The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1877-11-22

tingcnces, or energy continue Its
combat against such countless en-
cmies. In this State. more espcc-
ially, a crop is planted under the
heavy shadow Of obligations under
taken with Il blind confidence in
propitious fortune: everything *
staked upon the fidelity Of laborers,
upon the favor of weather, or, in a
great measure upon the good faith
Of the manufacturer Of his artificial
manures. Whatever be the result
Of the years work, whether good
crops or bad crops, there is no es-
cape from the burdens assumed at
the beginning. The laborer has to
have his share of the crop; the
commission merchant must be re-
imbursed for advances made, fer
filters have to be paid for; and
with all this formidable array before
him his troubles have only just be
gun. The ingenuity, or the exc
gencies Of trade have devised a
thousand hindrances to dircctness
Of transactions, adding bv little,
but yeXatious charges, items Of cost
In which many intermediate streams
of profit find their fountain head.
What with sampling, and weighing,
and commissions, and drayage, ard
warehousing, and wharfage, ana
brokerage, and insurance, and de-
auctions for weight Of ties and
baggings, and perhaps as many
more charges besides known only
to the initiated or to the victim,
the latter finds himself in posses
sion OF the skeleton Of his work,
while the flesh and the fat have
gone to clothe the frames Of others.
Yet perhaps, many of these inter-
mediate agencies are necessary to
facilitate the real interests Of the
planter, since it is, IN most cases,
impossible for him to come face to
face with the ultimate purchaser.
We would. not refine so far upon
the existing system as 10 advocate
the eXtinguishment Of that class Of
the business community known as
"middle men," Society has adj
yanced beyond that primitive stage
when occupations were few and
transactions were simple; and civil
iZation has. called into being fhat
variety Of pursuit which gives life
and activity to human societies, call
ing into existence numberless new
wants, and providing the means to
supply them. And society will not
permit the loss which would follow
a retrograde, and a return to modes
which the early conditions of trade
made admissible.
But there is one branch of these
intermediate agencies against which
the planter must rise in rebellion.
The dealers IN futures are a class
SO unnecessary IN furthering the
operations of the Legitimate market:
a class so absolutely out Of svmpa-
thy with the producing classes; a
class as indifferent to any subject
beyond their " speculative oper-
atlons that they ought not to be
tolerated. 1t is Il ~grieyous wrong
that the products of the planter
should be staked upon the hazard
of the die: that the varieties of his
yearly labor should be fixed months
IN advance by profligate rings in
New York and Liverpool. and that
are arranged without refer
ence to the ordinary controlling
principles of supply and demand.
The operators in futures control
the fortunes of the cotton trade:
yet they operate without seeing the
Of the traffic. They fix
prices without knowledge enough
to classify grades. They toll not,
neither do they spin, vet it is for
them that al the profits of the cot
ton culture are heaped up.
\ late London cotton circular
illustrates very pointedly the ma
influence of this unprinci-
pied system. Under the old. healthy
plan, prices always rose or fell ac-
oording to the prospects Of a short