The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-07-31
GEORGIA ALLIANCE.
MRS. DAVIDSON ABLY SKETCHES
FROM ITS INCEPTION.

49,
Errors Made After the War Closed.
Free Labor Efficient.
copyright, 1891. by Reform Press News Assa-
citation. New York;
Prior to the freedom of slave labor in
the south there was no state more uni
versally prosperous than Georgia, This
was largely owing to trained overseers
backed by Intelligent landlords. In
other words, intelligence and training
under the old system in the south kept
the planter independent. The mistake
farmers made when the wa ended was
i'll not retaining mary Of the Hntaheliuln
methods. especially diversified crops:
They seemed to have lost the distinctive
idea 50 universally accepted, that IL farm
must be self sustaining. There was y
cause for this, and not as many suppose
the changed status of labor. The freed
slave had been in Il rut for generations,
trained to the cultivation of all crops
necessary to independence, and could
have gone along certainly just as readily
under former training. Neither was it
owing to the fact that farmers had for
gotten or failed to realize the Importance
OF making farms self sustaining; for the
older and better trained farmers were
left on the plantations during the war
and found there at the close.
The cause was simply this: The tabu-
ious price of cotton was too tempting to
the well Informed planter, and rapidly
our people went from Il diversified sys-
tenn for all cotton. Very soon the most
intelligent and once successful cotton
planters found themselves iii debt. With
no prospect of relief, for a return to the
self sustaining policy left no margin for
living Or payment Of debts while the
change was taking place, and their cred
TORS demanded cotton each fall and
were not willing to carry over these
debts for even year, and thus enable
them to adopt the old and safe system.
So from year to year our people driftel
from Independence 10 financial slavery.
Seeing this pending crisis, Il few farmers
in Georgia r~eolgaIiZel the Georgia Agri-
cultural society i'll 1869. their principal
object at the time being to carry our
people back TO diversified crops. so pro
motive of Independence.
II SlNNI u wv Niaiii, liiIttt
and mule producing section of the cOun-
try-was being rapidly populated and
brought under cultivation to supply the
cotton grower OF the south. The idea
had become very prevalent that the cot
ton belt should raise the. cotton for the
world, while the west and northwest
produce the mules, meat, corn and
wheat. This would have been Hn ideal
system-pr"Ctical reciprocity-if I'm ex-
change Of commodities could have been
had between these sections. If they
could have taken Our cotton crop ana
we their food crops, with prices regulated
between us. Il good living would have
been the result 10 both sections. But
while we paid eStTHva%ant prices for
com, flour, meat and mules. the price CT
cotton steadily and rapidly declined, III
the face OF the fact that not one crop
has been produced since the w%r that
has met fully the demands of the world
for cotton. To increase the farmers
Acavy burden the transportation and
other contingent Expenses on onr cotton
crop from the farm to Europe was I'M
reasonable and outrageous. while trans
p0rtation on the supplies from the west
wls very ~eNtravagaMt, the cotton plant.
or in the south paying this traNSporta,
. ton and expense both ways.
In 1868 the currency, then abundant,
at the dictatiOn of foreign capital be.
gan to be contracted, lowering still more
the price OF cotton and doubling the
debts hanging over the people. In this
desperate condition our people began &
system Of liens and mortgages known a;
crop liens which We're given for supple:
at an enormous rate Of interest ranyin.
=. from 80 to $50 per cent. The State Agri
I cultural society threw itself into til,
breach, attempting by every possible
S means to prevent the progress Of lhi:
state of affairs. The society was Ilandi.
capped to a great extent in this effort
, from the fact that many of her promi
-, nent members were merchants, banker:
and railroad men whose financial inter
; ests We're in direct opposition to those
who exclusively titled the soil.
Notwithstanding this the Agriculture
society did much to check this tendency
Through the ballot box this organization
5 occasionally got control of the state lpgis
a lature and had the obnoxious lien law!
repealed, the rate of interest lowered
from 20 to : per cent. per annUm, fight
ing back the mortgage system by for
eign loan associations upon real estate
) and many other valuable benefits came
t to Georgia from this society. But TIN
{ fact was patent all the while to tn
J. man who lived on the farm and com
PEELED to live entirely from the farm
that an organization WAS needed com
posed exclusively of farmers educated
up to cooperation and combination
hence the birth of what is known as thu
t Grange.
This came Oh like a cyclone, and wa
S thought to be the panacea for all ills
t But the great mistake made in that or
ganization was adopting the very cvi
that infested the open state s0vipty-tht
$ taking into the order all who applied 1t
q its doors. The professions and politi
clans soon had control of it, aud check
mated most elfectually the idea of co
. operation between producer and con
d sumner. Neither Of these organizations
could, nor possibly can, overcome the
e difficulty that ilnpedcs the prosperity Of
the farmers proper. No other oryaniza
: ton among the farmers can. on ever will
t unless they exclude from membership
those whose interests on account of theil
calling or profession forces them to live
, of of labor instead of by the labor Oh the
farm.
For example, no railroad ombinatiol
possibly could succeed in fixing rates o.
: traffic to be paid by the farmers, Will
farmers interested and controlling theil
: councils, unless these rates We're low
enough to meet the interest of the farm
er. Hence farmers are 1t invited t
railroad conventions. or to participate a
directors, traffic or passenger agents
simply from the fact their interests Ii
!. in an opposite direction to that of rail
| 1.nol IN MY, N,,n o,,c O. - -, -.+1 . al,