The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume], October 18, 1904, Page 4, Image 4

About The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1904-1905

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
Tuesday, October 18,: 1004.
A.
PROGRESSIVE FARMER AND COTTON PLANT.
' '" ' ' " i . i ' - . ..I '.
FOR BETTER PUBLIC ROADS.
Mr. Daniel Suggests Methods by Which
the Present System Could be Made
More Helpful and Discusses the Best
Plan of Government Aid.
Messrs. Editors : If you will per
mit me to express "my ignorance,"
a3 the boys say, I wil give you a few
thoughts on the subject of roads.
I have read with interest the va
rious opinions on this subject ex
pressed through The Progressive
Farmer and other journals, and I
have thought a great deal upon it.
We practice the time-honored plan
of "warning out the hands" and
working (?) the roads two or three
days in spring and fall. By this
xnean3 we keep them in such shape
that a stout wagon drawn by a pair
of active mules driven by a person
who has enjoyed acrobatic training,
can generally tret over them: They
never become bottomless. The bot
tom is always in evidence and some
times protrudes for from one to
three feet.
Now if the bottom aforesaid could
only be pulverized and spread on the
top we would have roads. But this
we cannot do.
"WARNING IN" HANDS.
Many of the "road hands" are good
mechanics, tmt not one of them can
whittle out a crusher and engine to
reduce the supearbundant material
at hand to a condition fit for use. In
some places we have a shale, than
which no finer road material exists.
It would only need to be hauled onto
a well graded foundation to make
-perfecJL.roads, .But by., the. time. we.
get the loose stone picked out, the
worst chug holes filled, and the most
essential ditches opened, the time is
all "put in" and we can go no farth
er. In my judgment this whole system
is as bad as it can be and should be
replaced by a totally different and
more business like plan.
But it is easy to object. We have
this system. Are we doing the best
we can with it? I think not.
In the first place, we all make
road working a kind of frolic. You
seldom see a man go at it with the
same energy he puts into his own
work.
FOREMEN SHOULD CO-OPERATE.
The foreman is one of us. Per
haps we all feel that1 road work is
an imposition. He calls us out be
cause the law requires it. And we
make a show of working more to
avoid the penalty than to improve
the road. Now if the men of a com
munity who are or are likely to be
foremen, could confer together and
arrive at some definite plan, then
each as their turn come9 work to
ward that plan, I think much more
good could be accomplished.
For instance, suppose there are
twelve men on the section. Select
two of good judgment to go over thr
section and repair local difficulties,
" fill holes, throw out stone, open
ditches and culverts, etc.
The foreman take3 the other ten
and beginning at some selected point
prepares a good road, ditching, grad
ing, and (if material ia at hand)
metalling a place as long as his time
and force can get over.
The next foreman begins where he
left off and carries it farther, and
so on, each man leaving behind him
a section as long as may be of good
road.
The difficulties in the way of car
rying out this plan are, first, to get
different men to agree on a plan of
construction and a place of begin
ning so that their work year by
year would tend to make a continued
piece of really good road. Second,
to get the men to take' a live interest
in road construction so that they
will look forward to it and try to see
how much they can do in the allotted
time, rather than how little.
TAXATION FOR ROAD-BUILDING.
Now it seems to me that mainte
nance -of highways should be by a
tax imposed upon all and based on
the value of property both real and
personal. Thus the poor laborer who
has no use for the roads, save to
walk over them while living and be
hauled over them when dead, need
not pay so much as the wealthy land
owner who makes large use of the
highway or the liveryman who has a
dozen teams on the roads every day
whether he owns a foot of land or
not.
Not a man in city or country but
is benefitted by good roads. The mil
lionaire likes them to drive over.
The manufacturer needs them for
the easier transportation of both raw
material and finished product. The
merchant needs them in order that
A
more customers can Travel more
miles with more products and more
money to trade with him. Of course,
the doctor needs them that he may
make his visits day and night with
greater speed, safety and comfort.
I don't know about the lawyer,howev
er. Better roads would keep the peo
ple in better humor and there would
not be quite so many quarrels to re
sult in lawsuits. Perhaps he doesn't
need them. But the rest of us sure
ly do.
GOVERNMENT AID.
Now as to government aid in se
curing this boon, I don't really be
lieve in that doctrine, yet I notice
that every other class that want
something large call on the govern
ment, and if they call loud enough
and long enough they generally get
it. River and harbor improvements
railroad subsidies, irrigation ditches,
forest reserves, ship canals, pension
bils, naval vessels, coaling stations,
etc., to say nothing of slices of con
tinents and groups of islands, are
paid for by the government, because
some person, persons or class of per
sons insist upon it and take the nec
essary steps to get what they want.
As to the wisdom of these purcha
ses, I am not prepared to judge, but
I do think that none of them can be
of greater advantage to more of the
people, and even to the government
itelf, than good roads.
These are of utmost importance in
peace, and should war visit our
shores, who can estimate the value
of highways that would enable ns to
niove troops, and munitions of war
anywhere in the country with utmost
speed and ease ? '
HOW THE GOVERNMENT COULD HELP
The greatest drawback I can see
is that government aid would involve
a lot more fat offices to be filled and
large sums to be dispensed, thus add
ing another temptation to our piti
fully large class of political buzzards
who are always sniffing for a feast
(of this kind.
As to how government aid should
be given I am hardly prepared to
suggest. To hand out large sums to
be expended under the present sys
tem, does not strike me at all favor
ably. Nothing could suit the" above
mentioned class better.
It seems to me now that the best
way would be to provide means to
educate men enough in the best sys
tems of road building to enable us
to find good men properly equipped
to supervise our own efforts. It
seems to me that this education
should be provided for in "institutions
already established, thus enabling
the men of each section to find in
their own section the training that
would fit them to meet the condi
tions existing in that section. These
are large questions and open to argu
ment on every side.
I can only express my views, nar
row and crooked though they may be,
and trust that it will arouse others
of larger and better view to take
steps that will prove effective.
The sad part of it seems to me
that we farmers are a scattered class,
each grubbing along his own row.
Strong, brave, intelligent men, if we
do say it ourselves. But for want
of unity of action we are allowing
ourselves to be handled like dancing
bears by anybody4 and everybody who
is "slick enough" to "humbug the
grangers."
May we not hope to do better?
H. M. DANIEL.
Madison Co., N. C.
TO SOUTH CAROLINA FARMERS.
A Call for a Meeting in Columbia During
State Fair for Purpose of Organization.
By request of Anderson County
Farmers' Co-operative Union, I here
by call a meeting of the farmers of
the State to meet in Columbia, Octo
ber 26, in the hall of the Y, M. C.
A. building at 8 o'clock n. m., f or the
purpose of discussing the issues that
confront us.
The time has come when.the farm
ers should organize and conduct
their affairs in a business-like man
ner, and this can be accomplished
only throngh organization.
One great issue before us to-day is
how to market the cotton crop in or
der to get a just profit for produc
ing it.
All county organizations in the
State are earnestly requested to send
delegates; also the farmers from aU
over the State. B. HARRIS,
President Anderson County County
Farmers' Co-operative Union.
. - yu sh to buy anything ? See
if-it is not advertised in our col
umns. If not, write to the Editor.
LABORERS SCARCE.
Some Edgecombe Farmers Fear They
Cannot Harvest all Their Crops.
The problem of housing their
crops is becoming acute with, a large
majority of the farmers. The fields
are white with cotton which open
faster than the pickers can gather it.
Now the peanut crop is upon the
farmers with pressing imperative
ness. Prices for picking have ad
vanced without much increase in the
number of pickers in three weeks.
Peanut gatherers are not to be
had for any price. One farmer of
fered a dollar a day and board for
about a dozen persons to gather his
peas, but got none. His peas are
the Virginia variety. The best are
left on the ground when the vines
are dug. He can get no one to gath
er these. The consequence is that
the ground is white with. them.
Farmers must make up their mind
to one fact that harvest times makes
patent: With improved -machinery
a farmer can plant and cultivate
more than the present supply of la
bor can gather. A cotton picker that
will pick must be invented, more la
bor brought ., here, or there must be
a curtailment in crop acreage.
Many farmers can be heard to
gravely express the fear that the
winter cold and . storms will find a
large portion of their crons still in
the fields ungathered. Tarboro
Southerner.
Farmers' Alliance Reorganized in Meck
lenburg with Bright Prospects.
Charlotte Chronicle, 13th : ?A
body of representative Mecklenbu-
farmers assembled at the court
house to-day and organized the
Mecklenburg County Farmers' Alli
ance, with the following officers:
President John McDowell, j of
Steele Creek.
Vice-President J. R. Utiey, of
Mallard Creek.
Chaplain James Wilson, of Hope
well. Secretary and Treasurer Mack
Sample, of Hopewell.
These gentlemen are sufficiently
well known to guarantee the stabil
ity of the organization with which
they have connected themselves, and
it is felt that there is a career of
great usefulness in store for the Alli
ance. The election of a county lecturer
was deferred until the next meet
ing, which will be held in the court
house at 10 o'clock on the morning
of the first Tuesday of January. '
There are ten Sub Alliances in the
county, which -have been organized
through the instrumentality of Mr.
H. H. Gates, the State Lecturer,
and a few Mecklenburg farmers who
are interested in the cause. Each
one of these Sub Alliances were rep
resented at the meeting to-day, and
the delegates brought encouraging
news of the progress they are mak
ing. The Farmers' Alliance is being re
organized all over the. State, and
many of the leading agriculturists
in North Carolina are becoming
identified with the organization.
They realize that the Alliance can
be made a power for great good to
the farmine peoDle and are- deter
mined that the good results shall I
not again oe destroyed by politics, J
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