Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-08-06
Misesllaaeous 8sadins.
SOUTH CAROLINA AND VERMONT
Mr.. w. D. Grist Makes Comparisons
For Yankee Newspaper.

why, my dear sir, L hardly KNOW
how or where to begin to tell you; bu,
am not far from the literal truth
when 1 tell you that the dominating
impression in my mind at this moment
is one of keen disappointment-dis-
appointment arising out of regret tina,
II did not bring my wife and come
prepared to stay at least two or three
weeks With your delightful little
city 1 am simply charmed, and as to
your splendid state, l am hardly
ready to speak with any degree of as
surance, because my preconceived
ideas have been completely shattered,
and 1 have not yet been able to decide
that the new picture forming in my
mind will be quite grand enough to
cover conditions as they actually ex-
list. Yes, you have a fine city and a
great state"
The speaker was w. D. Grist, edi-
tor of the Yorkville, South Carolina,
Enquirer. Mr.. Grist had run out from
New York to pay short visit to his
friend, John w. Kellette of No. 22
Church street. He came into Rutland
Saturday morning on the sleeper, and
the Herald reporter caught him yes
terday morning at the station as he
was leaving for home.
The pretty little speech jIst quoted
came out in reply to the reporters
question as to what this rather unusu-
al visitor thought of Rutland as city
and Vermont as a state, and as Mr..
CRISIS paper is conceded to be one OF
the national models in country journ-
alism, and as he himself is one Of the
leading editors of his state, the re-
porter felt quite sure that his impress
sions of the country would be interest
ing.
And what seems to impress you
most?" the reporter asked next.
Your people-the frank ard open
friendliness of all l have had the
pleasure of meeting personally, and
the high type of American citizenship
that seems to pervade your social and
business atmosphere" answered Mr..
Grist promptly and continuing with
characteristic southern enthusiasm,
he went on to remark: "Old Cham
plain was quite happy in the name he
gave your state; but l don't see that
he deserves much credit for that, for
up here all nature still spells Yer
mont and if the Frenchman had not
already done so, it would only remain
for just anybody to pronounce the
name.
1T occurs to me, however, that If a
Martian explorer should alight among
you now, while the name he would
give your state might very we'll remain
the same, he would somehow attach
it to your people as well as to your
beautiful green hills and valleys"
But won't you give us some Of the
most strikingly noticeable differences
that occur to you as between your
country and this?" still further pur-
sued the reporter.
You are now leading in the direc-
ton of soil, climate and productions,
1 assume" said the southerner, after
a few moments reflection, because
these are necessarily the basis Of the
most marked differences between the
two localities. We have very satis-
factory climate in my part Of the coun-
try. The temperature sometimes goes
up to 100 degrees in the shade; but
owing to about the right humidity the
heat is seldom oppressive. We sleep
under light blankets during the latter
part of most nights; but it is not near
ly so cool down there as it is up here.
Il have known eight or ten de-
grees below zero in winter, but this
does not occur more than once in a
half dozen or so years, the average
winter temperature being not far
above the frost line.
I'VE can raise almost anything that
grows out of the ground other than
tropical plants; but do not raise
great deal of anything besides cotton
and corn"
How about the fertility of your
soil ?" he was asked.
Il have known more than 500 BUSH
els of Irish (white) potatoes to be
grown on an acre; but do not know
a farmer who grows enough potatoes
to supply his own family. We do not
use anything like as many potatoes
as you do, but we do use about as
many of your raising as we do of our
own raising. Our cattle can live in
pastures all the year round; but we
have farmers who buy milk and but
ter. While the average yield Of corn
is not more than fifteen bushels to the
acre, sixty or seventy bushels to the
acre is common and 100 bushels is not
unusual. Still up to the last few
years we have been buying more corn
from the west than we have been
raising at home. This years wheat
ago, and I know of many instances
where farmers got back from 20 to 80
bushels for each bushel sown. 1t
would be easy for my county, for in
stance. to ship more dollars worth of
wheat than it does of cotton; but so
per cent of the -four we use is brought
in from the west. We raise a great
many oats. 1 have known farmers to
net $50 and $40 an acre on their oat
crops; but we buy more oats from
abroad than we raise at home.
$50 it is through the list Ever
since the civil war our agricultural
people have been giving nearly their
whole attention to cotton, buying
from abroad all the supplies neces-
sary to raise their crops But there are
some gratifying changes going on
now. At least half a dozen cotton
crops have been sold at less than the
cost of production, and during the
past ten or fifteen years there has
been more widespread appreciation
of the ruinous results of the old pol
icy. More farmers are branching out
op the line Of COTTON aS q SurDluS and