Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-02-20
THE POLICY FOR FARMERS.


OF the many wise and excellent things
said by President Kethley in his ad-
dress to the Copiah Alliance, which we
published last week, there is one point |
which THE LEADER considers worthy of
especial emphasis at this time. In
Farmer Kethley's own words it is this
ITO raise our home supplies for man
and beast, make ourselves independent
of any man or set of men, so far as
something to eat is concerned. Prove
by our actions that we can live at home
and board at the same place."
Besides being clear thinker and
logical reasoner, President Kethley is
a practical farmer, and the counsel he
gives his fellow farmers is the mature
conclusion of personal observation and
long practical experience.
Not long ago the editor of The LEAD
Err had conversation with Major r.
w. Millsaps, President of Capital State
Bank at Jackson, who is the chief foun-
der of Millsaps College, and probably
the wealthiest man in Mississippi. Ma
jor Millsaps is personally known and
esteemed by very large number of
THE LEADERS readers, and for long
period after the war carried on a mer-
camille business in Brookhaven, where
he laid the foundation for the comfort
able fortune he now enjoys. Here he
had ample opportunities for becoming
thoroughly acquainted with the work
ings of the old-time credit system, the
capabilities of the piney woods farm
lands, and the necessity for diversi-
fed system of farming. Since then he
has had extensive business interests
and acquaintance in the Delta, where
the lands are the richest and the yield
of cotton per acre the largest of any
section in the world. Yet, strangely as
it may sound to some, Major Millsaps
expressed substantially the same ideas
as to the Importance of farmers raising
their home supplies and living at home
and becoming independent, as Farmer
Kethley He said he was convinced by
his own observation and experience,
that it was not possible, in the very ma
ture of things, for farmer to raise all
or nearly all cotton, buy his provisions
(often at ruinously high credit prices)
and keep from becoming bankrupt He
farther said that in the Delta, where
the all-cotton and credit system has
prevailed to even greater extent than
in any other portion of the State, the
people are much worse involved in debt
than in this section, notwithstanding
the greatly superior fertility of the Del
ia lands
Here, then, we have on the one hand
the President of the Copiah County
Farmers Alliance, who is one of the
most intelligent and successful farmers
in his community, and on the other, an
merchant, banker and the richest
capitalist in the State, in perfect har-
mony as to the wisest home policy for
the farming community to adopt to in
| sure tu6lI dlu
Here at the threshold of another
planting season, the time of all others
for farmers to profit by wise counsel,
THE LEADER has deemed it especially
opportune to present what has been
stated and commend it to the thought
full consideration of all it's farmer read
ers
P. S.-Since the above was prepared
for The LEADER the sorrowful news has
come of Farmer Kethley's death. Let
his words we have quoted be received
as dying message, not only to the AL
liancemen of Copiah, to whom they
were written, but to all farmers of Mis-
sissippi who read them.