The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-11-15
PHILOSOPHER ARP.
Tho Itich nnd Poor Farmers.
-iNdsfu Constitution.


| too much about it. Georgia is going
ahead in enterprise, and has salubriuus
! climate. and a law abiding, Christian
people, and for one am content to live
and die hero, and don't want my chill.
dren TO move away. But Georgia is a
long ways behind in her agricultural
interests. have been looking over a
| report of the grain crops of all the
States that was compiled at Washington,
and don't feel ilattcred very much.
This report covers every county in every
State, and find that two con ties in
illinois made more corn than our whole
state, and one county made as much
wheat M our State. Isn't that sad :?
Just think Of n small county growing
three million bushels of wheat, and all
OF Georgia raised but few bushels more,
Think of one State growing three hun.
drcd and fifty million bushels of corn.
Iowa averages thirtyseven bushels OF
| wheat to the acre, and Georgia averages
six and one. half bushels. Iowa averages
forty one bushels of corn per acre, and
Georgia averages nine. It looks like we
had better quit Dragging. don't il? Well,
know we have got big lot OF cotton
to set of, but the question is, what do we
| make on Our best farmers i'm North
Georg ia say it costs eight cents pound
to make it and we get about nine or
nine and half for it. Our sales are
| big but what are our profits And now
| comes an off year, Il year of drought
which cuts down the average still more.
| Cobe says he is afcared that corn will 20
to five dollars bushel. Cobe don't
keep up with the times. Cubc goes back
to the year when the failure Of crop
dld run up the price enormously, when
there were lots Of Jacobs who had to
| hitch up their teams and go away Off to
some Egypt country to buy corn But it
is not so now. Railroads have brought
the great granaries of the Northwest to
our doors, and corn is about as cheap
now in Georgia as it was when we made
a full crop. Corn is cheap enough, and
the only trouble Is in finding n little
money to buy it with. II Cobe can't
raise the half dollar how is he going to
buy bushel Of corn2 The trouble
generally with our average farmers 10
that they are not rewarded for their Ia.
Dor. Every common laborer ought to
get one dollar for days work. A good,
honest days work in the field is worth
that much Mt least, but they do not get
hall of it, making cotton on rented land.
The poor are obliged to keep poor I
travelled with some Illinois men the other
day and II spoke of the difference
between the North and the South among
the laboring classcR--the tenants who
farm on rented land. They got better
paid for their work and soon were able
to get land Of their own and build n
cottage and go ahead. Fifty acres Is a
good, big farm up there. Families make
good living on twenty acres, for they
put part of it in truck, and can sell any
thing they rnise. They are q more thrift
ty people. They spend less and work
more. "A few farmers make money down
mere, but It keeps ten men poor to enable
one man to get rich-when one gets
ahead he can keep ahead. It is like
money making money. The first thou
SAND dollars is harder to get thnn the
next two thousand, and 80 if farmer
can Just get start with land aud stock
| and implements, lie can keep on and
make money. Here and there YOU can
mud g farmer who star!a with nothing
and works up and makes II ourv, and it
LOOKS like if one can do it others can,
but there is something in the breed of
folks just like there is in cattle and hogs
some are shifty End some are not, some
are ambitious and some are sleepy and
indifferent. Nevertheless, it is an up
| NIL business for poor man to farm.
There is not much inducement for a
young man to try it if he has no capital
.ani 80 iie goes 10 cierking OR travelling
for somebody, for he can do that without
capital. lfH man has thousand dollars
he can buy him enough land to farm on
and can stock it and then he has got n
home and can raise hogs and cattle, and
chickens, and get his wood for nothing,
and can work up to independence if he
ID any account but in my opinion n
poor man had better hire out and tack
himself on to some clever, rich man, and
sorter belong to him. The original Bill
Arp used to say that he had rather be-
long 10 Col. john Il. Johnston than 10
be free, for he said the Colonel's wife
throwed away enough vitels and clothes
to 40 his children, and they was always
nigh enough to pick 'em up. There is
humble poor man to rich and generous
landlord. The poor man loves to lean
npon his rich employer for help and pro
lection and advice, and the rich man IL
proud OF the poor mans homage. So it
II a!l right where the rich man is not
mean and tho poor man is not proud.
There are not many men who do not
depend on and look up TO somebody. I
asked Bill one day how he was going to
vote and he didn't know until he had
asked Col. Johnston, and tho Colonel
wouldn't know until he had consulted
Judge Underwood, and the Judge
wouldn't know until he had heard from
ALEX Stephens, but how Alex found out
how to vote he be dog'd if he knew" I
reckon about half the people ought to
sorter belong to the other half anyhow,
and the niggers especially without any
"sorter." We are all of us in some Iii ID
of slavery anyhow whether we like it or
not. There is slavery at sea among the
sailors, and slavery on land among the
soldiers, and our children owe to US ab-
solute obedience until they are twenty
one. Slavery is not such bad thing
after al. The children of Israel had
slaves but it was only for seven years,
and then the slave went free unless he
didn't want to, and in that case his mas
! ter led him up to door post and punched
| n hole in his ear with an awl and put a
| gold ring in i. and he was slave for
life. just 80 when man and woman
get married nova. days, it Is kind of
voluntary slavery and there amt much
difference, except that the rings are put
on the fingers. They both belong to one
| another for awhile, until they find out
which is the best man, and then the best
man runs the business. know lots of
married men who are wearing rings in
Ill. -. =