The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-06-25
STOP THOSE LEAKS.
PIKEvILLE, N. c., May 25, g!

since [ read Bro. Wolverines letter in
| No. ID. l saw in No. ID, where some
of our brothers say, "Don't give up
the ship!" Now, if you a keep a
ship from sinking without stopping
the leaks, l would like to know how
it is done. 1t has been twenty years
or more since the war closed. Before
the war farmers were living almost
independent; raised what we needed,
made u own cloth and clothes, made
our own plows and all other farming
utensils too numerous 10 mention.
Whent the Yankees came through our
sunny south they saw our independ-
ence; also saw our ignorance, and they
saw how they could make some money.
Then came some sharp carpet baggers;
told us to raise cotton and they would
do the balance. They told us there
was big money in raising cotton; so
we raised cotton and sold it for Is to
20 cents per pound, then bought our
provisions !; soon got the market
stocked with cotton, and that brought
the price of cotton down. They said
they could manufacture cotton cheaper
than we could, SO we bought our cloth
and clothes and our plows and hoes,
and, in short, nearly everything we
use. We paid these same Yankees
from $40 to $50 to manufacture sew
ing machines to make our fashionable
clothes on, and those Yankees are
somewhere right now studying up a
new fashion to sell us the pattern of.
We paid them $25 to $40 to manu-.
facture washing machines to wash our
clothes with. Not satisfied, they came
with their renovating machines to
renovate our beds to make them fit to
sleep on, when our beautiful sunny
| South, that God has blessed so won
derfully with sunshine and air sufi-
cient to renovate them, provided we
do not sleep on them too much. Be-
fore the war it took ten yards of cloth
to make a dress; now it takes twenty
with twenty yards of trimming to go
on it, and we can't make it stylish
enough, and so we hire a Yankee to
make it. So now the Yankee fur
nishes us with nearly all, even to the
cradle we are rocked in in infancy,
and the coffin we are buried IN. Then
we have to pay freight and the mid
die men to the manufacturer; then
pay middle men to handle the goods
back to the consumer. Yankees not
yet satisfied; sit down to form cor
ners, trusts, pools, combines and mo.
nopolies on what we buy.
Now, Mr.. Editor, Bro. Wolverine,
any of the brethren, can any of you
tell how to keep the ship from sink
ing without stopping the leaks, of
which those mentioned are only a few
of the many that we know of? Let
us hear from you. W. farmers have
seen how we have been swindled, and
| think it is time we arise and shake
our feathers and show them there is
a little "grit in our craw," and | think
if we will make our farms self-sus-
tanning and go to work in earnest to
make all we can at home. Econo-
MIXING in everything, we can stop M
leak at least.
Bro. Simpson says, what's the use
throwing away a piece of meat that
was boiled yesterday for dinner ? l
answer, none! "Better boil more
collards in same pot of liquor" He
says, what's the use hiring done that
which we can do ourselves? l say,
none; and if we would put our own
shoulder to the wheel and not be afraid
of getting our fingers dirty, we might
stop another leak. He says, whats
the use of buying that which we can
do without ? This would be a great
saving indeed, for how many of us
buy things that we could do without ?
[ say, plant corn, some cotton, save
fodder, hay and oats too; pay strict
attention to your melons, orchard,
cane, cotton, corn and garden, and l
believe if it is the good Masters will,
we will reap a rich reward by so
doing.
Now, brother farmers, are you edu-
eating your sons to farm, or are they
seeking city life, to become ftth-class
doctors, or ffth-class lawyers, or fifth
class politicians Are you educating
your daughters to cook, knit, sew and
do homework generally? There are
many ladies who marry and can't cook
their husbands dinner, or knit him a
pair of socks, or make him a shirt.
Let US teach our sons and daughters
that honest labor is no disgrace; so
we may be able to know how to work
and not be forced to hire some one to
do u work, and say we won't pay
those exhorbitant prices nor we wont
pay anything for what we can raise or
do ourselves. l think that will stop
another leak; and except we do stop
those leaks we had as well give up
the ship, and say as one has said be-
| fnpn SocoIo,oI "0 ORC q soft $780,