Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-04-19
TO MAKE FARMING PAY.

TO MAKE FARMING PAY.
In paper contributed 10 the Kansas
Farmer of March %, Mr.. William
L. Black of Fort A1cKavett, Tex,
expresses the opinion that he has
discovered the key to how farming
might be made to pay much better than it
is paying at present. He has, he says. OBJ
served the tendency of farmers 10 form Al
Eances for the purpose of forcing upon the
country such measures of relief is appear
TO their OWL minds the most correct way to
pursue-more particularly such schemes as
the ''suD-treasury bill, - "a bill to abolish
dealing in futures IAN unlimited coinage
OF silver, etc, and he is very much afraid
the effect of their efforts VIII be more disas-
trous to them in the end than if they We're
10 quietly submit to the troubles they now
have. There IS an Old proverb, you know,
which says lit is better to bear with the
Ills we have than TO fly to those we know not
OF, and he is stongly inclined to think it
viii apply in our present emergency.
Farming. continues Mr.. Black, is a
science calling for very careful study ere
one can master it-as much so as does trade
and commerce. 1t would be equally rs con-
sis-ent to expect of 4 farmer who never saw
q counting room, that he would make 4 sue
cessful merchant or banker, as 10 expect of
the merchant or banker who never turned
furrow that through the labor of his own
hands ne would make successful farmer
Each department demands 4 certain amount
Of knowledge that can be acquired only
through long experience, and upon this
method of reasoning he concludes that the
farming masses are dealing with 4 very dam
gerous matter when they attempt TO make
laws 20 regulate the trade OF our country.
They might just as well undertake TO dictate
medical laws, and he feels quite sure that
very few farmers would venture to take the
management of 4 severe case of sickness,
if there was doctor in the neighborhood.
Is II not well, then, to go little slow, and
look well before we leap!
After talking at some length about trusts
Mr.. Black proposes to fight fire with fire by
forming kind of farmers trust-a some
thing that Will enable the farm people TO
exactly regulate their supply with the de-
mand. No surplus is to be produced above
what would actually be called for. He is
convinced that this is what we need above
all other things, but the question is: How
are we to introduce it2 What we want 10
do is TO regulate the supply of the farm TO
the demand from consumers. We want to
know how many acres have been and are
being prepared to plant il wheat, cotton,
corn, oats, tobacco, rye, barley, castor
beans. and in fact every article that is com
monty produced by farmers. If we have
prepared too many acres for wheat we
want to know it before the seed has been
sown. 1t certainly does no good to tell the
farmers they have produced 10000, 600
bushels Of wheat when the demand calls for
only 800 100000. They should be informed
OF the demand first, and then they could
regulate their planting accordingly.
Now, says Mr.. Black there is a way by
which this desired end may be obtained. 1t
is extremely simple. We copy:
Let the United States appropriate suffi-
cieut money to establish and maintain in
each state bureau Of information and
statistics, :" with q competent secretary at
the head of each, and 4 sufficient corps of
clerks 10 assist him. These state bureaus
should locate agencies in every market of
any importance in their state, and each
agency should be allotted certain number
Of counties and i sufficient number of clerks
to keep correctly all the necessary statis-
tics of their department. Each agency
should obtain the name and address of
every farmer in its territory, and add to the
LIST every wear such new ones as NAV locate
there This can very easily be done
through the assistance of the assessors
rolls We will suppose, now, that ii is
necessary to learn how many acres of land
have been prepared for planting different
crops. The state agencies would only have
TO send out postal card to each farmer
say one month before seeding time, with
the following questions, to be answered and
returned: How many acres have you pre-
pared to plant in wheat, and what has been
the average producing capacity OF your
land2" How many acres have you pre-
pared TO plant in corn, and what
has been the average producing
capacity Of your land!' Chow many
acres have you prepared to plant in cotton,
and what has been the average producing
capacity of your land2" The same ques-
tons should be asked with regard to to-
bacco hemp, fax, castor beans, buckwheat,
potatoes. sugar rice and every other article
that can be produced in such district. In
less time than a week these answers could
be returned TO the agency and summarized
in a general statement for the state Secre-
tary, who in turn would compile the whole
and report as follows TO the agricultural de-
partment at Washington:
The state of ...... has prepared to plant
as follows:
Average
producing