Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-08-07
Address of Chalkley Dillingham;.


FRIENDS OF THE WOODLAWN FARMERS
CLUE Another year has rolled around since
our last anniversary meeting. The " oodlawn
Farmers Club, of Virginia, and nearly, II not
nuitc every member OF this club, has voluntarily
;iIdopted Virginia as his home and his field OF
oDeratious, and cast his destines with her tor
good or for evil | say he has chosen Virginia
as his home and not come into it BY accident
of birth. as many others have done, which they
could not avoid, not having the power OF choice
This fact makes it reasonable, nay important,
to look around Us and see what the present cir
cumstanccs are: also what they are capable OF
being, and also TO consider and work out the
problem whether VIC have, or may, better our
selves by our choice OF location IN an agrlcultu-
raj point vi view, for 1t Is agrleuturlsts that
the present essay is intended TO reach.
1t is a very common method OF Judging OF
things BY comparison; indeed it is with most
people the only safe way of coming to a correct
Judgment in luattcrS of this KIDD. We VIII
compare then our new home OF Virginia with
prosperous New Englaud, in general and Mas
sachussetts in particular. \ recent writer says
that little Massachusetts, with tenth OF the
soil of Virginia, (al!udiug to the whole State
before its division into east and vest anu III
nowise 10 be compared to hers 10 fertility or
climate, is rapidly gaining on Erg mia 10 point
Of numbers and power, aud sending away out
of her prolific hive thousands at the same time
to populate the West 1t cannot be for the
want of great men, for Virginia has had more
great men than all New England united. With
out great men to manage her affairs, the affairs
of New Eogland secln to manage themselves.
That county, 50 thriving. SO out Ut debt: So
prosperous, has, We are told, no great men, nor
any little men; they seem to be all alike, as
bullets form the same mould, and all shooting
ahead. The people have the saglclty TO taclll-
tate the views Of those who have capital to
lend. If man has ten dollar note he can
buy stock with it within the smoke Of his own
chimney and put it at interest, and within the
same distance any Industrious man can borrow
money to give activity 10 his genius and bis IN
dustry There is not a farm that has not within
i very short distance, now producing consum-
ers of agricultural produce, ready to buy the
smallest thing that can be made on il Tor sale
\ man may engage for certain purchaser Tor
the butter yet IN his cow uddcr, and the eggs
that he knows his hens will lay in the morning
These thrifty Yankees have made more rall-
roads than any other people 10 the world, and
as for manufactures besides supplying enough
of them to consume every peck Of apples and
every string of onions that eau be made in the
State. So that 10 capital need be laying dead
in an acre Of waste land. Oae trouble Is. there
are too many producers for the number Of con-
sumers \ vast proportion Of our labor is con-
sumcd in the wear aud tear and cost OF cx-
changing it for what we get in return. " c
want the manufactures right here, handy to
us, that We may exchange with the hundreds
and thousands vi operatives as they do III New
England, where ali arc thriving and all out Of
debt In 1910 the proportion employed III
| i .fI Inn ,lt,Irl
72S: commerce. 81; manufactures, -. ln $50,
twenty years attcrward the proportion employ
ed in agriculture bad diminished from IS to
Co.. while those employed in manufactures
had increased from 81 to 502. 10 that year,
1910. 10 the six New England States for every
66 persons employed in agriculture there were
close along side OF them thirty manufacturers
ready to consume whatever they had to sell-;s
point of raspberrics, or a pound Of butter,a gal
lon of milk or gallon of cherries, and ready
at the same time to buy their wool and supply
them with coats; to buy their raw hides and
supply them with shoes. Here one and there 5
the other! No time lost in exchanges The
New England farmer spends al! his time and
keeps all his manure on his farm. In the
Southern States the proportion Is 90 employed
in agriculture, with - in commerce, and So 10
manufactures az purchasers Of agricultural pro-
| L
one consumer in the other eleven for onc in
one the producer and consumer close together
or connected by the very best OF roads; in the
other far apart. exchanging at great cost Of
time, labor and money. Virginia is about ten
times larger than Massachusetts, with richer
land better climate, more coal, more iron, more
water power and moro and better harborS: can
raise all sorts Of produce IN greater quantity
per acre wool included. Suppose, then, she
had within her borders ten times as many nom
producing CONSUMERS Of agricultural produce to
supply with wool, beef, coal, iron. mutton, po-
tatoes, fruit butter, cheese, timber, corn: Hour,
rye oats onions, leather, oysters, fish, wood,
bacon, and vegetables In general, as Massachu-
sets has of that class of people. Ten times
s., 900 manufacturers would be $4,000 Sup
nose they consumed all together al average Of
30 cts. per day, they would want what is pro,
duccd out Of the and-93 ,O75,UOO dollars a
year What would land be worth then? Would
there then be the thousands Of acres Of waste
land 10 the State there now Is not producing
enough to pay the tax there should be upon 1t
for school purposes aud other needttul Improve
ments? But we have not made a mistake 10
locating 10 this beautiful land, as before men
toned; We have nearly everything more favor
able than Massachusetts, as az abiding place.
duu oil llC UlHCl oiC if'"I Cu'thi
ing ADD pcrfecting Great changes have taken
place within the last ten to twenty years, aud
are working in a ratio Of arithmetica progress
sion, and nothing contributes more to the con-
sum ation to this end than the action and COM
bnation of intelligent farmers clubs-such
ones as you are now attending and celebrating
its seventh anniversary meeting. In the Ian
guagc of recent address on Il similar occasion.
LET US 20 on then developing the wonderful
resources Of this art, and say Of the State,
go on; persevcre, and you will leave rich
inheritance to your heirs. Go on: and the time
will come when every man shall sit under his
vine and fruit tree when all our hill-sidcs and
valleys shall rejoice in the burden Of the har-
vest, and the passing breeze become vocal with
songs of gratitude and praise for these bcue-
factions to pos,erity. 1t is enterprise and labor
that makes men strong, and the great engine
that moulds the destiny of the world. Work Is