The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-02-08

road first. Then if they oppress US we
can easily curb them. [ will not am
plify trite illustrations. -
THE WAY TO, KEEP OUR BOYS AT
! HoME-BUsY MACHINEs-PRos-
Porous AND HAPPY PEOPLE.
In my State had not very long ago
and apt illustration of my idea. In q
county where ordinarily the heavier
crops scarely afforded a living there
was established large concern which
employed 400 men. A most observant
farmer showed me that the manufac-
tory had absolutely changed the whole
of the agricultural conditions. The
boys, instead of going West, were
operators in the mandatory, skilled
laborers within four years, living at
home. A town had arisen. Every
class of small farming gave the most
splendid results. It took at least 500
each a year in farm products to feed
the operators. This was $4,000 in
farm products. needed. I was struck
with the variety of products raised
eggs, beans, peas, fruits vegetable,
melons, small fruits and many other
. articles found thare q ready sale and a
splendid market. Of course, this is
but tithe of the money spent ip this t1iiss
one industry. One farmer maGe $500
clean last year from f1elon crops,
more than he had made in all his life
as wheat-sslild corn producer. Anoth-
leS eS~ Ole informed me that they had
quit raising wheat and corn. He
had turned his attention to poultry
and truck. He said last year he sold
1900 chickens and $11OO worth of
truck. He had bought some adjoin-
ing land at four times the price it was
before the factory came, and would
clear next year at least $4,000.
QUICK TRANSPORTATION NECESSARY.
Tie salvation of small farming is
quick transportation. Now is the
time of Southern salvation. The rail
road transportation is not following
the upper and northern course, but it
Ia cutting across the South to the Gulf
States. We can grasp our opportuni-
ties in the way of railroads and manu-
factory construction as. we have never
before. It is said that the manufacto-
ries bring the labor with them. That
is true primarily, but ] know to-day OF
one cotton mandatory where, out OF
the $50 employees. 125 are from the
neighborhood, and the foreman who
has charge of all the machinery Is a
young man who was farmer boy ten
years ago. These illustrations are
trite, but they are true and come un.
der the view of every observir g nnrson.
THE WAY A MARvELoU- -NNaE
WAS WROUGHT. a..
The general trend of this discussion
is we'll illustrated by New England.
Whilst taking my vacation in New
Hampshire this summer I investigat.
ed as carefully as possible in this sec.
tion this economic question. AS 8
politician I had discussed the New
England abandoned farm question
and whilst there / determined to see
for myself the actual condition Of the
New England farm. I found great
deal of New Hampshire utterly unfit
for agriculture. A great part Of II
would produce nothing, even If q
mandatory was placed on e$ery acre,
but I ascertained that in the tillable
section of New England the manufac
tory, was having its potent influence.
BY reason of freer Western land, vast
changes in the economics of transport
alton, greater fertility of oil, there
was produced in New England a
Tremendous farm depressure. Great
numbers of farmers who had not been
able to understand the change which
was taking place abandoned the East
and went West. They did not grasp
the situation and thought If they
could not profitably raise the old
cereals in competition with the. West
that there was no life for the New En-
gland farmer. This change was assist
ed by the tremendous increase of the
manufactures, which took many peo-
pie away from the farm. But in the
last fifteen years marvellous change
has taken place in the agricultural dis
tricts of New England. They have
found out that they cannot compete
with the West in the growing Of the
heavier grains, in the raisiDglof beef,
hogs and sheep, and wiseley they have
gone to new fields Of agriculture. The
teeming manufacturing towns demand
American poultry, eggs, butter, fruit,
vegetables and the thousand small
fruits which can be profitably grown
adjacent to great population. What
is the result? I read from the exact
! figures. In 1865 the beef product OF
Massachusetts, was $8, 1873, 1854 in 1885,
$7l8.932, a loss of over $7,00O,O0O.
CHANGED CONDITIONS BROUGHT PROS.
PERITY Eo THE FARMS.
These figures seem to betoken great
destruction of the agricultural interest
of Massachusetts,, and an argument
against my proposition. Such, how
ever, is not the case. AS l have said
before, they found that the heavy
farming would not do. and they turn
ed their attention to the lighter branch
of this industry, and in order to make
up for the loss of the beef industry,
and supply the immense demand Of
the manufacturing population, the
Massachusetts, farmer. among other
things, turned to making milk. In
1865 the value of the milk product was
1856, 1877; in 1885 it was $l0,3l2, 1852, q
gain of So, ,356,575, making up the loss
of the beef account and having ST.
900, ,0OO to spare. Last year the milk
account ran to upwards of Sis, 900, 900,
or 81, 100000 more than her beef came
to in 1865.
STRAWBERRIES AND CRANBETRRIEs.
In the earlier days of the manufac-
| in ha Eoof 10 xUo1l RnnUn tho