Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-04-02
Open Letter From National
President of Farmers Union.


the Union: A farmer driving to
the city with load of cotton, pro-
.duce or on some errard is strnck by
the general neatness of some cottage,
probably the home of working
man. Flowers bloom in the yard,
-wellkept grass grows on the lawn,
the fences are neat and painted, and
.tfere,is an air of distinction about
the place. You say, A sober, hon
est. industrious man must live
there Next door is dirty, un-
kempt place, cans and trash in the
1yara, fence falling Edown, and a
general atmosphere of unkemptness.
You say, "A shiftless, drinking, no
aceount chap lives there. y
But how much more. noticeable
these things are out in the broad,
open country, where the airis sweet,
tbeisunshine free'of smoke and the
stehcko of filth of great city.
You drive along q country road,
and}come to a farm. Distinction
masksitSin, hundred liltle ways.
The fences are all up, and no rot
ting oritnmbling rails are seen; the
fence corners are free of bushes,
briers and weeds the bitches are
element, with no wide hedge Of
rank weeds growing along leither
side, Spd the land cultivated close
up tle stumps and rocks are out of
the fields. Even the rows and ap-
peaElnce9 of the fields themselves
SHOW the thrifty care Of intelligent
apphsatien...
Presently you come to the house.
Fla@ers grow in the. yard, which
are eau and Well.kepl, with neat
~ gFayeled walk leading up to the
jfroni porch. Barns and ous houses
areiis good repair, and no rusting
too sor machinery clutter yards or
barn lot
And youknow without question
that heres real man lives, a man
that !Sil do5to trust, a business man;
fhs. Z bis Obligations, and, more
- - syrJai Aeighbor ana a neig
full o1e.A You will generally find, too,
tha. he is thoughtful Of his wife,
daughters and sons. that the boys
want to stick to the farm because
dad is all right and he matte a
good living out of it.
SO you drive on, and directly get
a shock. You come to place with
the fences down, corners growing
up in weeds, land washed for lack
of proper drainage; stunted weedy
stuff struggling to survive in the
fields, No palings surround the
house, no flowers grow in it. but a
litter of every sort of thing encum-
bers it. The roof of the stable and
barn are leaky, the doors propped
up, rusting farm Tools auc mach'n-
cry stand about corroding in the
weather. -Four or five lazy hounds
sleep about the door or yard, and
everything about is desolate and
depressing. You will find without
query that shiftless, indolent, pur-
poseless, don't care man lives there.
He couldn't get a cent Of credit
from anybody without security. His
wife is hupele y drudge, with just
energy enough to crawl about; his
daughters run away and marry at
the first opportunity, and his boys
go to town or away from home as
soon as they are big enough TO know
enough TO leave.
Up and down this nation / have
travelled, and l have seen both
types everywhere, and | have never
made inquiries yet that l did not
confirm my views between the two
the hustler and the drone. And often,
too, both men have equal chance in
81 far as productivity of the land
goes.
l see in my travels something in
this connection that makes me hope
fui. The first named class is getting
more numerous, and the last.named
fewer and fewer. Of course, we will
probably always have the dont-care
farmer, but his class is vanishing
ut gratifying rate, to be replaced
by alert, hardworking farmers who
realize that farming is profession,
calling for high intelligence aud
common sense.
And as the profession of farming
becomes higher and better, you will
nee powerful and conlenied nation.
G.. 5. Barrett.
Union City, Ga., March 29, 1913.