The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-12-24

1 EDITOR bGLLETIN-1L mas DeeH
reliably reported that there is set.
Element of Industrious farmers not
/ far from heIA oKe labored
persistently and earnAV r years
! to succeed by earning their bread
by honest toll. In the last few
years the neighborhood has been
haunted by fruit tree agents, Guilt
vator men and solicitors of all
kinds, selling trees, machinery and
now and then life or fire insurance
man, taking notes as pay for their
valuable (?) services to be cashed in
the fall. Well, this community
has suffered long and patiently on
account of these people and the
Knockout of cotton, and have gone
so far with retrenchment that pos
ters will be printed and placed
where they can be seen, notifying
all agents and solicitors to pass
them by. They say they cannot
keep themselves clothed and fed at
the present price of cotton and buy
anything except necessities" and
expect to pay for them in the fall.
One of these farmers, who had been
scorched on a bit of "Mutual" in
surance, said if an agent were to
come to him and offer one dollar
bills for a nickel piece, he would
not buy them, for he was sure he
would lose in the long run at the
present price of cotton, and that his
greatest desire was to own a few
more bales of the three-cent cotton.
This community is determined to
retrench, and if possible, live still
cheaper. This people could do
well and have money to spare, if
those who have the means would
build canning factory at Grand
Junction, or Memphis would erect a
packery. As it is, the railroads
make more out of the fruit than
the producers, while with canning
factory the producers would be
from % to so per cent. better off,
and would not be bothered with
packing, marking, etc. And there
is Memphis, a great city, as large
as Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas,
both, and still each of the Texas
towns, within thirty miles of each
other, has splendid packeries, while
Memphis has none. There is no
market for these people for quanti-
ties of anything except cotton. How
can they expect to live as they have
lived? They can only judge the
future by the past. They are, I'M
less other channels are opened for
them, compelled to raise cotton, for
they can always get money for cot
ton, let that be little or much;
while the man with a surplus of
meat or corn will have to "take it
out in trade" to get rid of it, and
as with other people, a farmer has
to have some cash at least along
about Xmas. Is it possible that
this will always be the case, and
that Memphis will be able to boast
of nothing but cotton and her high
bridge? Let Memphis turn herself
loose on a packery, and these far
mers in Hardeman will drive the
pork down there to them and return
with cash, while their fields are
growing richer each year, producing
peas, clover, wheat, rye, oats and
fine hogs, and Texas, Mexico,
Egypt and others are raising three
cent cotton. No country can beat
us raising hogs, if we can get a
market for them. Shall it be al
ways thus? Poverty is rapidly APP
preaching, and these good people
will try to make the most of it.
They respectfully ask these ''fuent
takers" to go a different route.
HAYSEED.
Grand Junction, Dec. %, 1897.