The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-06-21

becomes pride and profit-a farm
er's blessing.
Why turn a railroad corporation in
to a curse or q folly? Why not make
blessing of it? Why not rather
foster it than forbid it? Why not
rather control it than fear it? Why
not rather prosper with it than perish
without it?
A dollars worth of Western wheat
goes to Liverpool to get the dollar and
pays twenty cents for its ticket.
Seven or more trunk lines have eaten
the oldtime sixty cents down to that.
They are all corporation owned. A
dollars worth of cotton goes also to
Liverpool to get the dollar and pays q
fare Of over thirty cents. A few
railroads, with appetites made healthy
by wise laws, would soon eat twenty
cents off that and give the South over
three-quarters of cent pound more
for its staple; that is, 0,000, 900, q
wear, There's q good deal of hard
sense in $40,0O0,000 even If you get
1t but once-more if you get it once
year.
Railroad competition has moved the
wheat farm forty-two cents to forty
seven cents bushel, or 70 to .78 per
cent, nearer the market. Minnesota
and Dakota are much farther in miles
from wheat market than are Missis-
sippi and Georgia, yet the former sell
wheat at a profit and the latter grow
less than per cent. of what they eat.
Put them at the same money distance
from q wheat market and any South
ern State would sell wheat instead of
buying 1t. The growing Of food stuts
at the South is not question for the
farmer alone to solve. Build enough
railroads to move the South into
competing distance and the Southern
farmer will feed the South. 1t will
then be found that all the South can
board at home for less than is now
paid to the North and West for food.
The Southern farmers market is the
savings bank for the entire Southern
people. Southern railroad possibili-
ties are the South's idle capital.
A Farm and Factory Wedding.
Here is no room for argument. The
verdict has long since been rendered
by that fairest of all juries, experience.
How shall the wedding be brought
about? AS other marriages are, at
the end Of warm-hearted courtship.
The successful lover wooes, he does
not simply tolerate. Of all wooing,
convincing of good faith and earnest
purpose Is the most winning. For
counting the factory the hall where
laws are made is the ideal spot. Send
the anxious lover to the legislature
and to the town council. Let there be
spoken the compliments and the vows
which experience has shown to be fac
tory winners. Repeal the laws that
are now preventing the betrothal.
Enact in their stead laws that will
give loving and practical welcome to
capital, corporations, railroads. Make
every form of capital and evey agency
that capital may rightly use feel that
equity and justic bid them come and
will control them and ourselves when
they are here.
The Law Not Couch, but q Tool.
Conservatism would treat the law as
q couch inviting ideas to rest while all
things seek decay. Progress regards
the law as tool by which all things
may be shaped to the worlds better
ment. Prejudice and passion look up
on the law as q sword by which ene-
mics may be slain.
Where do you class yourself? You
can have the couch, have largely got
it now. So also is it yours to WELD
the sword if you have real or fancied
enemies. So also the law is-if you
will have it so-your tool. With it
you can carve destiny to fit your ambi-
tions. I should like to tell how l
think this and other things [ have
tried to recommend to your earnest
thought may be done, but I have per-
haps wearied you. Suffer me to tell
story and I am done.
A certain methodist minister in Mis-
sissippi preached to an average congre-
cation a sermon which a newcomer
criticised thus: "splended sermon,
Brother NJ, splendid, but sadly mar
red by one fault. Every really good
thing in it was repeated 80 many
times" s.Yes," said the pastor, "I've
been preaching till I've got the range:
The first time say a good thing 1t
reaches both ears, one to get In, one to
get out; the second time it Is listened
to; next time it is thought about
fourth time it is recognized: fifth
time it Is heeded-perhaps." This
preacher knew human nature.