Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-20
UNION HOPE OF
SOUTH, SAY ORGANIZERS IN
GREAT GEORGIA CAMPAIGN
Charles S. Barrett and L. NJ. Rhodes,
of Tennessee, Sweep Through the
State With a Message to Planters
to Check Enormous Crop Waste.

L. NJ. Rhodes. president OF the Ten
nessee division and chairman ~ tlr
national board of directors ~ the
Farmers Union, has just finished q
flying trip through Georgia ia com
pany Of Charles $ Barrett nau9ua.
president of the Farmers Union. ane
J. J. Brown. former Commissioners OK
AgricultuTe of Georgia The follow -
ing message TO the farmers as delF-
cred by Mr. Rhodes ah0unas In sue.
truth and fact not generally known.
THE marvellous grandeur OF lne
worlds progress asfouuds and amazts
US. Yet the wonderful story would
never have been written had u not
been for the ever-fa.rhfu farmer
Agriculture IS basic Upon IL rests
cities. commerce and civilization. The
people OF the earth consume 10000
600 tons Of food annually Five hun
dred and eighty-two million tons pi %
come from the farm. Human beings
are clothed In the products or inc
farm from the time they are born IN
iii they embark for eternity. Yet ever
since Grandfather Adam made the
mistake that caused him TO lose the
family estate the farmer has been
failure iu business
Farmer Behind in Business.
In business development " the
United States in the last century the
farmer has fallen behind lu rhe pro-
cesslon Of modern business methods
he has followed where Doe should have
led
When We became "A nation the farm
or owned 80 per cent ~ the wealth
In 1850 our national wealth was
$1,000, 10000 and the farmer owned
81 900 600 900, or four yenths.
In 1918 our national wealth is est-
mated at S13Io00, 100000, and The
farmer owns $4,000 100000 our farm
property Is valued al nearly 10000
600 600. but $4,000 N00 600 is owned by
other classes than farmers
THE above figures show that farm
ers are not holding their own. for If
they had kept pace with other yOca-
tons since 1850 they would now own
SIS. 000, 600 600 worth Of wealth instead
OF $50 600 5000 Their lack OF busi-
ness methods and failure 10 match
conditions have cost them $4,000,
GOO coo. THIS would buy an the farm
property in the United States ana
have enough left 10 buy half interest
In an the railroads
In a score of years the farmers of
this country have produced $4,000
600 coo worth Of farm products, or
enough to buy all the property In the
United States Yet this wonderful
amount Of wealth has not gone TO the
farmers We have 10000 men in this
country who own an average OF SO
600 600 each, And their combined
wealth is 500, 600 100000 The other
1890 900 people own SSl ,000, 600 600.
or our l0O,0OO,00O. 60,00O,000 are home
less
Twelve men control one third Of
our wealth, and one man controls
nearly one-teuth of the wealth of this
the richest country In the world. At
the rate We are going capital VIII own
practically all our wealth in another
generation.
sixty three land companies and
rich individuals own an area equal
TO Tennessee, Mississippi Alabama
and North and South Carolina
Liberty can not long exist in a
country where the tendency is TO
confine the wealth 10 a few hands, for
he who controls q nations money
controls its people
Union Is Educational.
Knowing that our liberty was
bought with holy blood and sacred
tears, and seeing that we must or
game and change our present meth
DDS or surrender we organized the
Farmers Educational and Co Opera
tive Union Of America Believing that
a lack of practical knowledge is mans
greatest enemy, we placed 'eduCa
ton as the first word in our name
And knowing that a people are never
strong when they are wrong. we SEE
leCted as our motto: Equity Justice
and the Golden Rule our organiza
ton has steadily grown, until now IL
reaches from coast to coast. and
north, south. east and west are
terms of direction TO indicate It's
magnitude In one decade il has
grown until il is winged by Canada