The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-02-19
correspondence.
THE ALLIANCE AND ITS FIELD OF USE
FULNESs.

correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
The organization of any class of
people is supposed to be for their
betterment along lines of COM
mon interest. Just what things are
of greatest Importance to all cannot
always be determined at once. Elk
perience is the school in which these
problems are solved, though her
learning is slow and tuition high.
This has been the experience of
the Farmers Alliance in North Caro-
lima.
We have learned something of the
impracticability of trying to CON
troll legislation for the good of the
farmer the moral of cur experience
along this line has been needed, and
the point needs no further discus
sion.
We are now learning something of
the folly of trying to manufacture
WI supplies. This is an age of
specialists, and a high degree of skill
must be attained in any profession
if it today stands the competition a
degree of skill which requires ones
whole time and attention. The
preacher who plowed in the week.
day, and preached on Sunday, would
do one hundred years ago, but he is
not an entire success today. So it is
with any other enterprise. All
classes of people seem to realize this.
Many of our best farmers not only
specialize in farming, but make a
speciality of one crop. The cotton
mill men are not building railroads
because they have goods to transport
they are not raising cattle to get
hides to make belts; they do not
make their own machinery. We
would laugh at people attempting
such things. Their capital is needed
in their special business and there
they put it. So it is with us. Though
this cooperative scheme were per
fectly feasible, and there were no
obstacles whatever in the way, l
have come to believe that our best
interest lies in another direction.
1t is not ours to manufacture shoes,
fertilizers, or any other class of
goods, simply because we need them.
Besides being a matter of very ques-
tiOnable economy with us, this ten
dencv towards manufacturing is
diverting our attention and our
capital in foreign lines, and prevent
ing that concentration of effort which
Is necessary for highest development
in anything.
The Farmers Alliance in North
Carolina should primarily be champ
ion of the cause of agriculture. This
should be the avowed purpose of the
organization. 1t shOuld be e]ducative,
not Sin the science of economic
government" with some crack poll
tician as teacher, but in better meth
DDS and broader ideas in our own
work. A good Allianceman should
be known as Il better farmer.
We should demand the better
equipment of the Agricultural de
partment of the A. & M. College and
Experiment Station. This institu-
should be made the great center Of
the agricultural interest of the State.
When this IS so agriculture will re-
ceive a new impetus there will be a
revival of enthusiasm, an infusion of
better methods, and Il much greater
development of our latent resources
in the agricultural field.
Each lodge, or meeting place might
we'll be equipped with a small library.
This need not cost very much.
Twenty five dollars invested in rural
books, a set of Experiment Station
records, a good cyclopedia, together
with the leading farm Journals,
and bulletins as published from
the different Experiment Sta
tions would constitute a very fair
agricultural library. The effect of
this would be elevating, and it
would not fail to influence results in
field work.
Not overlooking the social and
other features of the Farmers Ali
ance, there is d greater work for it
along the line just laid out and, l
believe, ANYTHING that will add to
our usefulness is going to increase
our membership. H. M. GATES.
Alamance Co, N. @.