Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-09-06
THE SOUTHERN FARMERS.
Speech Of the Hon. BENZ. H. Hill at
the Fair at JonesborO, Ga,
August Sth, 1873.
Little Hope for the South.
ATLANTA Constitution Report.l

4
came on the ground to-day | was re
minded of the fact that [ made
speech in this place just eighteen year
ago. That was one of the first speeche
of the FIRST political campaign of m
life. What sad changes have occure,
since then! How many were presen
then who are absent now How man,
of you who were rich then are poo
nowl A terrible war grew out of tn,
issues then discussed, and one of it
saddest battles was fought and lost OIL
this very spot.
| came here then purposely to max,
a speech. | came to-day only to heal
one from our excellent Governor
But you insist upon hearing from me
and | will give you a few thoughts OF
your agricultural condition and pros
poets. And | shall speak now as
spoke then-precisely what [ believ,
to be true, and without any fiattery o.
pandering to please you. For thi!
style of public writing and speaking
have been pronounced by some to bt
wanting in good judgment. Laughter.
Be it so. 1t is habit | shall never
change or abandon. / say of a truth
to you, to-day, 1 would not surrender
the privilege of thinking independent
ly and speaking plainly my honest con.
victions for all the offices in the gifI
of the people.
A people who will not see theil
danger. are not apt to provide for theil
safety; and people who prefer fiat
terry to the truth, will not be apt to
see their danger. They will pass on
like the fool, and be punished. We
have certainly been heavily punished
and the days of our sorrow, / fear, are
not yet numbered. / was raised on a
farm. Agriculture has been passion
with me. l have followed it to my cost
[ know more about it than you imag.
inc, and have paid more for my infor-
nation than, perhaps, any other man
in the State. -,
All wealth comes primarily from the
ground. This is Gods decree. Science,
skill and art may improve, refine and
add to the value of that which is pro-
duced from the earth, but the producer
is the origin-the primary source-of
all the wealth of this world, and no
man could live, much less grow rich,
but for the farmer
And yet, as class, the agricultural
population is the poorest in all cOun-
tries. Wealth-money-accumulates
in the hands of all trades more large
ly than in those of the producer. Is
it not strange that those who produce
all wealth should be the poorest of all
people? We saw in the papers but a
few days ago that merchant in New
York who commenced trade a poor
boy, made an inventory of his possess
ions, and found himself worth one
hundred millions of dollars Think
of that One man worth half as much
as the entire State of Georgia, with
all her lands, cities, towns, factories,
railroads, securities, and all property
of every kind! And yet that man
never, perhaps, produced ten dollars
of his vast wealth from the ground.
He made it by trade. He managed to
draw to himself the wealth produced
by others, and, / dare say, honestly
too. There are many others. traders
and manufacturers in that same city,
who count their accumulations by
millions. Where are your millionaire
producers? Who can find one?
Now, why is all this SO? Why is it
that farmers work hard and keep poor,
and nearly all trades that handle their
products grow rich? | can not go to-
day into details, but will give you the
great general reason: The whole ten
dency of legislation in this country is
to enrich and build up every other in
terest at the expense of the agricultu-
raj And it has been and is so in
almost, if not altogether, every gov
ernment on the globe.
How does it happen so? Because
the merchant and the manufacturer
take direct and personal interest in
legislation, and make it their business
to study, to understand and to shape
and direct the legislation of the coun-
try. The farmer looks to Providence
for rain to produce his crops, and when
the rain comes he is content; while the
trader looks to Congress for laws to
make his profits, and, in some form or
other, he is sure to get the laws and
reap the profits.
But I will not deal with general
principles. prefer to talk about our
condition and prospects; We, of the
South, are very poor. With individual
exceptions, we are all poor. | fear we
do not know how poor We are. | am
quite confident we do not imagine how
poor we are going to be. As a people,
the agricultural population of the
South are poorer to-day than they ever
have been. and they are getting poorer
every day. All! but you are making
good crops this year. Yes. God has
mercifully sent good seasons on our
fertile soils. Everything We have
planted has grown well. The cotton
fruits splendidly, too. Well, that is
all true. Now let me ask you this
question: How much will you make
this year? / win answer for you. A
Large majority of the planters Of Geor-
gia viii be poorer on the last day of
December next, than they were on the
first day Of January last. There will
he individual exceptions. 1t may be
YOU are better off in this county than
most of our people in other counties.
I admit large profits, very large
profits, Will be made by some people
on this years aottsp crop ip the South;
but what / affirm is, that with ipdiYia
ual exceptions, these profits will not be
reaped by the planters and producers
of this cotton. ~
Who will get the profits then, you
will ask? Twill tell you. Wall street
will get millions Of your profits. The
manufacturers in New England will get
many millions. The corn raisers and
hog growers in the West will get other
millions. The lien ;1a;aoi merchants "a around S
ers and cotton factors and commission
,,,orobants v;Il get still other millions.