The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-03-03
SARGE PLUNKE1T.
The Southern Farmers Relief Must Come
in Bountiful Production.

a meat is what is wanted.
I You might as we'll tell young folks n
to marry or woman not to follow Il
+ fashions as to tell farmers not to raj
cotton.
A way to raise it cheaper in the
Southern United States than in any 9th
portion of the world is the best thing
find out. All will agree that in the pr
, ducing of crops the improvement of mi
chinery cannot be overdone.
The farmers incresss in productic
did not keep pace with the spirit of e,
travsgance that was growing. The ol
spinning wheels and the hanks of thread
the old looms with shuttles flying; ii
warping bars and quilt frames and th
old reel that cracked with a snap thu
made us jump at one hundred turn
these things were put aside, for the ma
chimes of the towns done such work 8
cheap. The farmer father, though, ker
right along iu his old way of producing
At night around the freside there cease
to be the walking back and forth of th
young girls at the spinning wheels, draw
ing out the white thread between thei
fingers as the spindle twirled into thread
this passed away the old father KEEP
along in his simple way.
Right in the cultivation of crops i
where progress is needed-and no wher,
else. Let the mothers educate the chill
dren back into the old-time ways ane
simple customs, while the father reaches
out for everything that will give en- in
crease of yield.
The Rip Van Wrinkle sleep has passed
over with most of the 'old clod hoppers'
and will soon be gone from all of them
The farmer is on top, in other words, and
the PROBLEM" now is for the town folks
to save themselves. There are q few
farmers yet who are sliding around
watching their neighbors to see how the
crops are to be pitched and hoping that
no other fellow will plant any cotton but
himself, but greater number have fig.
ured it out that the speculation on
fictitious quantities has more to do with
prices than does acreage. If Jay Gould
buys 10000 bales of futures it makes
them real to the extent of his backing
and affects the price, is the way it is
thought.
If q short acreage is really the thing,
then stir up the belief that everybody is
going to plant heap of it. But it 10 my
notion that we DONE want to reduce
acreage and we want to raise a great
quantity more over the present produc-
ton. The world must know that we can
raise better cotton than anywhere else
and at such figures as to shut off compe-
titioD. How to do this is the question.
Use machinery, is what l say.
Stimulate the invention of Southern
agricultural implements.
We want chopping machines, picking
machines, planting machines and cult.
vators. Machines that will enable one
man to do as much work as three or four
is what the farmers want.
I am not crawfshing from my position
on the evils of progress. Such things as
cause the soil to yield more abundant is
nothing to compare with "modern pro-
gress" in its general acceptation. And
then, too, the matter of invention has
been out of proportion in the interest of
other industries as compared with South.
srn farm implements. l say Southern"
for the reason that Southern farmers
nave not bestired themselves to stimulate
inventions suitable tor the section ss
nave the farmers of the North.
Look at Brown now as he walks behind
old Kit" and slashes her side with the
blow line and yells ''gee," "haw," "whoa
ool, come here"
He grits his teeth and fairly fosms at
be mouth as the plow hits root and the
landle gives him diff in the side. Poor
old Kit" she gets jerked and cussed
nd Brown fairly tiptoes as he tries to
ouze the plow deeper in the ground, but
jostles him up and makes him nader
8 it jumps and bumps over roots and
ard places, while "old Kit" is bumped
Ike camel in the strain, wondering all
be time what makes her master 80 mad.
Brown is a fool. he worries along and
manages to scratch over about three
uarters of an acre day, while George
'ruitt sets up and rides on machine as
ig as life to pulverize five to six acres.
'rown makes bale to FIVE acres; Truitt
,akes five bales to the acre. Brown
lakes about two bales to the hand;
ruitt makes about thirty bales. Truths
the kind of overproduction that We
ant in the South-a production that
,ys to the world "you can't compete,
QUILL lose your money ifyou try"
There is lots of Browns, but they will
row fewer mighty fast from now on. In
le meantime it is poor town folks who
10 to be pitied. Nature is plum out of
int in the towns. All night long the
schinery must be kept running
nnatural life for the operatives. The
omen are unsexing themselves; in
hurcl and State they are conspicuous
I'd you can't combat 'em. If 1t was
lily in such things that the sex vas un-
king I woulden't say word, for all
,u've got to do is to give that kind rope, ,
1t there is an innocent great majority of
rls working girls" they are called,
ho, in the goodness of their pure hearts,
ish to help the fathers and the brothers t
pport the family. {
They are making loafers out of men. i
It is no use in saying that it's 8 sorry