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| A government agent shoots cattle at R. E. Gracey's place in 1934.* |
This was an action that no one liked to see but one that played out in towns all over the country because it was part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (A.A.A.) passed by Congress in 1933, shortly after President Franklin Roosevelt took office. The act had a major effect on the lives of Roscoe folks in two ways, cattle and cotton.
In the first years of the depression, prices for cattle, hogs, and cotton dropped to levels not seen since the 1890s, a result not only of the Wall Street crash but also of overproduction and a shrinking international market for all three commodities. Like many other cotton-growing areas, Roscoe had had a record cotton crop in 1932, producing over 22,000 bales. Its total was not surpassed until 1962, when farming techniques were considerably improved. The price of cotton, however, was down to around 6ȼ a pound, so even with the bumper crop, farmers were hardly able to make a profit.
Roosevelt’s solution was to drastically reduce the supply in order to drive their prices back up, so in the spring of 1933, the federal government began “emergency livestock reductions” by buying hogs and restricting cotton acreage by paying farmers not to put a percentage of their fields in cotton. Cattle were added to the program in 1934.
The way the A.A.A. worked for cattle in Roscoe was explained by R. E. Gracey in his interview with Fred Carpenter. In those days, most families, including those living in town, kept a cow for milk, cream, and butter, but many were flat broke and would be unable to buy feed through the winter—and many of the cows were already underfed. So, when the government agents offered to buy them for $10 or $15 each, depending on their health, most people jumped at the chance. Farmers and ranchers with cattle were given the same deal, and, according to Walter Potter, almost everyone enlisted in the program.
The $15 cows were shipped out to the cities to feed the people standing in bread lines, while the weaker $10 ones were shot and buried in a bulldozed pit on R. E. Gracey’s place just southwest of town. When the shooting was finished, the bulldozers covered the carcasses with dirt. Before they did this, though, R. E. Gracey said he skinned a few and later sold their hides. (Under the A.A.A., hogs were also bought and killed in the same way, but neither Gracey nor Potter discussed how this was done in Roscoe.)
Of course, it was a sad day for people to lose their cows, many of which had names and were considered part of the family, and parents didn’t allow their children to watch the shooting. Also, there was criticism of the government action, especially in the beginning when all the cows were shot and buried, because people were going hungry in the cities. The outcry resulted in Congress amending the act to allow sending away the healthy ones to be meat for people needing food.
For cotton, the A.A.A., as originally passed, paid farmers not to plant cotton on a certain percentage of their acreage, but by the time the program got implemented, the farmers had already planted their crops. So, the government then required anyone signing up for the program to plow up a certain amount of their cotton. This changed policy became known as the Plow-up Campaign of 1933.
The program paid $6 per acre to anyone with a history of 100 pounds per acre and $20 per acre to anyone who could prove an annual yield of 275 pounds or more. The result was the loss of 28% of the 1933 cotton crop nationwide, but the program succeeded in doubling the price of cotton to 12ȼ a pound in the following years and boosted local economies by putting money into the pockets of people who wouldn’t have had any otherwise.
The local popularity of the Plow-up Campaign can be seen from this editorial, which appeared in the October 6, 1933, issue of the Roscoe Times:
Business has been practically doubled, farmers are getting their debts paid up, and what they receive for their cotton crop will be practically clear money as a result of the government checks being received here in payment for the cotton plow-up campaign of last summer.
How do we know?
Business men and bankers told us. They said so emphatically.
Here is what T. M. Dobbins, president of the Roscoe State Bank, had to say:
“More people are ‘getting well’ this fall than any time during the past four or five years. These cotton checks have enabled the farmers to pay up what they owe, and when they sell their cotton, it is practically clear money. The plow-up campaign certainly has been a big boost to business and general financial conditions.”
Nor is Mr. Dobbins alone in this opinion. Business men in almost every line agree with him in full.
“Business would certainly be dull if it hadn’t been for the $60,000 or so already turned loose here by the plow-up campaign,” one said. “I believe it has practically doubled my business.”
“Several of my old accounts have been paid up in full, and payments have been made on others from this cotton check money,” another said. The same sentiment is repeated up and down the line.
Another factor that is counted on as a big boost to business is the increased price of cotton this fall. With the staple selling at several cents above the figure it has for the last few seasons, farmers are able to make an actual profit on their crop for the first time in a good while.
“Better times ahead” seems to be the general outlook for the future with the plow-up campaign coming in for a large part of the credit.
* The photograph above owned by the Roscoe Historical Museum is the only one Tech historian Fred Carpenter was able to find of a government agent killing cattle as part of the A.A.A. When he saw it, he immediately asked for a copy so the Southwestern Collection could have it as part of the history of that era.
Editor’s note: According to Walter Potter, 1934 and 1935 were drouth years in west Texas, so despite the increased prices for hogs, cattle, and cotton, the hard times continued.
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Country recording artist Joe Nichols sang to a full house at the Lumberyard Saturday night.
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STOLEN ROSCOE SUV RECOVERED IN SWEETWATER
It was located Monday around 3:00pm in Sweetwater near Robert Lee Street and West Alabama Avenue. The perpetrator has not yet been apprehended, and the investigation by Roscoe Police is still ongoing.
The robbery is similar to others in Sweetwater and Blackwell currently under investigation by the Sweetwater Police Department and Nolan County Sheriff’s Department.
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ST. PAUL SPEAKS BRINGS SCRIPTURE TO LIFE AT BAPTIST CHURCH SUNDAY, JULY 28
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| Jolene and Philip Smith |
Philip will perform “The Gospel of God’s Love,” which is compiled from the letters to Rome, Ephesus and Corinth. The program is composed entirely of scripture.
Philip’s mother’s family, the Tom & Alice Wimans, farmed west of town and attended Roscoe First Baptist Church for decades. Mrs. Wiman was named Texas Baptist Mother of the Year by the Baptist Standard in 1961. The youngest of their 13 children, Ruth Wiman, was the Home Economics teacher at Roscoe High for 30 years.
Philip’s father’s family also farmed in the area, and his grandparents, Sanford and Madge Smith, made their home in Roscoe. They attended Roscoe First Baptist Church where Mr. Smith was a deacon for many years.
Rev. Cleckler J. and Nora Wiman Smith, Philip’s parents, served in Ira/Snyder area churches before being called by the Baptist Home Mission Board. They moved to western Oklahoma in 1959 and established churches which served the Cheyenne and Arapaho people.
Philip is honored to continue his family’s dedication to serving the church by using his God-given talent as an actor to portray the Apostle Paul. He lives with his wife Jolene in Austin and has been portraying Paul throughout Texas for more than nine years.
You can find out more about St. Paul Speaks Performance Scripture at www.stpaulspeaks.com.
WEATHER REPORT: TYPICAL SUMMER WEATHER
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| A thunderhead in the southeastern sky on Thursday. |
Today and the rest of the week will be consistently hot. Highs through Saturday will be either 97° or 98° with Sunday dropping to 96°. Lows will be 73° or 74° through Sunday, and winds will be mild and southerly.
Chances for rain are 0% through Saturday, rising to 10% on Sunday and 20% on Monday.
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