The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-08-22

they have shown me from the be-
ginning is one of the best features
that / find in the South. But it is
of the older men of Itaeford that l
started out to speak. 1t was OF the
farms. Yet one u fellow got
into my memory. and for two or
three reasons he stuck there. Fiji
teen years ago q young chap, Fred
erick Johnston. came over to Us at
the Times office in Pittsburg. Johns
ton was mighty bright, and a mighty
clever artist. He made the cartoons
for the front page of the paper every
morning. and those who knew the
PittsburS Times in those days know
that Frederick Johnston had no oc-
casion to apologize for his work. He
came frequently into my room to learn
Of the current event of the day to
find a subject for his daily picture.
and We got pretty we'll acquainted.
Well. over at Raeford [ found an
other young Frederick Johnson,
twenty-five ears old, running the VIII
lage newspaper. ] can neve keep
away from the village ~ewspap
when hit a town, n in a few
minutes this new Frederick johnson
had me landed. A bright. clean-faced
hustling young chap, We got to talking
newspaper right away. Then he
brought his fathers automobile and
took US down through his fathers
i,iS " - Io'i, ai
though the farmer in this case wal
lows in money and rides in his buzz
wagon, and is one of the strong men
of the county. The farm includes
several hundred acres, on which about
three hundred acres Of cotton. breast
high and white with blossoms, make
a pretty picture as it outlines against
several hundred acres of corn that
tanks it against the forest of dis
t2nt tall dark-green pines.
This young country editor stopped
the automobile to allow the super
~intendent of the plantation to drop
into the car a bag Of cantaloupes.
icked fresh, for the visiting bretI-
rem. and then he told us that the
place runs q superintendent to look
after 1T and a field boss to look after
the men in the field individually.
Now, this is not an Isolated tale
Of romance, for country editors are
riding IN their automobiles and farm
ers are riding IN their automobiles, at
least in this section, and the whole
industrial world is progressing.
Where Farmer Johnson harvests
his twenty or thirty thousand dollar
crop this year was forest six or eight
years ago.
Farmer Upchurch, who has three
or four hundred acres alongside Of
Farmer Johnson, had some more of
our party in his automobile on this
same trip out TO the farms, and he
showed Us where. in one season. he
had taken out forty thousand stumps
IN clearing his ground and making
1t ready TO farm. He showed us
where the WOOD sold from the land
paid the expenses Of clearing il. and
where land that was worth two or
three dollars when he bought it less
than a dozen years ago. was pro-
duc1ng a crop worth a hundred dollars
an acre.
And why I mention these things.
as a thing l would like the Young
man to see is because Farmer John
son was working for seventv-fve
cents a day up in the country at an
earlier period of his life. and Farmer
Upchurch, With one or two darkies
was hustling pine logs at a Ii+tle
jirn-crow sawmip, and thought he was
just stacking UP money if he could
count up a profit Of ten dollars a
1 ave not said much about Rae
ford, but # | have Interested even
one of the boys of his country m
think of the chance that are in his
reach that is enough.
BION H. BUTLER
Southern Pines. n. G..