The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-07-05
AN ESSAY.
WRITTEN BY l.. II. rosEY. IR., AND
READ BEFORE FRIENDSHIP ALI.
ANCE, LINCOLN COUNTY, MISS.

courage YOU To push forward IN the
great work that lies before you. We
have taken upon ourselves solemn
obligation to do all in our power tn
strengthen aud build up the farming
class of people; and il is for that pur-
pose that stand before you now to
try To- speak of the mental, moral, So
cial and financial interests Of the far
meI.
Mental means, mind; therefore
what | say i'll regard to the mental in
tercst of the farmer will he upon edu
cation. This, my dear friends, is n
very grand and important subject, and
one that ought to he impressed upon
the minds of all civilized people;
but il seems to me that farmers are
tion of their children as they should
I've, and | am going to try to show you
the same time give some of the rea
sons why we are unCducated. The
educated man has great advantage
over the uneduCated man; because,
put him where you may, or i'll what
ever society YOU may, and he is all
right, so to speak. Bring up any
subject. and he is ready for it, and if
he cannot get work at one place he
will at another, because there are so
many things he can do that he Is new
er without work. Why is it that when
We farmers get up in public to say
anything we shake like we had an
ague, and at the same time sweat as
if we had been taking quiuine for
twenty four hours and were wrapped
up in bed in the middle of August
/ Why is it we don't like to I've intro
duced To gentlemen or lady? Why
/ is il that when thrown into company
with either a gentleman or lady, We
/ don't have much to say? Why is it
we don't like to eat at table with
polite people! Why is it we don't
! like to go into Il rich mans house?
| Because we know nothing of genteel
manners. But why are we uneduca-
/ ted! Because, ever since We were
large enough to hold six-mOnth- old
calf we have been at work trying to
make an honest living; therefore, we
have not had time to get an education.
But why is it we work so hard and
are no weather. than what we are?
1t is because we have not had what
justly belonged to It's. We have been
eXtOrtioned upon by the merchant,
the commission merchant, the middle
man. the lawmaker and the capital
list. The Lawmakers, as | shall call
them, meet at the capitol of each State
and there they are met by the capital
list with his bags of money, and he tells
them what he wants done and if they
don't talk like doing it, he tells them
what he will give them to do so and So
Brethren, you know this to be fact
You cannot show me a law that has
been passed within the last five years
that is worth anything that is for the
benefit of the farmer.
Again, the capitalist buys up the
necessaries of life, things we are
bound to have, and sets his price, and
we are bound to pay it or suffer.
Again, look at the unreasonable per
cent. we have to pay the merchant
This spring you could buy -four at
$500 per barrel for cash, but if YOU
bought it on a credit you had to pay
800 per barrel, which was 40 per
cent. above cash price; and people
think this is cheap, because It's so much
better than it was few years ago,
and this is just what We pay the mer-
chant.
Now let's look at the thing just rs it
is. Take, for instance, -four. The
producer must first make his living,
then it is carried to New Orleans and
there sold by commission merchant,
who charges about q per cent; then
the merchant makes his profit, then it
is brought to BroOkhaven, and dealt
out to lis at from % to 100 per cent.
on the dollar. Now, brethren, is it
any wonder we are poor and unedu-
Gated. But you say, how will an edu-
cation remedy this! That is just
what | am going to try to show, that
the education of the farmer will help
it to some extent.
In the first place, if we had educa-
ted farmers to make our laws, | think
they would be honest enough not to
be bought over by the capitalist, and
in the second place, | think they
would make some kind of law to pre-
vent the capitalist from buying up the
necessaries of life, and selling them
out at his own price. But before we
go any further, let us see how the far
mer regards an education. 1t is true,
some think it would be a good thing
to have an education, if it could be
got without costing anything, and
there are others who will send to
| ScbnOl IL tho taaohap 10 inst tho MON