The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-19


Congressman John Allen Of Mississippi
has been quoted recently as saying that he
came into possession of a farm at seven
teen years old. and that since that time
he has not failed any year to plant and
harvest a crop. but that he has never made
a dollar from his farm. Congressman Al
lens experience would seem TO Indicate
that there is no profit in farming. for he
is a man OF more than ordinary inteili-
gence. and it is natural to suppose that.
having been reared a farmer he would
manage a farm upon an intelligent and
economical plan There is. however. the
Testimony OF other parties as to the profits
OF farming to be weighed against that Of
Congressman Allen. Mr.. J. Sterling Nor
ton of Nebraska, Secretary OF Agriculture,
says that he has made money from farm
ing, even when he had to borrow money
TO pay current expenses. He was forced
TO mortgage his property to raise the
money he needed; nevertheless, his
farm paid principal and in
terest, and left him a margin of profit
besides. Ex-Gov. Osborne of Kansas
is another farmer who has found farm.
ing profitable. and he says ne has a neigh
Dor in Kansas who plants 80 acres in the
Kaw river bottom lands. and who has for
years cleared regularly profit averaging
81 an acre from his farm
There Is homely old adage to the ef.
feet that he who by the pillow would thrive,
must guide the pillow himself or drive The
probabilities are that Congressman Allen
neither guides the pillow nor drives; and he
is one Of an all too large class. especially
in the south. 1t may be that the farmers
Of the south have not yet become thor
oughly accustomed to the fact that there
has been within thirty-odd years radical
change in the farm labor situation. There
are some southern farmers who limit their
active farm work to making arrangements
with factors in town for advances, and
selling the crop after the harvest 1t is
not strange that such farmers find farm
ing Improbable. How many dry goods or
grocery merchants would find their respec-
tive businesses profitable if they gave them
relatively the same amount Of attention?
There are, however, reasons for the opin-
ion that the number of southern farmers
who neither guide the pillow nor drive is
smaller now than it has ever before been.
and that it viii grow still smaller. The
hard times Of year and a half to two
years ago had the effect of stirring a great
many of them into the most healthfuI ac-
tivity and inducing the most rigid econo-
my. The result will be that this year more
southern farmers will make a profit from
farming than probably has been the case
since the war. And having learned how to
do it, the chances are that they will do
1t again next year and thereafter.
A certain percentage of the farmers, hap
PLY small percentage, have the idea, like
Congressman John Allen, that there is
more profit in practical politics than there
is in farming, hence they neglect the farms
in order to make political speeches, and
perchance to hold some little county Office
or go to the legislature or to congress. If
they would give their farms one-half of the
attention and hard work that they give to
smallbore politics, the farms would pay
them hundred fold better than any pub
lie office within their reach.