The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1879-03-21
OUR DISTRESS AND ITS CAUSE.
lFeliciana sentinel,1

IFeliciana Sentinel.l
In the last session Of the legislature
Gen. q. w. Monday, Represeutative
from East Feliciana, introduced and
successfully engineered q bill which Is
known as the Homestead Law, ono
provision of which reserves to the pro-
perty holder, both In and outside of
corporations, homestead to the value
Of 5000. Mr.. Monday, no doubt, felt
for the depressed agriculturaltsts Of our
State, for he is himself a practical farm
or, but the question very naturally
presents itself, in what manner does he
propose relief? BY cutting on the op-
portunity of small farmers from secur-
ing supplies with which to make their
annual crops and forcing them to the
adoption of q system of economy and
home production that would rebound
to their everlasting benefit, or Is It to
secure the fine property of large class
Of real estate owners who, through n
chain of reverses, have become In
volved to such an extent as to make 1t
a moral impossibility to settle their in
debtedness without sacrifice of their
homes at figures considerably below
their actual value. Either motive is
an honorable one, and we are pleased
to believe the honorable gentleman had
the bill.
The system Of furnishing supplies
works, we are convinced, q most disas-
trous effect not on only to the farmer
and merchant but upon every branch
OF business. The planter who buys
supplies on his coming crop barely
lives, so sparingly are they dealt out to
him, and If he, by some unforeseen for
tuity, has his yield reduced below first
anticipatiOns, not only fails to meet his
obligations with the merchant, but has
no money with which to pay off a
number of outside bills that necessarily
accrue during the season. II the farm.
er lived at home and was dependent
upon no one for his hog and hotniny
the state of affairs would be greatly
changed. But, will say three-fourths
of our readers, how are we to do this
when we have nothing in the house to
live on and no money in our pockets
A knowledge of these facts has in.
spired our remarks, and We will point
out our remedy: If every Individual
farmer could persuade himself to run
through one cropping season on one
third the supplies usually deemed
necessary (Which any one could easily
dO) plant u smaller area of cotton and
cultivate it more thoroughly, and plant
double the area in corn and other pro-
duce so essential to home comfort and
prosperity, after one years labor the
agricultural interests Of our section
would be placed upon a firm cash basis,
and in a very short time our beloved
State would be restored to her prestine
glory and again justly heralded as the
Queen of the SisterhOOd.
AS evidence of the deleterious effect
OF the credit system we present the fol-
lowing figures for sober consideration
In the Recorders office OF this Parish,
already has been filed 45S contracts
pledging to the merchants doing busi.
ness in this Parish the coming crop to
the amount of $s5, ,245. For recording
these contracts the farmers will have
to pay $45S and an interest OF %, ,524. 90
to the merchant, who in turn has to
pay it to the commission merchant or
back ON whose credit the home mcr-
chant is alone enable to advance to tho
farmer.
That such Il system is suicidal the
most ignorant will readily perceive,
and If new order of things is not
speedily inaugurated the condition Of
the serfs of Persia will be afiluent and
lordly compared with the abject power
ty of our once proud State.