The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-09-07

| pi iiiiS the reforms that are needed
and that You will be spared any of the.
| burden OF helping to iii the pre-
scription, that very minute you will
be entering upon a course that will
impede your own welfare as well rs
! that of the organization.
You wouldn't expect to SIT down IN
| front of a ten-acre field. have = gIib
| talker say a few words and make a
| few passes and then see the crop roll
ing into the Clubhouse and the bin
Of it's own accord.
! You'd know you would have to get
out and work like horse, under the
blazing sun and in the driving rain
and sometimes in sleet and snow, to
get the desired results.
| And identically the same principle
applies to making the nation sit up
and take notice of the things the far
mer needs and means to have; of ed
ucating your children; of getting a
greater degree of cooperation in your
local and mpre efficiency from your
county, Your State and your national
officers.
thing to be remembered in the
program that broadens as the Farm
ers Union broadens, is that the duty
is upon us to help others as we'll as
to help ourselves.
You may think that that poor, orn-
cry cuss on the farm next to yours
| doesn't amount to anything and that
you can safely let slide the question of
| aiding him in reviVing ambition and
IN educating his children. You may
! fool yourself into believing that you
can hoe your owE roe, improve your
| own farm pay your own dues, educate
you. own children, and let it so at
that
But there is no guarantee that
some day the SON Of that fellow
you think SO far below you may not
he holding a mortgage on your home:
may not be counting your daughter:
or his own daughter falling in love
With your son.
It is incumbent upon you, there
fore, to extend the helping hand, not
| only because it is; in itself a right
thing to do, but because it pays in the
long run. Don't do so much kicking
about the community in which you
live, or perhaps the slack attendance
OF the local to which you belong. Ex-
airline yourself, and see if, by accident
or otherwise, you are not partially re-
sponsible for these conditions. Have
heart to heart talk with yourself.
and find out if alittle encouragement
on your part wul,jd not better those
conditions.
H~tiect Il yon criticised vour 1eish-
p0es or officers .--s ana coopeesce3
rgS'-c. things wo,ld. IA al p.o. t.uty.
talk 40 q vastly d,rsereu- app-aron. =.
Enterprises condoIte,, by our ~er.-
Beers have devel oped the past year, as
never in my, recollection. There are
more Of them and they are more
soundly and honestly conducted.
But 1 want to remind you that it
Il one thing to "resolute" am enter
prise into existence in a hallelujah
meeting. and another to patronize it
the year round after you return home
and have recovered from your enthu-
siasm.
l have seen enterprise after enter
prise fail because members forgot the
promise of support honestly tended
in moments of eXuberance Business
men who succeed do not follow that
custom. They keep their promise.
and You rarely see gathering OF
business men who do not meet calrs-
y, debate calmly, and then after
| ward abide by the program they have
set out.
The trouble is, too many of us go
| into conventions full of good feeling,
wanting to hear a lot OF talk, pass a
ton of resolutions, ANA then go Nome
We fail TO remember that the is
sues we pass on are serious ones,
/ whether it is in t4e mark citing of
/ crops or the ''swatting" of those who
[ have betrayed us. Until all of us re-.
| gard the pledges made in gatherings
as sacred, this organization cannot
| hope to achieve its greatest usefulness.
/ have lately 1ad much to say re-
garding the need of moxe systematic
marketing of che crops of the mem
bers, of the american farmer Gener-
ally.
large percentage of tlse low
prices received in TIE past has beer.