The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-26
COTTON GROWERS AND "
NATIONAL FOOD SUPPLY
yD- W. J. Mccain, in Manufacturers
ND RecOrd.)

go w j.. 20
W. RecOrd.)
chorl1n't every farmer profit by
bigh prices Of food products. as
III NV all the food products can and
"b0nId be made on the farm! Wheth-
he will or not depends upon
whether or not he Employs correct
""tLnda Of farming. The writer re-
1natf1IIy states that the average far
81 If the cotton States is sadly lack
a. Ia of correct
49, - must state that it is his opinion
tbat the high prices OF food products
- the United States is largely due
49, the fact that the or the
oottnn states raise such a small per
bont of the food products consumed
these cotton farms. They could
ua,sa the food products. but they don
- II and there Is where n trouble
- coming from. Why. the cotton far
mers are depending almos as much
mon the Middle and Western States
Sar food products as do the cities and
4owns throughout the country. and
tba high cost of living is weighing
haavily upon these farmers, who
should be in position to profit by sell
;ng at good prices all the foods that
should be made on the farm. By q
ope-crop system they are not only in
hiring and impoverishing themselves
hut they are making the burdens
3pANteT tAbOi LASAA WV NO~S ~
Causing the prices Of food products
- climb higher and higher from
year to year. Unless this error in our
economic condition is soon righted 1t
will result disastrously to the greater
mart OF this all, except the
food producer. and he will soon grow
50 rich he will quit and go abroad to
live and we Will be lett In a state OF
famine. or nearly SO.
Some may think this an overdraWn
nirture. Possibly it is so. but not
much Overdrawn- On account of the
notwithstanding city population. es-
neciaIly, is the situation fast approach
ing a very serious crisis, and 1t de-
serves the thoughtful consideration of
orr wisest leaders. The sermon on
diyersitcation of crops in the South
ern States has been preached these
many years and has most often fallen
on deaf ears, and without wishing
to c0ndone siothfuiness. it must be
stated that there was not a while back
the incentive to diversity crops IN the
South that we now have. In the first
place. we did not have the large city
population in the South a few years
ago that we now have, and the de-
mand was quite limited. except on
long haul. and many complications
arise from shipping to far away mar
kets. Secondly, we did not then have
the enormous CITY popuidIiCH
out the country. and the Middle West
and West were glad to meet the needs
Of the country with food products at
q moderate cost.
But the times are changed and we
should change with them" To point
out the quickest and most desirable
way Of bringing about this change
in the cotton States should call forth
the prOfOundest consideration through
out the nation. The writer has lived
in the cotton country all his life,
and has been a close student Of the
farming methods. and it's lack of
methods, and he begs pardon to give
1t as his opinion that the perpetuity
Of our national prosperity largely de-
ponds Bpon getting the Southern far
mer to produce at least all or nearly
all the food products on
his farm. and a surplus for sale to
the town and city population in as
large Volumes as is possible for him
So to do
Habits, and especial bad habits.
are hard to overcome, and the aver
age cotton farmer has fallen into ex-
Gemely had habits within the last 40
years. Whether this is largely due
70 some one great cause, or to a com
oination Of causes. may be a subject
Tor debate. The writer believes it is
due to a combination of causes, and
mat the time Is lea at hand when
THESE causes may be forever set aside.
Some of the causes may be here men
uoned: We were Frustrated by the
oeVastation Of var and paraiyzed by
the evil days Of reconstruction and
caFpet-oag misrule: our minds and
hearts up to a recent date were cen
tered on the preservation Of the white
civilization Of the South. which Is i'm
meaSurabiy paramount to the com
paratlVely base consideration OF the
physical needs OF the body. And the
.Act that The South has maintained
It's civilization and racial supremacy
uhoer such an ordeal will go down
M history for thousands Of years to
nonhe as evidence that the "Oid
south was composed OF the most
anie race Of men that the world has
ever known.
Further. our system of labor was
ronnpieteiy subverted. and a tenant
sSS'efn was largely forced upon Us in
KOHL