Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-08-12
RURAL life PROBLEMS.
Uplift Message from the Mid Of a
Master.
Co. OPERATION IS The KEYNOTE.

Clarence Poe Makes a Great Address
at the Conference for the Common
Good in CoIumbia-He Gives the
People Something to Think About.
Easily the leading address at the
conference for the Common Good in
Columbia last week, was that of Clar-
ence Poe, editor of the Progressive
Farmer. Here is what he said in full:
What must we do to develop a
great rural civilization in South Car
olina?
"This I take 1t, is the main prob
lem confronting us at this confer
ence; for we must realize that IL we
ere to develop great civilization in
'he Carolinas at all, II must be a
great rural civilization. In both North
| and South Carolina over 85 per cent
OF the 1910 population was rural |;
less than Is per cent of the people
were in cities.
Let me come then directly to my
point and say what, in my opinion, are
the things needed-after the moral
foundation is laid-for the full de-
velopnlent of this rural civilization.
should say that we must
"C) Recognize the paramount i'm
portance of this rural development
and of all productive and constructive
effort in state-building.
"(2) We must have predominant
| ly white population, and with neigh
borhood or social units composed of
a homogeneous people.
"(3) They must be homecoming,
Il
| and young) to a high degree Of eff
cheney and productiveness.
"(4) They must aim at the three
fold programme of Better Farming,
Better Business, Better Living laying
4 especial emphasis on cooperation,
since the development of social power
Is our greatest lack.
| "(5) This cooperation should
| manifest itself mainly in local or
neighborhood enterprises Conducted
on the principle Of patronage divi-
| dends and one man one voiceD and
should embrace cooperation in buy
ing, producing, marketing and rural
credits.
| "(6) The agencies chiefly required
in carrying out such a programme
are:
| "(a) A better school system, with
longer terms;. compulsory attendance,
and with text books and teaching es-
pecially adapted to farm life.
"(b) More white immigration and
the grouping Of whites and negroes
In separate neighborhoods as fast as
public sentiment and reasonable leg
lslation can act.
| "(c) Plans for helping white ten
ants buy land and for encouraging
home ownership.
| ed In each county farm demon
stration agent, county superintend-
ent of schools, a county health Off
cer-eacb employed for his whole
county fair wholly devoted to COM
munity development.
/ "(e) In each township a Farmers
Union and a farm woman's club to
encourage neighbors to cooperate In
levery plan for business, educational
fsr social improvement.
| Encourage Productive Labor.
Now, let us glance very briefly at
the various planks in this platform
| In the hrst place, l say that II we
are to have q great rural civiliza-
uon, the state and the schools must
recognize the importance of such q
ueveIopment and must shift their en-
pnasis from the less important work
to the more important work in build
ing up a commonwealth. They must
recognize the fact that we have to-
/ day throughout the south too few men
/ who are creators Of wealth and toe
many who are merely traffickers In
the wealth IT, at other men are Great
ing. When / was In Japan l was
struck with the fact that the old
Japanese ethics gave the farmer more
honor and a higher social rank than
the merchant or the banker-the
theory being that the farmer Is ar
actual creator Of wealth, a man who
actually adds to the store Of the
worlds riches, while the merchant
and the broker, honorable in the de.
gree that they are needed for theil
purposes, are nevertheless essential.
ly trattickers in wealth that others
create instead of creators Of wealth
Il honor our merchants and law.
yers and bankers-I would not Still
up any class feeling-but must we no
admit the soundness Of the Japanese
reasoning? And when put face tt
face with the fact that the Carolinas
are reported two Of the three poores
American states-with a per capits
wealth of $114 in South Carolina ant
$42O in North Carolina against ST.,
31S average for the whole United
States-must we not also admit tina
not all our bankers, lawyers and mer'
chants can redeem us--simply be-
cause these businesses do not create
wealth? We need lawyers, banker'
and merchants, Of course, but th'
trouble is that here in the south-iI
a measure perhaps, all over the coun
try, but especially here in the south
where foolish and ruinous ideas abou
J the dignity" Of physical labor still
persist-we have just twice as man!
men in these non-productive lines o
industry as are needed, while ou
lyoung men Of extraordinary abilit!
and training are neglecting our grea
creative business, such as agricul
ture and manufacturing and all th'
others.
Go into the north and west ant
you will find a much larger proper
tion of leading men making the com
munity richer by running dairy farms
; stock farms, fruit farms. grain farms
or running factories or brick kilns o.
machine shops, or building houses o.
draining land-creating more wealth
J in states already wealthy-and yer.
! much similar proportion putting VI
little banks, little stores, little law
yer's offices in towns already over
crowded with such institutions.
Instead of selling western mea
and western flour and northern frui
and northern butter and sending prof
its away to the detriment Of the state
half of our merchants ought to b.
running farms, producing Carolini
meat and Carolina flour and Carolin;
fruit and Carolina butter, and keep
ing profits here for the upbuilding o
the state. And 10000 merchants VIII
+ are spending their lives selling north
ern-made cloth and northern mad
furniture and northern-made tool
and machinery should be conductin
Carolina factories and furnishing u
, with Carolina-made cloth and Carroll
na-made furniture and Carolina
fade tools and machinery.
II speak plainly but l speak with
: out feeling-not that l do not homo
our lawyers, bankers and merchant
but because 1 honor them so much
!. want to see half of them bring thei
talent, ability and enterprise into stil
more useful occupations. Think wha
a revolution we should have In Car
olina agriculture or in Carolina man
] ufacturing If we could drift into eth
: er of these businesses for the next te
, years, all the talent and leadershi
now concentrated i'm our legal pro