The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-04-28
SENSIBLE SUGGESTIONS.

An o%bservant citizen Of Chatham
county, writing to the Pittsboro
Home, discusses the low price of to-
bacco in that section, which, on an
average, did not half pay the planter
for the cost of cultivation and
handling, concludes his commune
cation with the following sensible
suggestions:
GAS to the best remedy, | am some
what at a loss, but think that if no bet
ter plan can be devised it would be a
good thing for the farmers to make their
own bread and meat, and if they must
and will plant tobacco, plant, say, for a
one or two horse farmer, one or two
acres; put the price on it at 10 or Is
cents per pound for common grades, and
if they can't get that price, keep it until
they can, or turn it into fertilizer.
If farmers will adopt this plan and
stick to it with the tenacity of a leech it
will not be many years until they will get
a good price, as tobacco, like whiskey,
gets better as it grows older.
In the meantime, while they are ma
king and eating their own meat and
bread, let them chew and smoke their
own tobacco and not buy a single plug of
~ or ~ cent tobacco, nor a single chew
OF "Fluvanna Fig at IS cents per pound,
which the manufacturers have made out
of common grade tobacco in some mys-
terious way.
To illustrate, the farmers tobacco is
his hard earned stock in trade. and is
Just the same to him that a merchants
merchandise, or a tobacco manufacture
er's stock is to them, and why should he
not have a per cent. or price On his to-
bacco that will pay him for his labor, as
for the merchant or manufacturer to
have per cen to pay them for their time
and labor? Where is the difference?
Some might say this policy of the farmer
would run the manufactured article up
too high-let it 60 as high as the oon
why need the common farmers care? The
masses of them, with the present prices
are necessarily compelled to live on a
cheap plan. No, | say it would not hurt
the farmer if he would raise his own to-
bacco. 1t is a luxury similar to whiskey,
but not quite so bad in its effects, and |
don't see that running up whiskey by
revenue laws has curtailed the use of it
in the least, but on the contrary, it rather
seems that the high price has caused
more of it to be used.
So if possible | am in favor of running
up the price of manufactured tobacco
from present prices at least 200 per cent.
and Their it need not necessarily seriously
affect the sale of manufactured tobacco.
Some n will say my neighbor realized
5000 per acre for his tobacco last year.
Admit it and yet you remember that
not one farmer out of a hundred did
anything near that, and that not one out
of fifty has land suited to the growth of
fine tobacco, and not one out Of a hun
dred knows how to cure fine tobacco so
as to bring a fine price.
AS all know how to raise wheat, oats,
corn and cotton, they had better give
those staple products their attention, out
of which they can realize all the neces-
saries of substantial living, until they
can get enough for their tobacco to pay
for fertilizers, and avoid having their
mule, COW and crops sold to satisfy a gu
anO mortgage.
| ana not a planter, nor never will be,
at present prices. l am a friend to the
farmer, and under all circumstances, I
am in favor of farmers forming a tobacco
corner mot the Knights of Labor for the
protection of themselves, their families
and the general farming interests"
But before there can be an under
standing or any concert of action on
this or any other matter that inter-
ests farmers generally, there must
be organization, through which such
arrangements can be effected and
steps taken to carry them out. While
every farmer pulls along in the old
way on his own account and holds
no counsel with his brother farmers,
things will go on in the same old
way, and complain as they may,
they can never better their condi-
tian much. but will always be at the
mercy of others who reap the bene-
fit from their labors, while they go
unrequited. The way to accomplish
something is to organize farmers
clubs in every neighborhood, and
work together.