Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-12

we don't like and fiattering us about
ourselves, and shaking our hands. and
putting a hallelujah feeling on us. We
must stop that altogether. 1t was men
of that size who put the Alliance and
every other farmers movement out Of
business. You must choose for ability
and ability alone.
Be Sure You're Right.
Then when you've found the right
man, you must surrender yourself, your
opinions, many of your so-called
| rights and your independence to him
absolutely. But be sure first that
you've selected wisely, otherwise your
surrender will be in vain, and the work
will receive a backset.
| You may ask me for a definition Of
ability. l reply, when you have a
| product to handle, select man you
know is capable of handling that pro-
duct and what's more, of handling the
producers themselves.
1T is only when the man you choose
is incapable of handling both product
and producer that failure comes.
Search back and you can trace every
backward step in the organization to
the absence Of the man who can do
these two things.
THE final test that you have picked
the right man Is when that man can
and will make you do the right thing.
Give him time and make human al
lowances for him when he starts out
You expect him to give you a square
deal. Give him one! Then If, after
you've both had a square deal, he falls
down. or betrays you, or Is unwilling
to offer up his blood on the altar of
your welfare, get another man.
Securing the right leader Is, after
all, a matter of cooperation, which Is
one Of the principles Of our creed. Co
operation between the man chosen and
the members! He must remember that
he is not chosen to bulldoZe you and
| to impose his will on you unduly, or
to use you for his advantage, or to use
your influence simply as means for
making meat and bread. The man who
aspires to lead his local or his state, or
an enterprise in either, and who views
| his Job simply as one to keep the wolf
from the door, has mistaken his call
ing. His motive must be higher, no
bier more sacrificing than that.
Obligation of Co. operation.
"On your own side, the side Of the
member, the obligation of cooperation
is equally compelling. You may not
like a leader personally, but you are
unfaithful to your oath if you let that
interfere with upholding him in wise
policies. Success in the Farmers Un-
ion is not a matter of personal likes
| or dislikes. 1t Is the triumph Of the
good of the cause, and that means that
under every condition spite, envy, NAL
ice must be subordinated to the prog
ress and welfare of the idea back of
| this organization.
II rejoice that our people increasing
| ly realize the truth Of these principles
and that their efforts are constantly di-
rected toward first finding, then up
holding the correct brand Of leaders
But am so absorbed in the permanent
success of this organization that l want
that condition to rule universally, and
wherever our work Is organized. look
about me in every religious, every in
dustrial, every commercial and politi-
cal direction, whether in our own time
or thousand years ago, and / see that
| the success of every great movement Is
founded upon the efforts Of few con-
scientious, devoted and capable leaders.
have discovered that that Is the Sc
cret of success, wherever large bodies
of men are concerned. 1t is emphasized
| by the farmer, for the reason that the
conditions under which he lives are like
those governing no other class of peo-
pie in history.
"a leading principle the Farmers
Union leader must bear in mind is that
he Is chosen chiefly to secure scien-
| tific profitable marketing Of the pro-
ducts of the farm. We all believe In
county fairs, in good roads, in swamp
drainage, in every issue that pertains
to the welfare Of the country. But the
member of this organization is paying
his money for men who can develop the
force and skill to place his products
on the market at an equitable price.
Remember this is your first duty. II
you have any time left, II you do this
work correctly, you can sandwich in
| licks for these other things. But the
| first obligation is for the principles
which were in the minds of the found
ers of the order, and If you will consult
the constitution you will find these
principles were scientific distribution
and features of an allied nature. More
over, the members are coming to see
they must pay a decent price for the
ability to accomplish these things, AND
after they get hold of the right brand
of ability to give the leader his head
and their perfect cooperation, without
whimpering or reserving the right to
say, 'Tll market my crop as / see fit
and let my neighbor follow orders
Few Men Know the Farmer.
"One of the main causes that has
interfered with the success Of every
farmers movement is the abundance Of
men who claimed they knew the farm
err il enough of them had really
known the farmer they would have
brought to success, instead of failure,
the farmers organizations that now fill
the graveyard of history. And If the
man who today aspires to lead the
farmer really knows him, he will make
good in handling him. The sheer fact
that so many fail in serving the farm
er and get out disgruntled or disgusted
is final evidence that the number of
men who know the farmer on this con-
tinent is pitifully small. 1t is gradu-
ally increasing. The tribe Is gradually
being recruited from the mill of blood
and tears. But it is not yet large
enough to be formidable.
"As a matter of common justice, l
want to pay tribute to the national off,
GERS who have aided me in your cause
the past year. If / have failed to dis
charge my duty or to live up to your
rights in any particular, it is not their
fault Side by side, hand in hand, they
have worked with me, giving their time
and brain and strength with a free
heartedness that will remain with me
as a lasting inspiration. They have
given me all the scope l needed, and
they have ever been ready to act bold
ly in the cause of the organization.
ITO you, most of you seasoned vet
Grams in the cause, and to the world at
large l want to say that our work of
aiding the American farmer offers the
greatest opportunity for service sug-
gested by human imagination. We have
Undertaken 70 weld into cOmDaCr
body for purposes of uplift and i'm
provement the men upon whose
shoulders rests the burden of all the
ages. We have undertaken to redress
the wrongs of men who have had the
fewest genuine friends of any of the
worlds people We have undertaken
to make the farmer see, and act upon
the realization, that his salvation rests
upon himself, and upon no flattering or
magic outside influence. We have un-
dertaken to smash the petty suspi-
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