The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-09-08
Correspondence.
MOUNTAIN CREEK FARMERS
CLUB.
Report of its Rise and Progress What
it has Done and is Doing.

ItSdu d tl1C oA"o liz -
Richmond county, August 10Th, 1886.
In making our first report perhaps
it would be well to 60 a little more
into the causes which brought about
the. formation Of the club. Let us
remember that Farmers are the
largest part Of the population in this
and nearly every other State Of the
Union. Yet we practically exercise
no influence amongst the people
who are clothed and fed by us; we
pillow and SOW and others gather the
fruit of our labors. W. set the price
of nothing we buy, and give whatever
is asked of us for everything we buy.
Every class Except Farmers) has
it's representatives in the halls of
Legislature, they pass laws to suit
their own interests but not ours.
Can n of us wonder that the
tiller of the soil is poor and getting
poorer and is looked upon with
something like a feeling of contempt.
Let us not find fault with any one
but ourselves, as we have the rem
edy i'm our own hands. What say
you, how long shall this continue?
We, of Mountain Greek have taken
our determination, we have had the
bones long enough and propose to
have our full share of the meat from
now forwards. Afew of the farmers
around here thought and talked
over these matters until they
felt that something should be
done, and two years ago they went
to Powellton Academy, held sew
eral meetings there, drew up by
laws, but the encouragement and
the weather were both so cold that
the zeal of the few gave out for a
time. But the desire did not cease
Last fall the attempt was made again
with the determination to succeed
though it might be only with the
few founding members. We took
for our purpose "Co-operation." We
proposed meeting together, talking
together, working together, buying
together, selling together and in
general acting together. We adop-
ted bylaws, and proceeded to work.
We started in earnest, not expecting
much, but determined to help each
other in and out of our meet
ings with counsel, advice and ex-
perience and so work along until
u neighbors saw the good work
done, but success came to us from
the beginning, there was a wide
spread interest. Farmers had long
borne the burden and were anxious
to get from under it. Beginning
with six we have now fifty-four
members. Since our organization
WIS have held II meetings with very
good average attendance. The fol-
lowing subjects among others have
been discussed. "Fertilizers of va
rious kinds, how to buy our supplies,
improved stock, premium crops,
Irish and sweet potatoes, fish culture,
how to prepare a crop, what is the
most moneyed~ crop-cotton or grain?
does guano pay in this section?
These subjects have been discussed
with much earnestness and have
created a great deal of interest.
Many questions have been asked
respecting crops, labor and farm
management and have brought out
much varied experience.
The question of buying our sup
plies early claimed our attention and
very much time was spent in dis
cussing the best way of arranging
to buy supplies at wholesale cash
prices. It was finally decided that
James A. Ingram be appointed the
business agent of the club and that
all members desiring to buy must
secure him (%unless they paid cash,
when no security would be neces-
sary) by giving a mortgage on land
forthe amount they proposed to buy.
This was done for several reasons:
because land was the only security
on which cash could be borrowed, it
was the only safe way for the club
to do business; by this means every
member buying was responsible only
for himself and not for any one else.
On this basis 20 members have
bought their supplies at wholesale
cash prices with only freight. and
interest added. The committee re-
ported that after a careful investi-
cation of accounts and books that
over SO per cent had been saved,
or to express it in plain words sup
plies which would have cost them
1859 have been bought through the