The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1909-10-06
To The Public.

TO the Public.
After thinking over what was
said at the mass meeting in Brook.
haven last Saturday, relative to the
petition adopted by the Lincoln
County Farmers Union, feel like
there was a wrong construction
placed upon the meaning of said
petition and being one of the three
delegates elected by the County
Union to present the petition,
| / am in position to explain the
matter and make it clear to all in.
telligent minds or at least ] hope
to do so. In the first place. mas
much as the delegates composing
the county union were our most
intelligent and enterprising farm.
ers, who take various news papers
and are posted on the boil weevil
problem both as to their nature and
the preventives, and since it is the
prime object of the Farmers Union
to educate the farmer along agri.
cultural lines and in fact in every
thing pertaining to their interest,
we deemed it unnecessary to ask
the board Of Supervisors to appro.
pirate $500 to put a man in the
field to tell the farmers how to de.
stroy their cotton stalks, or in
other words to tell them how to
circumvent the boil weevil. We
believed as Hon. HI. Cassidy said
in his speech in the mass meeting,
the boil weevil is a Godsend and
will add further, that his mission is
to make the farmr reduce this
cotton acreage, something that has
not been done, and judging the flu.
ture by the past, it would not have
been dene had the weevil not made
its advent. Hence the weevil is a
blessing in disguise, instead of be.
ing a curse. 1t was not the object
of the county union to antagonize
the efforts on the part of the busi-
ness men of Brookhaven who man
Tested an interest in the farmers
by offering to donate their own
money if needs be to fight the wee-
vii, for we well know that the bus
mess men realize the fact that their
welfare and future success depends
upon prompt and intelligent action
in this matter, for when the farm
ers succeed, as matter of course,
the balance Of the world is benefit
ed thereby. want to say right
here in behalf of the farmers of
my county, we thank the business
men of Brookhaven for manifesting
SO much interest in our behalf, and
solicit in the future your co-opera-
ton and assistance in all matters
pertaining to the better interest of
the agricultural classes.
Now word to my brother farm
ers. am glad that so many of
you are awakening from that sleep
of lethargy and are availing your
selves of the opportunity that is
now being offered IN the way of
modern improved implements, and
are giving more attention to the
raising of better stock and to di-
versified farming. And right here !
want to say to the man who says
away with your neW-fangled ideas,
that he must remember that we are
living in progressive age. and
that conditions as well as people
have changed, and unless, as have
already said, we avail ourselves of
the golden opportunity that did not
exist in our fathers, days, we will
some day repent in sack cloth and
ashes.
One other thing / want to inn
press upon the farmers is to edu-
cate your children. And since the
boil weevil is upon us this is one Of
the blessings made manifest to me.
A large cotton crop keeps the chill
dren out of school, and when farm
ers plant less cotton, as they
will have to do, our children
that God gave us and made it an
indispensable duty to educate as
well as to administer to their ply
sical wants. will. instead of pick
ing cotton, be in school. and in
stead of being brought up in ig-
norance. be an intelligent. progress
siye and prosperous people. Such
are most conducive to law and orr
der and to the betterment of our.
country Id which we live.
Having been assessor of my coun-
ty one term. / had ample opportun-
ity to learn the condition Of my
brother farmers, and by SO doing /
feel an interest in them that posi-
bly, no other one does who never
enjoyed the hospitalities around
their firesides as did Il
And now in conclusion want to
say to one and all. let's wake up
and get busy. Do the things only
that will best promote our inter-
ests. and weevil or no Weevil, suc-
cess will surely be ours.
q. w. MAXWELL.