The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-12-08
He Asks Some Questions and Moves tc
Suspend the Rules and Dis
cuss Hard Times.

D.-"Hello! Mr.. Bilkins."
B.-"Say, I want ter talk ter you
half a day"
Doh! can't spend a half day
talkin' to you"
B.-"Why; what have you got to
do?''
D.-"I must run the paper, I have
a good deal of responsibility on my
hands"
B.-'What does the editor do?"
D.-"Oh! he don't do much of any
thing except talk to people and write
and read and correct proof"
B.-"Well, hitch me onto him, then"
R.-AH right, MI. Bilkins,"
B.-"Sayv amt times sorter mendin'
up since that address has bin pub
Iished?"
RI don't know that there has
been much change for the better"
B.-"Yes, there has bin a consider
able change. Cotton an things are
gittin' lower every day, an times are
gittin' harder"
R.-"Well, that is true, but the pub
LEGATION of the address doesn't affect
the price of cotton"
Blamed if [ don't believe it
does. The spectators an the monop-
Olists see them little meaninless potter
cal doin's a comm out an they say
"alls we'll, we can Cypress the workin'
people some more. The p~olerticians
are erfraid to put anything in their
platforms"
R.-"You are too hard on the poll
ticians. You ought to wait at least
fifty years longer and let about eight
tenths of the people fail in business
before you complain"
B.-'Go to grass with your waitin'.
Haint 1 bin waitin' long enough? Say,
let's suspend the rules an discuss this
thing in a sensible way"
R.-"That won't do, the politicians
would lynch us i'll less than three
days."
B.-"WeII, I want ter tell you a
story erbout a lark, Betsy was readin'
of in one of the children's school books
the other night"
R.-"Al right"
B.-"WeI, a long time ergo a lark
built her nest in a wheat field. She
Matched some young larks and was
feedin' them. One mornin' the owner
of the field an his son cum a walkin'
through the field ter see if the wheat
was about ripe. The old man says to
the boy, son this wheat is ripe. Go
and get III neighbors to bring their
sickles an help us cut it. The lark
cum home with a load of worms
and bugs for her young ones an they
told her erbout what the farmer sed.
She sed, be easy, children, his neigh
bors amt a gOin' to cut this wheat
The next day the farmer walked over
the field and again told his son to 20
an call in the neighbors to cut the
wheat. The mother lark again told
her children to rest easy that there
was no danger. But one morning the
old man cum walkin' along and sed,
son this wheat is dead ripe, we WOMB
wait on the neighbors any longer, go
an get our sickles an we will cut down
the wheat ourselves. When the Young
birds told their mother erbout that she
got scared an began to move her chill
dren to another place. Say, don't yer
think we must cut our own wheat
an sorter do GROUND an remedy these
hard times9"
R.-"Itd does seem that our neighbors
are not going to help u.s."
B.-"Me an Betsey are whetting up
u scythes an are going to cut down
u crop, other people can do as thew
please"
R,-"You and Mrs. Bilkins seem to
mean business"
B.-"You are right. We are in q
state of rebellion an we don't nronoea
to be imposed on if we can help it."
R.-"You should be cautious and
conservative"
Bob, yes we are, The most
cautious an conservative people are
those who look out for themselve an
'nelr families. Me an Betsy think
selt-preservation is the best thing a
goln' an we are goin' ter look out fer
number one hereafter an let the poll
tlclans sorter go on savin' the country
II they want to. Yours fer Betsy an
the children. Good bye"
The ~Sub-Treasury is the balm of
Gilead VI