The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-02-05
FREIGHT RATHs.

all farm products, also charge any rate
for the transportation of goods or
other things that pass over their re-
respective lines without regard to reg
ular rates of shipping them; for in
stance, if you pay 40 cents freight on
any article from given point and then
at another time pay 64 cents for the
same article, ask all honest men, is
this state of things honest and just9
I, for my part, think that the above
state of things is nothing less than
open ROBBERY, and should be abolished
at once by legislation, and as legisla-
tion is protecting these corporations
in this matter, think the same legis-
lation has the same right 20 establish
prices on farm products Why notH
Is it not just as reasonable? | think
you and all other reasonable people
will agree that it is just as reasonable.
If the one is protected by law the
other should be protected by the same
law too. If it be law to charge cents
per mile to travel on railroads, then it
worth a given price as to grade-say,
on the average, it shall be worth $40
per 100 pounds; and cotton, wheat,
oats and corn shall be worth a stated
price as to grade. Then the farmers
would be encouraged to work. and
would get good prices for their pro
duce, and the country would begin to
build up at once. But If things con
tinue as they are much longer, all
kinds of business Will come to ruin,
and the people and country will come
to abject poverty and WPetchedness.
Will not the people take good heed to
these things at once and remedy their
condition9 hope they will. There are
some other things that need special
attention, in my opinion, and this
should be attended to at once by our
| legislators, to wit: 1st. The salaries
OF all officers should be reduced at
once, from President down to the least
officer Of trust. In the days of Thomas
Jefferson there we're not as many peo-
pie as there are now, and I am told
that his salary was $4,000 per year,
but now the population is a little more
than double, and think that $25, 900
would be enough for the President,
and 80 all the way through the list of
officers their salaries should be re
duced, or. in other words, they should be
paid in proportion to what the farmer
gets for his produce; that there should
be equality on this line; that the one
should not live in hunger while the
other have to live in poverty and rags.
I'd. All offices of trust should be filled
Oy the direct votes of the qualified
voters of the State and the United
States, because the people are the law
of the land, or should be. Sd. There
should not be any law passed over the
heads Of the people and not first be
submitted to the people for their suffer
age, and if they ratify any bill, then
they will not have any room for com
plaint. 4th. The homestead exemp
tion of this State should be repealed st
once, because this law, as we now have
it, Is doing the masses Of the people
more harm than good; in fact, this
law is corrupting the morals of both
old and the young, rising generations,
ana il it is continued, as we now have
it, it will prove a curse rather than a
blessing to the masses of the people.
say let every mans property be sub
ject for his contracts; this done, it viii
have good effect and greatly restore
confidence among the people, but as it
is now, the poor people can't get the
credit which is due them and will have
to drag along in the same old way and
suffer on still without any hope of
bettering their conditions. 5th. But
with the repeal of the homestead law
and giving the people stay law, so
as to give a man a chance to meet his
obligations, to take effect from and
after it's passage, in my opinion, would
be one of the best laws that could be
enacted In this State, and I hope the
, present legislators will give the people
OF this State this reform. 9th. My
opinion is that the magistrates should
2 have more jurisdiction in the State
{ except murder and arson It any
/ should violate the law, instead of put
4 ting them in jail and running the
3 country to such heavy expense, let the
r offenders be brought to Justice at once,
I and, on conviction, let them be put on
' the public roads to satisfy justice,
/ This would be much better than to taz
!, the people to pay their costs, and il