but. will bear republica
lion:
Value of farm property in the
South $3,951,681,632,
Value of farm properts, whole
United States, $20,439,901,104.
Net value of farm products,
deducting that fed to stock:
The South - $ 988,905,563
Whole U. S. - 3,331,306.617
Net earnings of farms in the
South, 25 per cent.
Net earnings of farms in the
whole country, 16.2 percerft.
Net earning of farms outside
of the southern states, less than
10 per cent.
These figures are eye-openers.
Yet they are government reports.
They have but one message.
There is more profit to be made
out of a farm in the South than
in any other section of the coun
try.
There are poor lands and there
are rich lands, both in the South
and elsewhere.
It is the aggregate percentage
of profit on aggregate invest
ment that tells the tale. And it
is a tale that needs no pointing
of moral, because the moral is
self evident.
“You can’t farm in the South.”
is a phrase that is not infrequent
ly heard. We trust that the pub
lication of the above figures will
forever put an end to such ridi
culous vaporings. The plain
truth of the matter is, that there
is more money to be made, on an
equal investment, from farming
in the Southern States, than
from any other business not de
pendent on chance or patent pro
tection. It would be sheer folly
for anyone thinking of investing
in farm lands, to go where he
might average 10 per cent profit,
when the figures show that he
09kti itiy .right here in the South
THE STARKYILLE NEWS.
STARKVILLE. MISS., FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, d903.
and stand a chance of averaging
25 per cent.
This protit, we should remem
ber, has been made on farms not
nearly so well equipped as those
in the North and East— with
fewer modern appliances and
machinery. Yet even with this
handicap our Southern farmer
clears 25 per cent more on his
investment than the farmer of
other sections.
This story told by the census
figures has not only a moral but
a vein of prophecy. The path
of prosperity is in the line of
least resistance. If the South
ern farmer is now making a
larger percent on his investment
than those of other sections,
then the South ought to be get
ting rich faster than any other
section. And when we remem
ber that nearly all the wealth of
the Southern states has been
built up since the war, we are
inclined to believe that this
theory is true.
There is no need of any section
al exhortations. It is cold busi
ness. In matters of commerce,
at least, the race is to the swift.
Let those who would pick the
winner glance at the above time
table.
—.♦♦♦
National Debts.
The world’s national debts
form the subject of an interest
ing report by O. P. Austin, the
chief of the bureau of statistics, <
in the treasury department.
According to Mr. Austin's esti
mate, the national debts of the
world amount to $81,(XX),000,000.
The interest and other charges
on this indebtedness of the na
tions amount to a hundred mill
ion dollars a month —or $1,200,-
000,000 annually.
The principal national debts
of the world today, stated in the
order of their magnitude, are as
follows: France —the largest—
ss,Boo,ooo,ooo; Russia, $3,167,-
090,000; United Kingdom, $3,060,-
000,000; Italy, $2,588,000,000;
Germany, and the German states
$2,573,000,000; Spain, $1,728,000,-
000; Australia-Hungary, $1,154,-
000,000; India, $1,031,000,000;
United States. $69,000,010;; and
all other countries. $8,375,000,-
000.
Mr. Austin’s report also brings
out the interesting fact that dur
ing the last 70 years the English
speaking countries have been
the most conservative about their
national debts, constantly mak
ing efforts to reduce their obli
gations; while Latin countries,
on the otherhand, have constant
ly increased their national debts,
both through wars and by main
taining large standing armies,
and by reason of constant defi
cits in their budgets. Mr. Austin
further shows that some of the
Latin nations have made bond
issues that were announced as
“perpetual” and there is no in
tention of ever redeeming them.
At the present time one-half of
the enormous debt of France
stands in the form of “perpetual
3 per cent rentes.” The Ger
man and Slavic nations have also
rapidly increased their debts and
have shown little progress in re
ducing them .—Atlanta Journal.
Don’t forget the News office
when you have Job Work to do.
TexasTnick Growing
Big Money in Fruit and
Truck Fanning in East
ern Texas.
Supplying the Early Markets
of the North a New
Southwestern
Industry.
Owing to favorable conditions
of climate and soil in Northern
and Eastern Texas, the raising
of early fruits and vegetables for
shipment to Northern markets
has become very profitable.
Fruits and truck mature in this
section, and are shipped and
marketed, before the products
from either Georgia, Florida or
California get to market.
During the season solid train
loads of fruit and vegetables are
made up on the Cotton Belt from
Tvler, Jacksonville, and other
1/
local points on the line, and rush
ed through to the Northern and
Eastern cities.
Not only are the condit ions for
marketing favorable, but enor
mous yields of peaches, tomatoes,
pears, berries and garden truck
are invariably secured. The
quality of the fruit produced is
second to none in America, the
peaches especially, not yielding
even to the famous California
product. Fully 60 per cent , of
the orchards are set in the famous
Elberta peaches, w hich are sur
passed by none in iiavor. size
and quality. Mountain Rose,
St. Johns and Mixon Clings are
also raised with remarkable.
Lands in this section are rapid
ly being purchased and conver
ted into orchards and gardens.
At Alto,on the Cotton Belt Route,
an immense orchard of several
thousand acres has been planted
by experienced fruit growers
from Michigan, who were quicK
to recognize the natural advan
tages of this country. In two
years this orchard will commence
the shipment of enormous quan
tities of fruit.
Notwithstanding the rapidity
with which the land is being
taken up, much desirable land
can st ill be obtained for from
$2.50 to SIO.OO per acre.
Those desiring to visit this sec
tion may take advantage of round
trip Homeseekers’ rates ot one
way fare plus $2.00, or one one
way Colonist rates of half the
one-way fare plus $2.00, in effect
on the first and third Tuesdays
of eacli month.
Among the excellent publica
tions on this subject sent free on
application is a little booklet en
titled, “Fortunes in Growing
Fruits and Vegetables,' issued
by the Passenger Department of
the Cotton Belt Route at St.
Louis, Mo.
_ —■
Labor Savers.
Negro tie-cutters in Mississip
pi complain that they are being
deprived of employment by the
introduction of a tie-cutting ma
chine of recent invention which
is being largely used by contracj
tors who are filling orders for
the various railroads. In the
hardwood belts the use of the
machine is steadily growing, and
it has been demonstrated to be a
practical success.
Bleeding Kansas.
So Often Shocked By The
South. Shocks Herself.
Hangs a Suspected Negro
Murderer in the Streets
of One of Her Most
Thriving Towns
and Does it
Most Bru
tally Too.
Montgomery Godley, colored,
w r as taken from the Pittsburg,
Kansas, jail December 25th, by a
crowd of men, who hanged him,
cut his throat and again hanged
him. The men who lynched
Godley said they believed the
negro had deliberately murdered
Policeman Milton Hinkley early
this morning at a Christmas
dance. Godley had been in jail
but two hours when ths mob
seized him.
The victim of the mob was
given a short hearing in the
jailyard before he was executed.
He did not confess to the mur
der, but the lynchers carried
him three blocks from the jail
without the slightest interferen
ce from the jailers. A rope was
secured, and Godley was hanged
to a telephone pole, in spite of
his pleas for mercy and protesta
tions of innocence.
The negro struggled and the
rope broke. As Godley struck
the ground a man seized him by
the throat. The negro again
protested Ins innocence, and beg
ged for a trial. The man’s only
answer was to draw a claspknife
across Godley's throat, severing
the jugular vein.
Again the mob seized the ex
piring victim and this time hang
ed a corpse.
It has since developed that
they hung the wrong negro and
they then wont after the other
one but with what success we
didn't learn.
CATTLE REPORTED STAR
VING.
Snowed in on High Range
Without Food or Water.
Thousands of cattle are re
ported to be starving on the
range in northwestern Colorado.
The humane society appealed to
the owners to rescue their stock,
and they have replied that they
are powerless to do so. The cat
tle are snowed in on high range
at Routt and Rio Blanco counties,
without pasture and without
water. It is impossible to get
feed to them and equally impos
sible to drive them into suitable
winter quarters.
— —• —• -
Where He Could Do It.
At the home of a Jackson fami
ly the mother was discussing the
question as to who should say
grace in the absence of the head,
of the house. There was only
herself and her two little girls
present, beside a little negro boy
who was employed to wait on the
table.
He listened for some seconds
to the discussion and then volun
teered to say a little “grace"
that he had learned. This did'nt
quite meet the approbation of
one of the little girls, and she
quickly replied: 0
“You could say ‘grace' at Mr.
Roosevelt’s table, but you can't
come that sort of a racket in our
home .’‘—Clarion-Ledger.
Rope tor a
• Labor Agent.
He was Nearly Strangled Be
fore Released. Farr* rs
are Determined.
Meridian, Miss.—The labor
agents who persist in working
this territory for negroes for the
Louisiana plantations must take
chances with their own safety if
the determined talk of the farm
ers counts for anything. After
being warned away several times
from Greene county, Ala., a few*
miles distant up the Alabama
Great Southern road, an agent
was caught in his room the other
night and nearly strangled to
death with a rope before his
tormentors concluded to let
him go. He took the first train
for Meridian, and the farmers
of several districts in Lauder
dale county have made the bold
announcement that the agent
who comes on their farms after
negroes will get rather roughly
treated. There are fewer agents
here than four weeks ago, due
mainly to the determined stand
taken by the fanners, and it is
believed after this they willgive
Meridian and Lauderdale coun
ty a wide berth.
*——
Oil Trust Absorbs
Tbe Texas Fields.
Rockefeller Interests Get Con
trol of Companies at
Beaumont and
J ennings
The Standard Oil Company at
last has secured control of the
Beaumont oil fields in lexas and
the Jennings oil region in Louisi
ana.
The fact has just leaked out
that the trust is master of the
situation.
There are only a few small
companies remaining outside.
The Guffey Company and the
Waters Pierce Oil Company aie
under control of the Standard.
The Waters Pierce Company has
been a subsidiary corporation of
the trust for several .years,' but
the Guffey Company recently was
purchased. This company will
be operated as a separate coi -
poration with the old, in order to
evade the Texas anti-trust laws.
The Hey wood Oil Company,
which practically controls the
Jennings field in Louisiana, is
now owned by the Standard, ac
cording to statements made in
New Orleans financial circles,
and this gives the trust monopo
ly of the two fields.
The price of fuel oil has been
advanced to SI a barrel, and the
indications are the quotations
Will go still higher.
m
Horrible Thought.
“Well,” said the cheerful wife,
who thought she had a soprano
voice, ‘*if the worst comes to the
worst I could keep the wolf from
the door by singing.**
“I don't doubt that would do
it,” replied her pessimistic hus
band. “but suppose the wolf
should happen to be deaf? ’
Philadelphia Press.
NO. 43