The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-04-11
A CHAT WITH FARMERS,


Why THEY ARE POOR AND HOW
To HELP THEASELvES.
They WIN Never Prospee Uadsr . lGoee.
gage Systen, and % Loa4 - They
Arc Robbed by the TariR Aonopoiy.
Beyords Aagasine for April con-
tains an interesting paper on "Ths
Decline Of the Farmer" It1a . cap.
ital production and We had decided to
review the article for the benefit oi
the farmer readers Of THk SEHTIHxI,
when We found the work already 10
we'll done by Bro. Kingsbury in the
WHINING ton Star, that We insert his
review instead:
| We wish We had . big paper 20 we
could copy moro freely from leading
publications. In, the April number q
Beyords Magazine there Is . paper
entitled ''The Decline of the Farmer -
1t is pregnant with facts and strong
blow at Monopoly. We must give
the reader . glimpse At few points
here and there with comments Of our
own.
In the matter of higher education
the writer says there 10 . startling
contrast between fifty years ago and
now. The time was en the North
when the students in the colleges
were from the fsrms. Now they are
nearly all from cities and towns. We
quote:
"The sons of fgentlemen-so-called-
crowd the learned professions, while
the farmers' boys who weary of their
fathers occupation and decide upon .
change enter the mechanical trades,
become railroad employees, hucksters
and the smaller shopmen. Socially
they 60 down instead Of up"
He says the contrast Is a. great a
to the Legislatures. In the past the
farmere predominated. He says:
"He not only made but executed
the laws. The first President of the
United States was farmer. So was
the first Vice President. Of the first
ten Presidents eight were directly in
terested in agriculture, but it has now
been a long time since We have had a
! farmer in the Presidential chair, and
he is not to be there for four years
more. Not only has the farmer large
ly retired from Congress, especially
from the upper branch, where his
place has been taken by the million
aire manufacturer, the railroad mag.
nate and the lumber king, but he ID
rapidly disappearing from the State
Legislature, where he once reigned
supreme"
These are startling facts. Bucolic
craftsmanship is at discount. Mag.
mates of another stripe and fashion
are to the Observation-Disclosures,
bankers,- lawyers, etc. The writer
goes on to show how the Farmer" i
declining, and points to the failure
Of agricultural colleges, agricultural
newspapers, county fairs, and the de-
sire to quit the farms and move to
town. This, mind you, is a Northern
picture. Does it apply to the South
The Northern writer thinks the far.
mers are rather hopeless Bourbons,
learn nothing in political operations.
He says, and it is true, every word, u
applied to the Northwest and to New
England:
Go slow has been his educational
progress in public matters that some
Of the astute managers in the recent
Presidential campaign-which va,
notoriously q campaign of doodle
seem to have concluded that in the
closer districts it was easier to buy
than to instruct him. So obvious an
these things that, while our public
men, in shaping pending measures
closely study the labor vote, the tem
perance vote, the Catholic vote, etc.
etc, they have almost ceased to regart
the farmer vote as worth consider
ing;
Gus. It is purely . matter Of dollar
and cents. Money tells the whole
story. The farmer deteriorates be
cause relatively he il growing poor"
How sadly, sadly truel The Sta
has taken occasion to warn it, read
ers against being deceived BY tn
roseate pictures of Southern prosper
ity based upon manufacturing devel
opment. While there IL . gratifyin,
and cheering development along thi
line it is . sad aud deplorable fac
that the farmer is ,sot prosper;ng an
is not the power in the Governmen
that he should be.
| Now for some facts and figures
Can . country, State, county, b
said to prosper when it, fields ar
unremunerative Il not agricultur
the base of al real prosperityi LIE
the farms grow up in weeds and briaz
and cease to produce, how long vii
the wheels and machinery Of mills an
, factories run think you
Il Look at the Mortgages. Take thre
States. The Northwestern States tax
, the census - to mortgage. What ar
the results thus farf Read the Sc
ures: Ohio has t374, ,OO0, 600 in NOR
cages ON the fasma Illinois ha
M,0O0, 900. Michigan has $3.50
100000. Here are three States alon
. that have the enormous som Of $620
! O0O, 900 in farm mortgages. A COR
siderable proportion Of this hug
; sum is owned BY Eastern ssass3ao
j tssrers.
. In 1860, the farmers owned one
! half of the country. In the next 2
!, years they added but $4,122, ,5S8, ,48
; 10 their wealth, while the other hal
had added more than Eve times tn
sum or @23,950, ,791, ,S51. You neve
: read Of farmers now becoming mi
! ionaires from cnltivating The soi
: Bsgor9s AegasiNs sayS:
u saRHwln ~. =