St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-07-25
,ROBBING OURSELVES.

Inc SOutOCtu peOpio SE0 "sue
awake and progressive in some
things but in Others they are ~
blind as bats. They have got cut
of some Of the ruts but they are a.
deep in some rs ever, and in acme
even deeper than in ante bellum
times.
A few years ago we wrote An ar
ticlc giving some Of the reasons
why money is scarce in the south.
and why the cotton planters after
having raised and sold since the war
about 81, 900. 600. 900 worth OF cot
ton are little better on than they
were twenty-five years ago, and
why the tobacco planters after hav-
ing raised hundreds Of millions Of
dollars worth nf tobacco are little
better OF now than they were twenty
i've years ago. We found one
reason for this in the miserable,
jughandle, sectional policy OF the
government, which squeezes annual
" from the southern people through
tariff tribute snd internal revenue
millions of dollars to be expended
in the north. Other reasons We
found in the shiftless course pur-
sued by the people in paying mill
ions of dollars annually for fire
insurance, life insurance aud for
hundreds of things which could be
and should he made at home.
While this drain goes on through
the discriminating legislation OF the
Congress OF the United States on
the one side and by the self-rOb-
bling course pursued BY the south
ern people on the other. money
always will be scarce in the south,
however much nature may smile
upon her, and however large her
crops may be.
Here We are living in one Of the
richest and most favored sections
betweenl the two poles, q land
whose rock-ribbed hills are filed
with minerals, whose surface Is
covered with the finest forests ON
the continent. whose soil is teem-
ing with fertility, . soil that will
grow anything that Is good for
man to eat aud anything that is
good for him to wear. And yet
this land SO blessed, SO capable Of
producing enough to feed and
clothe ten times its present popula-
ton, does not produce enough to
feed those that are now in It; not
because it can't but because .
stupid, self-robbing policy has
prevented the cultivators Of the soil
from trying it, preferring rather to
depend on the western granaries and
slaughter pens for their bread and
meat.
Millions of dollars are paid an
nually BY the planters and farmers
of the south for western -four,
while southern millers pay thou
sands upon thousands Of dollars
annually for western wheat and
corn to grind into -four and meal
to feed the farmers, who could but
will not try to raise it, although
they live in one OF the best wheat.
growing and corn-growlng coun-
tries in the world. Millions Of dot
lars are paid annually for dirty,
heavy, greasy bacon. which has
been tumbled about from packing
house to car, from car to dray,
firm dray to storehouse, handled.
tramped upon, sat upon and spit
upon By railroad hands and dray-
men, before it 10 bought and cook
ed to make an indigestible dinner
for the man who buys 1t and eats It
in preference to raising and having
nice clean meat Ut homo, which he
could do II be didn't hafbor the
STUPID idea that the best thing to
do b tn raise cotton and tobacco
to e-t the money to buy that west
ern Fat and ruin hiD stomach with
It.
While the people Of the country.
NOT Ill. bat too m1uY Of them, are