The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-21

torial that appeared in the last .ssa1e
OF the Casweil Sentinel:
@State Board o. Agriculture Makes
Grave Mistake.
The horse that pulls the plow
doesn't always eat the fodder" We
believe the records will show that for
years North Caroiina's principal
source OF fertilizer taxes has been the
tobacco and not the cotton or
corn Thousands and thou
sands of dollars have been LEVIED upon
Piedmont North Carolina through the
sale OF tobacco fertilizers, yet the only
benefit we have received has been in
the shape OF a few bulletins. So far
as the Agricultural Department is con-
ceIned the world is entirely ignorant
Of our tobacco producing industry.
The men in charge are either grossly
ignorant or unhttingly one-sided. The
interest OF the State has for years
demanded hat an experimental farm
be established in the tobacco section.
w have allowed Virginia to get all
the credit for a type of tobacco which
is produced no where under the sun
but along the border counties Of North
Carolina and Virginia-by far the
greater part on this side of the line.
"CasWeiPs committee before the
State Board of Agriculture. viz: Chair
man Harvey and Col. Henderson, made
their report Monday. which was, in
oAd wa Ii1dt Oh
though there were the three counties
of Person, Granville and CasweIl beg
ging for ~co-operat on in the establish
ment Of a test farm, and with all kinds
OF propositions, the board de-
cided that with their increased need
Of st~enographers. typewriteresSeS, sal
ar es, railroad fares. ct cetera, and
with calls from the cotton and corn
test farms for more and better money,
that there would be none Of the long
green available for the interests OF
the tobacco growers, but Maybe next
year, gentlemen. maybe next year
or the year after. perhaps
ut would almost seem that the
State Of North Carolina through those
in power is discriminating against the
tobacco farmers along with the pol til
clans and the press. We are almost
forced to believe that these politicians
in power fear the wall that will go up
from = Fifth avenue. the Charlotte
Observer and the Durham Herald
when a North Carolina test farm shall
declare it's inability to produce a pound
of Piedmont tobacco for less than Il
cents. We have an agricultural col
lege, and tobacco farmers are taxedt to
support it, but we wager the asser-
ton thai the average ten-year old
Caswell county boy knows more about
raising tobacco than any professor in
the A. and NJ. College. We help to
pay the Farmers Institute lecturers,
but the fellows they send around here
usually prefer to talk about bore
worms and m~iScegenation of flower
petals than the culture of TOBACCO
for the very good reason that they
kno~~ nothing . the latter.
ut is high time that tobacco farm
ers were taking a deeper and truel
interest in politics-an interest that
vsn rlace in power men who Will be
faithful TO their interests and have
no h CHER ambition. But Socrates like.
you ask How can this thing be done?
They fool US. We hough we had IN
Fill Eitchin the man, but We. too.
have seen the error of our faith, ana,
henceforth we hold to the doctrine
that no professional politician WI re-
main true to the interests OF the farm
e-s whore capital has interests at
stake. Only 3 few weeks ago we
asked a mar who has an honorable
ambition to serve this district IN a
high CAPACITY whether he was a true
friend OF the farmer an1 his cause.
And confdentiaIly he TOLD US he was.
but, said he, If I should say this
openly the trusts and politicians would
murder me before / got started in
the race Great Godi has the une
come when a liberty-loving North Car
oiinian is afraid t, openly announce
himself the friend of the farmers IN
terests? Is il so that the trusts and
politicians will go to work TO po'ltl-
callv kill any aspiring citizen VINO
would openly announce hinselI a
friend Of the farmer and his inter
ests Those who are in a position TO
know have seen in the not distant
past a newspaper of h'eh character lit
orally 'choked insensihly,' and forced
TO pursue a course other than a pat
tie for the farmers rights. 1t ls 100
true that, with the exception Of three