The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-02-12
THE GREAT NEED OF THE FARM
Menace to Agriculture Is Fact That
COuntry-bred Boys Do Not Stick to
Farm Life.

1 heard a man say awhile ago that
he had made a careful investigation
' Of the men who had achieved success
! in a large Southern city, and that
ninety per cent of them had been
bred on farms.
To him it was a matter Of pride
and qualification, but I will confess
frankly that the statement shocked
and saddened me. knew III a gem
eral way that our cities were absorbing
too many country boys, but the
thought that the brains, energy and
power of great city had been achiev-
ed at the expense Of the farms was
startling. In it, saw one Of the main
reasons why farming was falling into
decay, and farm lands were in alien
hands.
! We hear and read a vast deal these
days about conservation, but to my
mind the most vital things in America
today is the conservation Of our young
men on the soil. 1t is old and trite
TO say that a nations prosperity is
measured by its agriculture, but it is
profoundly true nevertheless.
There are a thousand issues over
which our statesmen concern them
selves and with which they whip the
people into frenzies of political fervor
But they are not striking at the heart
and soul Of the most vital problem Of
the day. These questions are largely
political, while the greatest economic
issue of this century is to create such
conditions and to SO educate our boys
as to make them love, prosper on and
stick to ur farms.
| When statesmen big enough and
broad enough fiji our lawmaking halls
to sense this fact and seek the rem
edy then we shall have a new era.
Here are just few random facts
tending to show our farms have
been and are being drained of it's best
blood. SiXty-six per cent of the tillers
Of the soil in the United States are
non-landowners.
| In Georgia only "a per cent Of the
farmers own the land which they till;
in Alabama and South Carolina 81
per cent, while in other Southern
| States conditions are as serious Sim
liar conditions probably prevail ma
tion-wide. This farm ownership by
| those who do not cultivate the land
is becoming one of the gravest prob
lens Of the day, and 1 believe much of
it is due to the boys leaving the farm
for the city. This alien land owner
ship must be serious when Mississippi
finds it expedient to pass law regu-
lating it.
We must face this problem and
find the remedy, unless this movement
away from the soil is checked our ma
tural prosperity and greatness is sure
to crumble. Agricultural schools, ru-
raj delivery rural telephones, wider
and more general dissemination Of in
formation on improved farming and
now the parcels post are helpful fac
tors and beacon lights along the way,
but much more is to be done to ac-
complish real results.
Much depends on the farmer-fa-
ther. They must treat their boys right;
teach him how to love the farm and
let him share in the profits of his toll.
The Boys Corn Clubs have demon
strated very cleverly what they can
and will do if offered the right slim
ulus, the hope of reward. Closer and
better community interest and inter-
course, accurate knowledge of the soil
and the things that best grow on it
all these form part at least, Of gen.
eral upward movement for the future
! farmers of this country.
Are we to have conditions here in
the South and in the West as one may
| find them in many OF the New England
| States-miles Of abandoned farms and
houses vacant and falling into decay?
l fear so unless we can check the flow
Of boys from the farms to the cities.
IN the South particularly, where the
negro farm help is even more pro-
nounced in its tendency to leave the
| country and congest in the cities, the
| farmer must learn how to hold his
| boys, or go to smash.
| am not an alarmist-normally and
| naturally I am an Optimist and be-