The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-22

advertised for superintendent of oul
public schools, and there were forty.
nine applicants. Look at the thousands
OF the young men who are clerking fol
just enough to feed and clothe them
and there are thousands more who
can't get any employment at all. These
are the town boys and college boys
the very ones the farmer boys are en-
vious of. What good does all this fuss
about the tariff do the farmer? Oh
course the tariff needs reform, but how
can the government 60 on without a
tariff, and pretty high one at that.
Two years ago there was urpa slus, but
there is none now, and never will be
again while the pension business goes
on and increases from year to year.
l wonder if any sane man expects
the government to build a thousand
warehouses for the farmers to store
their cotton and corn and produce in,
and appoint the officials, and then ad-
vance money on their crops, so that the
farmer may hold for higher price. If
the like of that is to be done it seems to
me we ought to wait for the democrats
to get in power again, so that all these
new offices could be filled by them. I
wonder if any farmer is banking his
hopes on such Utopian scheme. I see
that one of the high officials in the al
lance tells the farmers that this scheme
would enable them to hold their cotton
until it got to fifteen cents a pound. A
year or so ago they passed resolution
at Macon to hold for twelve and a half
cents, but they didn't hold. Fifteen
cents would be right big trust, wouldn't
it. There are less than a million people
engaged as landlords and tenants in
the production Of cotton in the south.
What will the other twenty millions
of our people say to an increase Of fifty
per cent. on their cotton goods? What
will the consumers and the poor of all
countries say to it? There is a monu-
ment in London to Richard Golden,
and the epitaph is, "He gave the poor
cheap Bread" but the epitaph Of some
Oft these leaders would be, He gave the
poor dear clothing"
I heard a good farmer say that rails
ing cotton at ten cents per pound was
profitable business, and that any pru-
dent, industrious man could get rich at
it. 1t has averaged ten cents for the
past ten years. Corn is bringing sixty
cents bushel here in Gainesville, and
good many farmers have it to sell.
Their sweet potatoes have brought
seventy-ive cents all winter. Their
chickens and eggs and pork and NUT
ton are always in demand. Then what
is the matter, and where are the op-
pressed and distressed farmers? They
are not in this region, and the Ameri-
Gus people told me they were not in
that region. That old song of
"Hark! Hark! the dogs do bark,
The beggars are coming to town."
does not fit this blessed country. A
thoughtful little girl, whose parents
have recently moved here from the
North, asked a visitor where our poor
people lived. She was astonished to
learn that we did not have any, neither
white nor black-no suffering poor, I
mean-.nobody who has to live on
charity.
1t seems to me that there is plenty
of good work for the alliance to do that
will avail more than all this talk about
the tarifand the sub-treasury schemes.
They can build up their cooperative
stores in every country town and get
their supplies cheaper, but their big
State exchanges will not work. They
will take too much machinery and
capital and are too remote from the
farmers. We see that one in Texas has
been sued for the misapplication of
million of dollars. These unpretend-
ing farmers clubs in our country have
done more good to the members than
all the alliance has done. They meet
once a month and interchange views
and methods, and give in their expert
ence and experiments, and they farm
better every year and get their ma
chimes and supplies from first hands.
The alliance of Wilkes County has re-
solved to vote for no man for the Legis.
lature who will not pledge himself to
support a bill that will limit a mem.
ber's salary to two hundred dollars a
year. That sounds like business and
reform too. If they will do that all
over the State maybe we can save
something. The last session cost the
State one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, and the general opinion is that
there was less done than at any session
since the war. In fact, there was
nothing done of any consequence ex'
cept the lease bill of the State road
and that was only half done. Now lei
the farmers give US new set and be-
gin the great work of reform. They
may do no better, but they can't dc
worse. BILL ARP.
An Inhuman Colored Mother.
1Greenville News May l5.
T H-;11.>,l o1