The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-01-03
- s,-scsls. z.'is-i.--
bill ARP.
He Talks OF the Farmer and his Condi-
tiou
atlanta Constitution,

l.
mer is prospering or not seems to be
exciting attention and discussion in the
legislature and the press. That is all
right, of course, but it is mortifying that
such question has been asked. The very
doubt implies, q sad state of affairs. ), It
farming does not pay, how can it be
made to pay? Ifit pays in Pennsylvania,
why not in Georgia "A gentleman from
western New York told me not long ago
that it did not pay there except in the
vicinity of manufacturing towns. He
said there we're more farms under mort.
gage than farms that were not; that the
rich were getting richer and the poor
poorer; that the farmer could not get
enough for his products to pay the cost
|sof production. That seems to be the
trouble here lin the all cotton region.
While one man in ten can make cotton
at seven cents pound, FIVE will make it
at eight and the. other four at nine, cents,
and;then sell ,it forsevens andsa quarter.
Now, iifnsthe Black belt where negroes
make. the cotton, it does not so much con-
Germ the landlord whether it costs seven
cents or tsn5; evil get his rent-a bale
Ito fifteen acres-anyhow. If the darky
has nothing left be must live on it. and
he does. He,can't get away, and sosdIgs
his tatels and catches, his ,possum and
scnmes along and tries it again another
year. There are some poor white far
mers in this highland region who get
along in the same way. They have been
poor and. in debt so long they like it.
Thee;ys.. are law and shiftless and can't
[ihelp it. They had rather fish all day for
a cat or sucker and not catch it than
work in mines for a silver dollar. But
ne wont count that sort. Lam satisfied
that our Barlow farmera, as a. class, are
prospecting, but they have q great adyan.
tape over the cotton belt. They raise all
their. pYain and most all their meat.
Ydn can al find country hams in our stores
most ali the wear round. Our merchants
|. say their trade gets better every year, and
thatthiayean itsis 25.per1csnt better than
tthe iast.1Thkre is seeneral appearance
of country sthrift--bettsr stock, better
wagons and. better impleme my
tenant. Rowland, has q :pair of better
mules; than. he:eyer had before, and has
:hnnpht.a,neW wagon and has a achundred
tdollera loaned sonteA-I know. that he is
better Of than he was ever before, Most
of our farmers nav cash as si they: 90.
There is 3 better demand for theireside
icrops-there potatoes and turnips and
-:cabbages and chickens and eggs and butt
sters This lis owing, to the:great number of
people engaged in mining operations and
|; mechanical industries in our county.
They are consumers and the more Con:
a1mers the better It is for the farmer. In
sPennsylyania the farmer prosperous Be-:
/ cause they are in q large minority&pnly
zone. fourth of the population are farmers
and there ara seyehtv.tiye persons to; buy
and consume what twenty-five farmers
produce. It is the reverse in Georgia
and the south. and hence It is that farm
ing lands in the Il Keystone State average
according to 1.-THE last census forty.nine
dollars an acre and ours average four.
a northern man told me that q smart
yankee,, farmaEwould get,rich here on ten
acres if he conldisell what he makes at
the prices we are paving;
,issI visited the new town. Emerson the
other day just.tossee what Barlow county
. had il that sdirection,- only FIVE miles
away The town:is on; paper yet motily,
I but it won't be long. !: For awhile | did
not feel exactly at home, Tor northern
people: have taken charge, and did not
know them and they did not know me,
and some Of them could-not talk to me
for; they Were-S -Swedes. They have quite
8 colony all the way fromEthat country
that was ;the first to make iron. i used
to ellsSWedes iron forty.fye years ago
when I wassa merchant,s. CLERK, and. it
was considered the best iIonin the,world.
!These:s :swedes ein charge: Of afrst- class
man from-thelr own country, sand they
have capital and are building their works
on 9 large scale to make maleable iron
implements and ,fxtures;r and. will soon
have the solid buildings erected and ITO
hands employed. Northern men are
arriving there everyday, as the hotel
register shows, and haYesformed several
companies for different enterprises.
aWhy, did you not stop at Cartersyille?p
said Ito Boston gentleman. He smiled
and said: Well, in the first place,
wet found here everything we wanted, and
good deal more than ne expected..-to
see, and it was all so close together.we
did not care to look farther-it there is
any place in the wide world where you
can find iron ore of the best quality
|zmsnganese, ochre, umber, kaolin fire
clay, Limestone, sandstone, graphite and
la splendid water power al: l:within.a radius
of one mile lhave never heard of:itrand
all these treasures in such abundance and
on the line Of 9 great rail and in high
;rolllngs we'll drained country that is
Eobliged. 70 be healthy. 6econdly-we
found that ne could d-purchase property
here much cheaper than properties near
to an established town like Cattersyille
land. lately. because our people are just
like your people and all other people
they are little clannisb. They wanted
to get together and work together and
take an even start 1T was not your. pol.
itics that affected us for ne, are about
half and half ourselves democrats and
republicans, but We are all for protection.
We feared We would not assimilste for
awhile and might be misunderstood, but
o.