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Show SOUTHERN STATES ! MISSION NEWS' Elder V. G. Piatt Writes of Conditions Condi-tions in Alabama nnd Begioa Hitf Crop of Foodstuffs. Alabama Conference, L. D. S. Mission Mis-sion Southern States, Nov. 18, 1917. j Editor Iron County Record. The sombre stillness of autumn is upon the South. Bounteous harvests are be-Ing be-Ing garnered into the storehouse and factory, awaiting the touch of the hand of industry to fully produce that for which such articles were raised. Poodatuffa are more in abundance this VSSr than they have been In years previous to the civil war. The farmer who in years past has raised only cotton and depended upon it entirely for bis clothing, food and other domes' do-mes' i, , j thl ear j roud In the of h foodstuffs from his own gard I . try thi for the production and conservation of food, was started a1 th ighl time. Had nol this move been made, t-his year Would hSVl uffi rinj for Isck of food such as has not been teen In the days i oration, at least. Cp until last Jan nary people everywhere were preparing prepar-ing to raise more cotton than in times past, because of the war and the ex- horbiteni price of thai commodity. Put as one gaSM over the face of the wooded and farm dotted BCTSS Oi U abamSi he sees vast fields of corn, . forage crops and only here and there a small pati h of cotton Alabama is not alone in the b, for upon enquiry one SnA the condition the same throughout the cotton belt. Florida, with her for- f pines and her truck eardens, in the southeast, is prepared for . ar asportations of her products than she has ever before known. Situations Situa-tions within Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi are almost in the same condition respecting this change. But as one looks across the rolling woodlands, wood-lands, now thinned out for agriculture, agricul-ture, no cotton can be seen, but corn, corn, corn as far as the horizon reaches. reach-es. One jubilant farmer who was telling me or his crops said, "Why the stalks are so high and so thick that you have to carry a lantern to find your way through the field at midday. If you hear anything pop, look out! because if an ear of corn hits your bean, you're dead sure." Some crop! This is a powerful joke of the Southerner. I have never seen corn to rank with thnt raised here. Stalks jrrow from eight to twenty -two nnd twenty-three feet hijjh and you almost hnVe to climb the stalk to pull the ear off. The ears are also monstrous mon-strous in size. Sugar cane, from which molasses is made, is also plentiful on almost every ev-ery farm. Molasses-making is the season's rush at present. I was in talking to a Negro on this question the other day and he said: "Weuns used to cnil "lasses lasses, but now you'ens calls it 'mo'-lasses, and I rec-ons rec-ons you'se right, Ynu.so everybody's got mo' lasses now." "Is that so?" ,'Yessuh, boss." Patriotism to the colors nnd for the furtherance of our interests in the war is the vital interest here, and is j upon everyone's lips. The states which once ceceded from the Union are now the first in obedience to their country's call. Indeed, so much preparation prep-aration for war makes the civilinn and the Soldier of the Cross tingle with eagerness to get into the fray. But the Father's duty must be done' first, so that the future may be secure. se-cure. One is continually passing soldiers in city, town or in the country. The boys arc all happy nnd nre ready for action at any time. I have met many of the boys who mingled with the Utah troops on the border of Mexico. They all speak well of the Western boys, nnd especially do they admire their physique and manliness. "Some of the handsomest fellows I ever saw," one officer said to me. When the Alabama troops came back from the border last spring they looked like Westerners, too. They wore a healthy tan and looked robust ( and strong. I can tell a Western man or woman at first sjj;ht because tin f haven't the sallow complexion so j characteristic of the South. We are all well and our Church duties du-ties nnd missionary work is a Godsend God-send to us. I am enjoying my health and if I could I'd reach you a "snack" of corn bread and molasses and a sweet potato, and laugh at you while you ate them. The Gospel of Christ is leavening all classes of society. Occasionally we strike n locality where we have to "stay with Uncle Sam." This helps us to realize the magnitude of our cause. "The Record" is a pearl without a price. Some times it b?ats a letter. ELDER W. G. PL ATT. |