Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-24

Barrett Says These Constitute th'
Main Need Of the Country,

Barrett Says These Constitute the
Main Need Of the Country.
President Chas. s. Barrett has sent
out the following statement to mem
bers of the Farmers Union.
ITO the Officers and Members of
the Farmers Union: One Of the most
difficult things in this world is to do
things a little differently from your
neighbors, and yet that Is among the
first Of the needs in the country life
Of America today. The life Of the
city is different from that Of the
country. There the quickening in
fiuences Of growth and civilization ac-
celerate development, cooperation is
involuntary and there Is less need for
a large number Of leaders.
I'm the country the problem Is
more complicated. The average far
mer lives the year around in a rut.
Many Of his customs he has inherited
from his father. Others he copies
from his neighbors. AS a result, life
proceeds from one years end to an
other with not one-tenth degree Of the
progress witnessed in the city, into
which Is all the time pouring new
ideas and new influences.
ITO illustrate, 1t has been the Gus
tom for decades In the country to
squabble over land lines. over differ
ences in religious opinion, etc. 1t has
been a custom here and there to In
dulge in this baneful neighborly gos-
sip which does no one any good and
does everybody concerned an infinite
amount of harm. One community
may have the one-horse habit where
1t should have the two-horse habit
One county may be sticking to old
inherited methods of agriculture, wher
| 1t needs modern, scientific methods
One county may need more schools
or better teachers, or longer terms
and more teachers.
zone community-in fact, thou
sands Of them in this country-for-
feits each year to the city a great
many more of it's young men and wo-
men than it can afford. There is a
way to keep these young men and wo-
men at home and to invest In the
country the energy that brings divi-
dends in the city.
Now, suggest that II you want to
write yourselves down as benefactors
to your fellows, that you get out and
start doing some Of these things that
the rest of your neighbors are too
lazy. too blind or too busy to do or
see.
Zone wide-awake, energetic, self
sacrificing man in a county can ac-
complish wonders.
1.-The results may not be apparent
at once, but If the task is followed
with patience and persistence, they
are sure in the long run.
I'm the olden days when this coun-
try was a wilderness, 1t took the hard
est sort Of courage for men to be pio-
nsers. 1t takes as much or more
courage of another sort to be a pio-
neer in our civilized age, when 1t
comes to starting the task Of upbuild-
ing in our country districts. The man
who launches it Is going to run up
against enough snags and discourage
ment and rdicule and Indifference to
make him feel that he Is wearing a
crown Of thorns.
Put in the end he will triumph
and be rewarded by the crown Of gold
that comes from the gratitude OF his
awakened friends and neighbors.
For the mass Of the farmers are
not so unreasonable or unresponsive
after all. Once shown the right way
and once convinced that a man Is try
ing sincerely to benefit their condi-
ton. their gratitude is decidedly
worth the having.