The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-12-14
Farmers Union News
Practical Thoughts for Practical Farmers;
Conducted K.
otherwise good leader.

otherwise good leader.
Do not bounce a man out Of office
the minute he makes some small mis-
take that is not of serious import to
the organization. Give him another
trial. l have known any number of
good leaders to be lost to the associa-
tion because they found they had un-
derestimated the man they thought
they knew, got discouraged, quit try
ing and got out Of office.
l wish you would make an earnest
effort to try and distinguish between
the false and the true in the men as
piring to leadership. l realize this is
going to be hard, for the habit is still
strong to prefer some old hypocrite
who will brag on you to the honest
leader who will tell you some plain
truths about yourselves and your
work that you need to know.
1t will be an uphill business, know
for sly politicians and would-be-lead-
ers have so often offered to do your
thinking for you that the old rut is
the easiest. But you must rouse from
the old method, if the organization
and yourself individually, are to come
into your greatest success and useful
ness.
MT n in IN "a a
plenty Of time in selecting your Off
GERS, and then to give them good
showing after they are elected.
If you were little more liberal in
salaries with some Of your State Off
GERS it might help little too. But /
had nearly forgotten that it hurts you
to know that one of your own numbel
is to get a few of your hard-earned
pennies. The truth is, my dear broth
er, it would hurt you less to be swim
ided about $40 worth by professional
swindler than to know that one Of
your own brethren had honestly
earned and received forty cents Of the
money you worked for. This sounds
mighty hard, you know it Is so.
A great deal Of the money that
farmers put into the treasures Of
their organization Is wasted owing to
the foolish resolutions passed by con-
ventions. calling for the establish
ment Of this, that and the other, about
which neither they or their officers
knew anything. l have known men
who were not worth their salt to hold
office in the Union for years for the
simple reason that you were so easily
fooled. AS ] said in the opening
their is cause for relief in the fact
that this condition is growing less.
want to say that i have abiding
faith in the farmer. He will sooner
or later do the right thing in
or later do the right thing in the
right way. know him. He has new
er failed and will never fail to do the
right thing, If you give him plenty Of
time.
But must say that he has cut many
wonderful and amazing stunts in the
Farmers Union. all Of which we
would not dare mention, but one or
two Of which will help to make my ar
guments plain:
In the early days of the Farmers
Union one Of our State officers had
groundless grievance against another
State official. When the State con-
vention met. the brother who had the
grievance and who also had long hair
and a long face arose. He told Of the
great sacrifice he had made. and of the
suffering Of his wife and children who
did not have the necessities Of life.
He then turned himself loose on the
man he had come out to smash, charg-
ing that he was squandering their
hard-earned money by riding in Pull
man cars. and that he had no busi-
ness In a Pullman car anyhow, but
ought to sit up all night like he him
self did. The speaker raved. He got
red in the face. He poured hot shots
into the brother for riding in a Pull
man car. He appealed to the breth-
rem to stop such extravaganza. He
appealed to those in the pit and then
to those in the gallery for sympathy
The appeal had the desired effect.
The gallery showered the coin down
on him and the brethren in the pit
were also liberal.
The defendant. who was and is, one
OF the biggest and best men In that or
any other State, rose and tried to ex-
plain to the convention that it would
be very much better for him to pay
two dollars extra and have a good
nights rest so he could be fresh for