The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-07-01
TINE AS A DOCTOR.
Arp Says That Patience WIN Bring
All Things
II beats a Poiittcian-HnrtoN Man
Declares That Better Times
Are Now in
sight.


Time is a good doctor" believe that
he is about to cure the country Of hard
| times. Certain it is that neither pJlitI-
clans nor legislation has done amy
good. The disease Was not even dag
nosed, but the patient is getting we'll.
| Neither Cleveland O auti-ClvS Gland
nor Mckinley nor the tariff, nor pop
ulism has anything to do with it.
| Time is the medicine. and when time
| cures a patient he stays cured a good.
| long period. ! had rheumatism several
wears aud the doctors worked III me
until they got tired and quit, but old
| DIR. Time came along, and after awhile
the rheumatism just got tired and quit
me and weat away of it's own accord.
| For six years we have all been cussln'
and fussin' and discussiu' about the
| disease that afflicted the country,
Every politician had a remedy. but
somehow the people have lost conf
| dence in our so.called statesmen and
ach. A first-class politician can argue
the legs of an iron pot or the spots off a
leopard. ! heard Aleck stephens make
n great speech away back in the '40's
and he proved that the democratic
party was responsible for all the calam-
tiles that had hefallen the country for
20 years, even to the high price of cof-
fee and the low price Of cotton and the
yellow fever in Savannah,
Was Illuminating about this because
| have been travelling around Il good
deal OF late, and il the times are not
better then all signs deceive me. Farm
ing is claimed To be the foundation of
all prosperity-the mudsills of the
building-and if SO, then | know the
times are improving, for the diIipcnt
farmer is prospecting everywhere in the
| sunny south outside of floods and cy-
clones. The crops in South Carolina
are well advanced and promising.
| Harvest is at hand in north Georgia
and Tennessee, and was never better.
Everything the farmer grows com
maGds a fair price and everything he
has to buy is cheap. The price Of
| wheat and corr and hay is better than
1t was from 1850 TO 1890 wheat at
81 per bushel, hay AT 81 a hundred, corn
at 50 cents, sweet potatoes at IS cents,
Irish potatoes mt GO; chickens from Is
to 20 cents and wood at $50 a cord.
What is the matter with the farmer!
Suppose his cotton Is down TO seven
cents, he ear make money ON II at that,
A man at Union, s. C., told me he had
made last year 500 bales on 500 acres,
and cleared $1,000. How is that? When
! was a young merchant cotton aver
aged about eight cents a pound; corn
10 cents a bushel; wheat 70 cents, po-
tatoes rs. wood 81 a cord, Shifting and
calico were 1917 cents a yard, sugar
and coffee 12h cents Il pound. Iron
was five cents, and steel Is cents and
nails eight cents. Now all these
things except coffee are half price, and
all that the farmer grows for sale is
% per cent. higher except cotton. But
still he is not happy. Up north, Of
course, it is different, for il takes all
they can make in six months summer
to support them the six winter months.
I am sorry for those people, that is
TOT all me cicNer ones ana WISH 'hry
couia Se't OUT 10 ''e ial'a'IcS anu io"iS
and come down here to this blessed land.
heir laporlhg class VINO nave no iaho
md work about for wages say they are
hot coming, Tor they can ret S25 a
month up there, ana we pay our ne
groes only ten doiIars' limits 60
ihats the way its put down III me iasl
census But the census dIdh tell now
the farm lhborer up therc is wanted
only three months ana the o'her nine
ne JOBS around lot NIUE or hothlhR'
II IL taxes ms last hickei 10 keep from
ireeH'hg 10 death' Ana INC census
doht TEL no" our negro ihpofers on
the farms get theIr wages All the year
rohhd ana get comfortable capih rent
tree ana nave no TO buy' ana
every family mas a garden ana they
raise chickens ana eggs ana a pig or
TWO ana nave scraps chongh from their
table to support " houhd dogs ana Il
nee. BESIDES all TINS, they bhit holes
in the creek ana catch suckers by
hiSht ana hunt fhbol's on sunday
TAX ABOUT our cheap iaoof. mere Ish
a respectable negro man IN harlow
county VINO isn't better on ana nap
per than the average farm Iaoorer AT
the north lhat is one eood 'hlhg
the negro mas dole Tor the soh'h' lie
has lntiinldntea the northern cnr
ana the foreign scurt ana Kept them
away, saw IN the columns OF the
constitution not long ago a statement
In hgurcs mat was taken from a BOSTON
paper showing mat since ls9V the idf-
eign population inclusive Of thelr chill
dreh born since thcir arrival, mas IN
creased IS per cent III New England,
while the natives nave increased but SIX