364 



If, then, cotton cuituro is so profituLle, T»liy, it may bo iiskcd, arc cotton lands so 

 clieap, and 'why have not cotton planters jj;rov.'n rich from the six crops made einco tlio 

 war? These are pertinent (luestious, and we will 'answer them briefly. Land is cheap 

 l.)ecauso it is superabundant and out of all proportion to labor and capital. Our capi- 

 tal was destroyed by the war; and capital has not come here from abroad for 

 permanent investment, partly on account of ignorance concerning the profits to be de- 

 rived from its employment here, and partly from an old-time ))rejudic6 against the 

 South, but mainly .from the sense of insecurity arising from the universal impression 

 that our State governments have been inclined rather to plunder than to afford ade- 

 quate protection to property. 



It is one thing to make money and another altogether to accumulate wealth. That 

 cotton planters have made money there is ample evidence to show in their yearly pro- 

 duction of cotton to the value of nearly $300,000,000. ]?ut why have they not grown 

 rich ? When the war ended there was an almost universal disbelief in the possibility 

 of making cotton with free negro labor. Those who first undertook the experiment 

 did so with great distrust, and proceeded with the utmost caution, practicing a rigid 

 economy. The result was that desjiitc a very bad seasoii and a short croj), the crop of 

 18G6 was probably the most iiroUtablo ever grown in the cotton States. 



The fact demonstrated that cotton could be made, and that cheaply, with free 

 negro labor, and the staple fetching three times its former price in the market the 

 prospect seemed golden. Those who had already been at work sought to double their 

 operations ; and others, of all classes and employments, rushed into cotton-planting. 

 The cotton which had gone forward enabled the merchants to re-establish, to some 

 extent, their credit at the North, and obtain money there which they in turn advanced, 

 often recklessly, to those who sought their aid, but at exorbitant rates of interest. It 

 was not uncommon £ot men without capital to rent land and get advances from 

 factors at 25 per cent, or more interest, on simi)le pledge of a crop not yet in tho 

 ground, to buy stock and outfit, provisions at hitherto unheard-of iirices, and large 

 C[uantities of commercial manures. The most extravagant exiiectations were indulged, 

 and the most extravagant measiu'cs adopted. In short, the country was run mad; 

 traders, merchants, planters, all Avere making haste to get rich. Tho crop, notwith- 

 standing all this expenditure, was not a good one, while large estimates were enter- 

 tained of it in all the great cotton markets, and the price ran down before the close of 

 the year to 13 cents per pound. Planter and factor fell together; thousands of both 

 classes had to give up their business altogether, and the whole country was brought 

 to the verge of bankruptcy. Clearly this disaster could not have followed as the 

 result of legitimate planting, but was brought about by the wildest speculation. 



Fortunately there was a large and rapid rise in the price of cotton in the months of 

 January and February, 1868, which enabled those planters who were not utterly broke 

 to get enough money from the remnants of their crops to go on on a more moderate 

 scale. There was a return to the wdys of prudence and economy and sober work, and 

 the crop of that year was a remunerating one. So also was that of 1869. But 1870 

 was a repetition of 1867; the same extravagance, similar results; thousands ruined, 

 all former profits swept away, and a burden of debt incurred. It was not planting ; it 

 w^as speculating. Again, in 1671, care and economy bore their laAvfrJ fruits, and in 

 spite of a bad season the crop paid well. Cotton-planters, forced by their crippled 

 condition to a prudent and economical management of their atiairs, have made four 

 profitable cotton-crops ; and two, when tempted by success and the hope of getting 

 rich all at once to disregard tho only certain conditions of success, which ueutralizeil 

 the results of the other four.* It may be hoped that a severe experience will prevent 

 them from being again deluded into speoulative {planting. With patience and prudent, 

 sober, and steady industry, and such protection Irom the honest administration of just 

 and equal laws as every government owes to its citizens, a career of prosperity is open 

 to the South not surpassed by anything in her former history. 



PAUL F. HAMMOND, 

 WM. PIXCKNEY STARIvE, 

 WM. H. ATKINSON, 



Commitfcc. 



In relereuce to this report, tbo Commissiouor addressed to the club 



the lbllo^Yi^g letter : 



Wasiiln'Gtox, D. C, August 7, 1872. 

 Sill : The letter of your recording secretary, communicating to mo the report of a 

 committee of your society, to Avhich was referred my letter on the subject of " South- 

 ern planting," has reached me, and I cannot forbear the expression of the pleasure 

 which its perusal has aftordcd. It was with no unmeasured degree of hesitation that 

 I ventured to treat the subject at all, becanso I felt that it was tho discussion of that 



