The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-09-15
Hello! Mr.. Devil"

DAN right; what can we do for
you?"
B.-"I want to talk to Jerry Rusk,
the rainmaEer. Tell the editor to come
to the machine.
R.-"All right, Uncle Zeke, what is
the 4r1uble!"
B-"I want to know if it would be
wrong to talk some with Capt. Rusk,
at Washiuton."
R.-"No, not III the last"
B.-"Mr. Rusk, hello!
Rusk.-"Who is that?"
B.-"My name is Bilkins, I'm from
North Carolina"
R.-"Ah! yes. Fine State that, great
agri .ultural country. When I get my
rain makin process in shape I'll make
things hum down South"
B.-"Say, Captin Rusk, that rain
business is what I want to talk about.
How do you do it,"
R.-"Well, you see, Mr.. Bilkins,
you farmers T not highly educated
and it would be Impossible to explain
this matter to you"
B.-"Say, Cap, amt you ii farmer:'
R.-"Yes, certainly. I've been I. S.
Commissioner OF Agriculture for three
years"
B.-"I Thought so, Now l want ter
know why it is hat you are % much
smarter than the rest of us. If you
can monkey around with a machine to
make rain, why you ought ter tell a
Teller about it,"
R. -"YOu see, Mr.. Rusk, 1 don't
give agriculture much attention. I'm
in politics. The fact is l am promi-
nent+y mentioned i'll connection with
the Presidency"
B.-"So I've heard. The editor of
our paper said last week that a bee was
hummin' in your bonnet with a noise
like a saw-mill."
R.-"Who is the editor of your
paper?"
B.-"Why, don't you know nothin'
about The PROGRESSIVE F~ARMER!'
R.-"Oh yes. Well, don't approve
of these Alliance papers, I think they
are toe POLITICALLY
B.-"Say, Cap. Didn't you say you
were in politics y~ourself?"
R.-"Yes, but l am working for the
advancement of agriculture. l have
a right to go into politics."
B.-"Well, l reckin the rest Of us
hev a right to go inter politics, then"
Us fellers what work in the field are
'wOrkin' in the interest of agriculture
a blamed sight more than these Com
~mlssioners Of Agriculture. [ don't be
lieve they I very agricultural nohow.
All Of them are wantin' office So bad
they kin taste it. Me an Betsy have
about decided that for our part we
could do without any Commissioner of
Agriculture in ours"
R.-"What T your objections to
them, Mr.. Bikins!"
B.-"WeI you see most of them
don't do anything to help along the
Alliance. Vie an Betsy are both strong
A~lliancemen, an We want to see our
agricultural men friendly to us. Betsy
thinks it nifty strange that Commits
siOners Of Agriculture would do eny-
thing against us Alliance people,"
Rive are not against your
organization, Mr.. Bnkins, as long as it
stays out of politics, but you should
not go into politics. That course will
ruin the country"
B.-"HellO, central!"
C.-All right, Mr.. Bilkins"
B.-"Say, I talked the whole jaw off
Mister Rusk, the rainmaker. He adj
mits that he don't know eny thing about
maxim it rain, but heIknows all erbout
politics."
C.-"Well, we suppose that he is
c~ultivating a political hot-bed, for he
has done nothing to help the farmers
except yell big crops and great pros.
perity,' Now and then he tells the
farmers that they are working too
much, and that they are suffering from
Overproduction."
Has the AeWS and Observer
published them letters YETI" !
C.-"NO."
B.-"Well, tell them I am havin'
nifty hard work to keep Betsy from
stoppln' our paper. She says they had
oUghter publish them"
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