Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1909-12-04

dren are going to school aud develop
ing healthy bodies in the open air
and healthy surroundings of country
life instead of being shut up in the
cotton mill, oyeEworked, under-edu.
Gated, and poorly developed' physical
ly-as the tendency must be In all
cotton mills SO long as the legisla.
lures Of the South are too subservient
to the less humane mill owners to enact
needed laws of restricting child labor
in the mills-the less humane mill
owners, We say because there are
many thoughtful and far-seelng mill
owners who heartily favor suloter
regulations.
Remember, we have no III will to
ward the cotton manufacturers we
have no III will toward the negro.
We do realize very strongly however.
that the safety of the South depends
upon the presence Of large white
rural population, The drift to the
towns and the cotton mills not only
affects this directly, but also indirect
~. because when once the population
OF community becomes predominant
ly negro, the small number OF white
people left may be forced to move
out In order to find sufficient numbers
for a society of their own.
1T was a wise saying OF James
divers, Happy Is the land that Is
titled by the man who owns It. aud
the great need OF the South today Is
to encourage the holding OF small
farms by white farmers We repeat.
that we say this IN no IN will to the
negro--in fact, Il should not be neces.
sary for us to say this, because no
one else in the South has preached
more perslstently than We the doctrine
that It is the intelligent, prosperous
negro who helps, and the ignorant,
poverty breeding negro who makes us
all poorer-but we say this for the
good Of white and black alike be
cause the best interests OF both races
demand that the rural South maintain
its large white population. Unless
this is done the negro himself Will
not progress as rapidly as he viii with
white guidance. and unless this il
done, the cities OF the South must also
inevitably 20 backward.
We urge every tenantfarmer, and
especially every white man who for
any reason Is thinking Of becoming
somebody's hired man In town instead
Of owning his home In the country
TO buy land. The great plantations OF
the South. for the good Of our section
as a whole. must be broken up. We
must encourage the spirit Of home.
owning. with every man sitting under
his own vine and az tree. and we
must especially encourage the Dc.
velopment Of a great class OF small
white farmers.
THE saving OF the rural South 10
the white race Is one Of the most Inn
portant problems now before the PEG
pie Of the Cotton Belt
In this connection. there IL another
thing that ought 20 be- mentioned, and
that Il the problem OF immigration.
The Farmers Union and other farm
ers' organizations are right IN pro
testing against the coming Of large
Of Italians. Russians. Hun
garihns. Poles. etc This would ONLY
make bad matter worse. and com
plleat6 matters sull further What
would help. however. is the coming Of
a large number 0f wiseavake North
ern and Western farmers, buying
small farms among ~ and maklne
their farms obiSf, lessons IN stock
raising and other lines Of diversified
Agriculture. These Northefn ard
Western farmers viii also 80 q rood
example fog our Southern people 10
that they ars ready 20 90 aDy and
All kinds q work eth their oHu
hands. entirely indspendsnt u hired
labor Asa soufhernrr reared on ne
farm and 4 descendant u generations
u southsgn farmers. 80 masi eonieaf
the need o. our people a. tbis ioini.
and ths help that ue s0uid ct here
from an increased nBmbes % Eiae-
awake Western ssttisrr besides ths
ald they woaN render 10 keeping 90
....t.st.-. t.-fureer fha