PAGE TWO"
THE ROBESOMAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1915
ROBESON STANDS AMONG FOREMOST,
FARMING COUNTIES OF WHOLE UNION
mamsaaammamammmsmmawaawsmuummmmwaammmwm
Biggest Livestock County in State and Strong Also on Cotton,
Corn and Other Things Makes Better Farm
Averages Than Iowa, Banner Farm State
Bion H. Butler, in Raleigh News and
Observer.
Lumberton, ' Sept. 18 If the peo
ple of Robeson county were as handy
with the loud pedal as the people of
the Sandhills county it is interesting
to speculate .on what this part of
North Carolina would be. Get
bunch of men into conversatfon about
the development of North Carolina
and thev lav stress on what the
Sandhills is doing, and point with a
lot of enthusiasm to the fact that
Robeson is mighty forward agri
rultural county, but tell them that
Robeson has been making progress
as fast as any county in the State,
-jni it e!Pe? ? ? ?yrjrise, The im
pression seems to be In most places
that Robeson ii like Topsy n Uncle
Tom Cabin, who jest growed, and
wcs pretty much always this way.
But the romantic fact is that Rob
eson is a new county, and its pros
reritv is of recent date. More than
that Robeson is not a finished coun
ty, resting contentedly on the pin
racle of satisfied ambition and ac
complished task. Robeson is push
ing ahead about as fast as any part
of the State and the big jobs are
looming up in front, ready to be
tackled, and with the plans forming
to carry them out.
Big Growth in Ten Years
The census of 1900 showed" Lum
berton to be a sleepy little town of
something over 800 people, without
factory or industry of any kind
worth mentioning. The census ten
years later found a suburb that had
over '800 people. In 1897 Robeson
countv had one bank, the Bank of
Lumberton, with a" capital of $15,000,
That bank has a capital now of
$100,000 and (fourteen otiher banks
in the county, increase the banking
capital - in half a million dollars.
Meanwhile a big chunk has been cut
out of Robeson to make Hoke county
In 1900 a little cotton mill was
started in Robesotr-with 10,000 spin
dies. Now in the town are four mills
with 50,000 or 60,000 spindles and
capital to half a million dollars.
p product worth ta couple of mil
lion dollars a year.
We are accustomed to think of
Robeson county as a great agricul
tural section-and correctly. But Rob
eson as a plain fact is a remarkable
example of rapid transition. If we
take the census tables for the last
thirty of forty years we see that
Robeson has climbed up from 16,000
people with mighty little apparent
ly ahead of them, a community of
mill men and turpentine hands, un
til it is now one of the foremost ag
ricultural counties of the United
States. The farm products of the
county in 1910 passed the $7,000,000
mark, a mark, which if all the coun
ties in th State did as wellr would
mean that North Carolina could claim
first place among the States of the
ing a nondescrip in 1870, famed more
for lawlessness and backwardness
than for anything else, by 1910 had
swiftly advanced to stand among the
foremost farming counties of the
whole Union. Robeson is one of the
three or four counties that make the
record crops Of cotton in the United
States. Robeson is one of the big
counties of the South, and the fore
most one of the State. Robeson is the
biggest live stock county of the State.
Twenty -five years ago the cotton crop
ran about 10,000 bales. Since then
it has mounted up to 75,000 bales.
Twenty years ago practically no to
bacco was raised in the county. Now
it is almost as staple as cotton,-with
e crop in the four townships of Or
rumt Sterling, White House and
Fairmont, reaching about 5,000,000
pounds.
Two Good Tobacco Markets
Two good tobacco markets are in
the county at Fairmont and Lumber
ton, and a new warehouse is expected
next season in Lumberton. Tobacco
is a newer crop than some of the
others, and is rapidly finding favor.
But the idea of varied crops has tak
en a hold, and is making a' signifi
cant inroad in the agricultural prac
tice. K. M. Barnes and Judge Mc
Neill at the Farmers and Merchants
Kanic were discussing the expansion
of crop range in Robeson and they
concluded that about twenty per cent
,of the normal cotton acreage has been
given over this year to other things
which include more oats, much more
T J
riety of new products. They men
tioned particularly the amount of
wheat sowed and harvested. A car
load of wheat hA jkist gone from Row.
Jand to the mill, with several more
to follow from there. At St. Paul
1,500 bushels await .shipment. A
new mill at Pembroke 13 completely
overwhelmed with grain to be ground.
The people are much pleased with
the wheat experiment and will sow
a greater acreage this season than
last year.
, Robeson is becoming a great corn
couty. The crop this year will be a
big one. In the census year it ex
ceeded a million bushels. All of
New England in the same year made
only eight times as much corn as thi3
-one county, the entire Pacific coast
country made but little more than
twice as much as Robeson, and the
whole mountain country from Kai.-; certain extended uses. Already deep
west to the California line made ' wells supply drinking water of the
about eight times as much corn is finest quality. Good streets have
L.beeon county. j been built in Lumberton. Road im.
When it comes to the entire crop' provement f has commenced in thp
product of the county Arizona, Ne-1 county, but has no yet gone to the
n nnJ T) U - .1 Tl 1 - .1 . 1 fx fit I .
(.vic-uk ii. win oeiore long.
vada and Rhode Island ars three
States that do not make a crop worth
as much in the entire State as this
on? county makes, and New Mexico,
Wyoming and Delaware barely ex
ceed th:s one county in the total val.
us cf farm products. If the whole
State of North Carolina had Robe
son's crop record this State would
show a farm product bigger than that
of any other two States in the Un
ion .
That is merely a tip es to what
North Carolina can do if it digs m
its toes.
To Moralize a Bit
Now to moralize a bit. Wyonr
ine has within its borders over 82,'
000 persons who were born in other
iStates, besides the native popuia
tion. Robeson has a little over 61,
000 inhabitants, nearly all native. If
Wyoming, unable in the - whole
Stata to make more farm products
than Robeson county, can attract 82,'
000 people from other States, what
can Robeson do if the effort is made ?
Does Robeson need more people?
I answer this by citing two or three
thines I have noticed in the county.
Possibly the most significant is the
Jacob swamp drainage project. By
an act of the Legislature permission
was granted certain persons to is.
sue bonds to the extent of $150,000
to drain 33,000 acres of land on the
Jacob creek swamp. The main ditch
es have been cut. This 33,000 acres
of extremely fertile land is. becom
ing available for cultivation. To
cultivate the land will take some 700
or 800 families. As Robeson county
did not undertakelhis jdb6f "drains
age just to spend good money I in
fer that Robeson wants more people
This Jacob creek improvement is di
rectly across the Lumber river from
Lumberton, a town that has grown
with its suburbs to have about 5,000
people now. ! When this reclaimed
land is filled with busy producing
farmers the business of the town
will broaden and more people win
be wanted here.
Another answer as to .. whether
Robeson wants more people is found
in the incorporation of the Planters
Bank and Trust Company, an insti
tution that has been chartered with
the right to issue $150,000 capital
stock, and which has for its purpose
a banking business devoted largely to
the aid of development of the coun.
tv. This " new bank is formed by
two or three hundred of the progres
sive men of the county and expects
to be in operation by the first of the
new . year. Agriculture uu muua
try will be fostered by the company
which is going on the theory tnat a
growing, productive, aeveiupnig com
munity will continually create new
business for a bank.
From Next to Nothing
Robeson county has made wonder
ful progress in the last quarter oi a
ntury, coming up trom next ,o
i-f, thing to be one of the loremost
firm counties of the United States.
Yet if you ride out over the country
rocds you will easily see that Robe-
has the bulk of its worn aneau
of the present date. The men who
rlrainmc swamp land ana wno
forminG- new banking and de
Leads Even Iowa
All these things that count for pro
gress are under way. Robeson has
not yet entirely passed out of tne
woodr . A lot ol lumber is manu
factured yet in the county, and con
siderable ;timber here and there j
shows that the saw mill has a job
nej-u oi it Deiore tne iana can all
be turned over to the farmers who
are heading this way. The whole
FFl'ation of the county is not en
gaged in farm work. A consider
able number are in the towns, at the
mills, on the railroads and other
work. Those who are on the farms ,
are making a crop that will average
close to $175 for every member of
the family of every farmer in the
county. Iowa is the most produc
tive farm State cf the Union. Iowa
does not make a better average than
Robeson does, yet Iowa is held up
to us as a great State, which it Is.
Iowa has halted in its progress. Rob
Assist Your
Stomach
To Get Rid of the Poisonous
Qum and Fermenting Food.
A rood Ion fast will do thla
sometimes. A trip to the moun
tains. Tramping. Roughing it
Yes, very good remedies.
But are you going to avail
yourself of either one of these
remedies. Not Then the next
best thing Is to try a bottle of
Peruna. Take It according to di
rections. Tou will have a natural
appetite. All gas and fermenta
tion In the stomach will dis
appear. Head what Mrs. Emma Bell,
Box 204, Fort Pierce, Florid,
says: ' wet taken suddenly
with swelling of tbe Stomach and
bowels, and great distress. Very
painful Three doctors gave ma
no relief. Could not eat any
thing. Everything soured. I
was starring to death. I began
taking Peruna and was soon
strong enough to do work. After
taking five bottles I can truth
fully say I am well. I gained
twenty pounds."
finally vanishes in the fringe, of
trees that Show where earth and sky
line Meet A hundred and one miles
without a curve because there is no
reason to bend a rail to make a curve.
And if you think a little bit you can
i ... . . ... - k . , . ' ft"- .v - -r "- 6""
esun 13 merely gening iu ami road i3 not possible many places on
caiciimg uie luea ui uuuig inirgs,
Robeson county has several id-,
vantages over Iowa. Iowa is limited
to a certain kind of crops . Robeson
this continent,
Building Railroad Track Easy
It fs true there are some little hills
in Robeson. Rome, in the north of
can raise .about tell, that grow '.in the C0Unty steep enough that some
Iowa end in addition can rise what I o,. noa ;ntn i
Iowa cannot raise. The 75,000 bales but in the south side of the county
of cotton m Robeson are impossible I a ranroad contractor has not much
in Iowa, but Robeson can duplicate more of a job on his hands in build
tha corn, the hogs, the cattle, the ing a new Hne than is requirred in
vegetables 'and can probably gsat bedding a gield for cotton rows. Aj
Iowa in almost any crop Iowa ran milrnnH iit. that vnn mn't. sp mt
make, for a longer growing season of js a noveity down this way, and;
with more ram and more sunshine j wouid have to hunt to be able to!
can outclass a limited amount ofinn : nt rianft- Tint;
some of these little high places they
call hills a man as tall as I am can;
look over from the valley.
With its ideal climate, fertile lands,
and level surface so much more of
j iff fMTcHELIN-FOUNDED-1832 T'jji
I ':' :' MIHF! M ' : : II '
III f" 1 -".W-i1 I'J'MI.'HI ii Mil inl in I
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LUMBERTON, . . N. C I
ONE QUALITY ONLY-THE BEST)
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these essentials . "
Robeson county is an interesting
discovery. After the war it was in
the woods. Like all the rest of the
pine belt it was supposed to be good
for little but lumber and turpentine.
Then the cotton man commenced to
ton country, and the vicissitudes
more soil breaking and pulverizing
mat nave overtaken the coton mar-!than in" any C0Unty north of the sandy
ket are showing the Robeson folks ianda. That counts enormously. It
that the county is capable of being ;giveg an advantake in a lower over
something else than simply cotton head cost 0 crop-making. The Coast,
country. ;al la:n of th United States is the
Money for New Ventures cheapest place in the United States
More than that money is accumu-'to make a crop Less time Ms re
ating to undertake new ventures ; quired to do the same amount of
along different lines. The coton wnrlf T.osa time is lost in waiting
mills are evidence of this. The com- or the jand to get in shape after
ing of the wires of the Yadkin River rain in the spring. Time counts in
Power Company brings power to Rob- the cost of Ymg crops ,
eson county, although it has some Ught soil means ease of working,
streams on which some local power Mi)J ciimate means longer days on
can be generated, and which- in. which work can be done out of doors,
time will be utilized. Those can be twQ advantages Robeson
held in reserve while power, from the has in the race for first place among
Yadkin is convenient and abundant. the counties of the United States,
ana wnen needed can be cieveiopea to and they are of sucb imrnense im
7
are
are
velopment" plans see this with per
feet clearness.
The census showed that of the en
tire land area in the county in 1910
not a third was improved in farms.
That tells the big end of the story of
this countv. A county that is cap
nhlo nf making $7,000,000 Worth of
ernns on a tnira OI lis unu, onu
much of that third cultivated in an
Tidiffprpnt stvle is a land of re
sources, ttv an oi tne laws oi ur
binary averages it is not very much
of an exaggeration to figure that if
Robeson should increase its acre
age to three times the present acre
age, and increase its production to
a half million more than the present
production a total could Joe expected
of thirty million - dollars a - year,
To be interpreted the situation in
dicates that the remarkable advance
the county has made in the last twen
ty years is nothing as compared iwith
what it can do in another twenty
vears, and it is reasonable to expect
that the big" thinss of Robeson - are
not far ahead . What has been accom
plished, so far has been done under
more primitive conditions. Now the
improved machinery of production is
coming. Better implements, better
ideas of doing things, better schools,
better roads to get about, telephones,
rai'roads, automobiles, better mail
facilities, better mercantile and bank
ii H accommodations, electric power,
better local markets, better every
thirg that goes to help in develop
nent are available now.
New conveniences are contemplat
ed. Bonds have been issued for put
ting Lumberton on an electric basia.
An equipment will be provided that
w 1' give day and night current, o
thct small .machinery and the mod
ern electrical household devices can
be used. A filter is to be create!
ti.at will filter the river water lor
add to that of the adjoining power
from Hoke and Cumberland, for
Robeson is surrounded with power.
Robeson is well provided with rail,
roads. From east to west the Sea
board cuts the county in two. The
Coast Line has two roads running
north and south, while several small
er roads are tributary to these main
lines affording easy access to all sec
tions. Only, an lexfremefy limited
area of-Robeson county is as much
as five miles from a railroad, which
is unusual when the bis: size of the
county is considered. With the good
roads that are coming the question
of farm hauling is no longer to per
plex the folks of Robeson. Then all
over the county model towns are
springing up, which is another fac
tor in the expansion of development.
Robeson has Lumberton, Maxton, Red
bprmgs, St. Paul, Lumber Bridjre.
and smaller places conveniently lo
cated for the farm, so that a local
commercial center 7 is available in
every neighborhood.
Yet with all that Robeson has done
the prominent conviction that im
presses the outsider is that here is a
wonderful place for continued pro
gress. Sweeping away for mile after
mile, along the railroad, along the
wagon road, the eye is greeted by
the unending level country. You have
heard of the Czar of Russia who
wanted a railroad built from St. Pe
tersburg to Moscow or some place
out in the empire and who laid a
ruler on the map and drew a line
and told the engineers that was the
place he wanted the road. Unfor
tunately it is hilly and broken in
Russia, and the engineers protested.
But the Czar insisted and that is all
Temember about the story. But
they tell me that the road from Lau
rel Hill to Navassa, near Wilming
ton, 101 miles in extent, is without
a curve, and I do not doubt it, for
any place you look out of the rear
of the car you can see the track di
minishing;
portance that it is hard to conceive
of anything that can offset them.
Future Rich With Promise
Another thing; wise to bear in mind
is that when Robeson started twenty
vears aeo to grow from a ten-thous
and hale county, with one little bank.
to be a 75,000 bale county with lit
teen banks, it was a start with no re
sources. Now the start for further
ftOBESON FOUR . . . .uoswolethd
progress is from a point where pop
ulation, money and experience give
. . ..... j, t 4-v:
a hie lilt iorwara. l tumess uiai,
I am much interested in this quar.
ter of the universe. The big. corn
crop, the biggest ever made, says the
farmers are not scared oy tne conon
prices of last year. It says they
have confidence in the ability of
Robeson to come back with some
thing else if cotton fools them, and
the minute a manFjnds he can play
thetuneon the otmer string he has
made himself twice as enecuve s
he ever was before. It is the same
wav with the community. Cotton is
hv no means a dead bird in the pit
Robeson has not reached the limit of
its production of dotton, but it will
have something besides cotton in the
vears after this one. It has learned
that lesscfh this year, and it will ap
ml v it from now on.
Robeson wants more people, and
is eoinsr after them. Plans are form
ing now to let the world know what
is doinar Jiere and At is nothard to
guess that these folks will get some
of what they go after. -
Robeson is available for cultivation w
thsn ia riilfJvntoH ihnt ii. ? safe tft
"""vo DU" t"""'" vi.vcg tnig county has a piace to make up
a great couon peit. ne pusnea tnat fnr 1R.lf mn.h fnrfiipr nn i the lit' 21
belt farther from the South Carolina 'tn8n it hag ever attained. No doubt !
line eacn year until it crossed intoiother countie3 of the United States
the upper end of Robeson, and on in- wiU peg along at the same time, but
to what is now Hoke. Pushing far- they win fjn1 R0beson in fast com-!
ther up into the hills it reached the pany for two 0f its advantages can1
Sandhills country, and spreading out h. nv(r.nm and onlv a few I
mere nas iouna more coton iana in countie3 have them. These are ease
fifty miles of Lumberton than was 0f cultivation of this light soil, and
ever unagineu possioie. inow tne the fav0rable climate. A day's plow
wnoie country is recognized as a cot- in in RobeSon countv will accomnlish
o "
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Opening-SalesoMobacco
sday Sep. 2115
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PROPRIETORS.
To the PubHc ,
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- Four years' Course in Literary Department leading to A. B.
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For a limited time, in order to reduce an ac
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Come Early While the Supply Lasts
THE ROBESON IAN
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