where only a few are engaged in it. There must be enough strawberry 

 and tomato raisers to make it possible to send out the produce in carload 

 lots each day. This fact and the need of eliminating the excessive profits 

 of the middleman have led to the formation of the Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion, the function of which is to handle and market the produce. This 

 Association has not been very successful. In some cases the officers have 

 been suspected of making excessive profits. The members themselves 

 have not been loyal to their association, but have sold to outside buyers 

 whenever they offered better prices, which they have done in many 

 instances in order to put the Association out of business. 



lite Farmers'' Union. — The same difficulty in organizing the farmers 

 has been met in other fields than in the truck-growing business. 

 The Farmers' Union was organized with special reference to the cotton 

 grower's interests, and once had its locals all over the county, and owned 

 and operated at least two cotton-gins. This is now in a decadent condi- 

 tion. Of the 31 or more locals which flourished a few years ago 13 are 

 now extinct, and only 3 are in a really vigorous condition. One of the 

 cotton-gins has passed into the hands of private owners. The sample- 

 plot figures show that out of 441 farmers, 127 are nominally members of 

 the Farmers' Union. There are, however, devoted Farmer Union men 

 in Gibson County who have served the cause faithfully and, in spite of 

 the waning of the initial enthusiasm the Farmers' Union is still a force 

 for good, not only economically but also socially and morally. 



Need of Organization.— The need for organization among the farmers is 

 already apparent here. Most of the farmers recognize it, but they 

 simply fold their hands and say, "It isn't possible." This need was 

 forcibly driven home in the fall of 1911, when a cotton bale, which the 

 year before sold for $75, sold for only $45. Many farmers attempt to 

 meet this fall in price by holding their cotton. The investigator counted 

 hundreds of bales in the open, exposed to rain and dust, held for a higher 

 price. Whatever the effect upon the price, the quality of the cotton 

 would certainly deteriorate. The great need is for concerted action on 

 the part of the farmers. Their inability to organize successfully places 

 them at the mercy of those who buy and those who sell. 



The over-multiplication of stores and banks and trading places is 

 shown in Map 3. These stores employ altogether about 796 people, and 

 support about 2,500 dependents. In other words, 6 per cent, of the 

 population, or one family out of seventeen, is supported by keeping 

 store, and if we add to these the others who are engaged in trading, 

 the commercial travelers, the peddlers, the agents, the commission men, 

 etc., the total will be close to 7 per cent. It is clear that this is a larger 

 number than is necessary to do the business, and a large porportion of 

 the wealth that the farmer earns goes to support them. 



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