The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1892-06-01
one Reason why.


, the results Of bad governmental
, policies, others not. For the
former the farmer is responsible
only in SO far as as by his vote
as a citizen he may have en-,
couraged and sustained those
policies. For some of the latter
he is responsible because they
were wholly of his own creation
Of course no reference is made
here to those Providential caus.
es, such as floods, droughts,
storms, &C., which are beyond
the foresight or control of men,
or to those combinations OF
speculators on the markets to
control prices, which he could
not prevent.
| There is no industry in the
world which takes so many
Ichances, the success of which
depends upon so many contin
gencies, and it would be remark
liable, indeed, if at times it didn't +
suffer, and suffer very much.
While the South is, taken all
in, all, naturally the most favor
ed portion of the United States,
where the farmer should be
prosperous if he is any where,
Southern agriculture is depress.
ed and very much depressed.
There is a certain class of i'm
promptu statesmen who are now
trying to make it appear that all
this depression is the result of
public policies for which the
leaders of the two great politi-
cal parties are responsible. That
these policies are largely re-
lsponsibles is true, but It is not
true that the Democratic party
is responsible for these policies.
There are several causes outside
of public policies why Southern
agriculture is depressed and
why Southern farmers after all
these years of hard labor and
close living have little, if any
thing to show for it.
We contend, and we think
the facts will bear us out, that
no agricultural people can be
financially prosperous who are
not really independent and who
do not raise upon the farm the
food consumed by the people
and the stock upon the farm.
To be prosperous, they must be
able to control what they have
to sell, and to sell it when they
see fit. They cannot do this
unless they are independent,
and they cannot be independent
while they buy their foodstuffs
and have toipay for them out of
the crops they raise. While
they are doing that, combina-
tions one side may be formed to
reduce the price Of what the
farmer has to sell to the min
imum, and on the other side to
raise the price of what he has to
buy to the maximum, and thus
he is crippled, if Not crushed be.
tween them.
AS thrift IN the household of
the man of moderate earning is
necessary 10 comfort and to the
saving that may eventually
lead to independence, SO thrift
upon the farm is necessary
where the average farmer ex-
poets to profit by the industry.
To give labor exclusively to the
so called money crops" such
as cotton and tobacco, shows
not only lack of the thift which
should prevail but a woeful lack
of ordinary business sense.
The South ought to be and
with judiciods cultivation would
be the garden spot Of the world,
raising in abundance everything
from the finest fruits Of the
tropics TO the vegetables and
grains TO make food for men,
and the grains and grasses to
feed stock and fatten swine and
cattle and sheep to furnish the
meat supplies for her 10000, 900
of people. But instead of doing
this the short-sighted policy has
prevailed in years past, and still
prevails, although not to the
same extent as heretofore, of
pursuing special ''monsy" crops
and buying q large part if not
all of the food supplies from 9th.
er States, when all these could
be raised athome without any
extraordinary effort and thus
keep at home the millions of
hard earned dollars which are
annually paid out for them.
No accurate estimate can be
made Of the total sum thus ex-
pended because there has been
no account kept of the importa-
tion Of food-stuffs by the res
pective States. Hon. j. II.
Dodge, Statistician Of the u. s
Department of Agriculture, who
instituted an investigation in
this lins, found that the annual
carryings Southwark Of six rail- |
roads footed up 1890 GS7 pounds
of butter; 1886 bushels of |
corn; 2,02l, ,0s2 barrels of flour;
%, S,6ss, $40 pounds Of lard; 2,4bs,. |
g36 bushels of oats; s,12g, ,521 |