The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-08-13
MADE A live TALK
How MAY CAR0LINIAKS ENRICH
RURAL Life
PLAIN TRUTHS Stated

sive Farmer, and Publicist, Took
to the Conference for Common
Good, A Message to Commonwealth
Builders.
Clarence Poe, editor, author and
publicist, of Raleigh, brought to the
Conference for the Common Good
Wednesday, at its first general ses-
sion a Message to Commonwealth
Builders, the burden of his address
being, What Must We Do to Develop
a Great Rural Civilization il the Car
olinas?" Mr.. Poe has been editor Of
The Progressive Farmer since 1899
and chief owner since 1904. In his ad-
dress c1 the subject What Must We
Do to Develop a Great Rural Civil
zation in the Carolinas?" Clarence e.
Poe, spoke, in part, as follows:
What must We do to develop a
great rural civilization in South Car
olina?
This I take it is the main problem
confronting Us at this conference for
we must realize that if we are to de-
velop great civilization in the Caro-
linas at all, it must be great rural
civilization. In both North and South
Carolina over IS per cent of the 1910
population was rural; less than Is
per cent Of the people were in cities.
Let me come then direct to my
point and say what in my opinion are
the things needed-after the moral
foundation is laid-for the full de-
velopment Of this rural civilization.
I should say that we must
I. Recognize tht paramount impor-
tance Of this rural development and
of all productive and constructive ef-
fort in State-building.
2. We must have a great predom-
inantly white population, and with
neighborhood or social units compos-
ed of q homogeneous people.
5. They must be Homecoming and
educated or trained (both old and
young) to a high degree os efficiency
and productivenes.
4. They must aim at the three
fold program of Better Farming,
Better Business, Better Living" lay
ing especial emphasis on cooperation
since the Development Of social power
is our greatest lack.
5. This cooperation should mani
fest itself mainly in local or neigh
borhood enterprises {condlcted on
the principle of patronage dividends
and lone man one vote'') AID should
embrace cooperation in buying, pro-
ducing, marketing and rural credits.
6. The agencies chiefly required in
carrying out such a program are:
(a) A better school system, with
longer terms, compulsory attendance,
and with text books and teaching es-
pecially adapted to farm lie.
(b) More white immigration and
the grouping Of whites and negroes in
separate neighborhoods as fast as
public sentiment and reasonable leg
legislation can act.
fc) Plans for helping white ten
ants buy lands and for encouraging
home ownership.
(d) In each county farm demon
stration agent, county superinten-
dent of schools, county health Off
cer-each employed his whole time
backed by a local paper and a county
fair, wholly devoted to community de-
velopment.
(e) In each township a Farmers
Union and Farm Womans' Club, to
encourage neighbors to cooperate
in every plan for business, education
al, or social improvement.
Encourage Productive Labor.
Now let us glance very briefly at
the various planks in this platform.
In the first place, say that if we are
to have great rural civilization the
State and the schools must recognize
the importance of such develop
ment and must shift their emphasis
from the less important work to the
more important work in building up
a Commonwealth. They must recog-
nize the fact that we have to-day
throughout the South too few men
who are creators Of wealth and too
many who are merely trafackers in
the wealth that other men are Great
ing. When I was in Japan was
struck with the fact that the old jap
anese ethics give the farmers more
honor and higher social rank than
the merchant or the banker-the the
ory being that the farmer is an actual
creator of wealth, man who actually
adds to the store Of the worlds riches
while the merchant and the banker,
honorable in the degree that they are
needed for their purposes are never
1heless essentially trafickers in the
wealth that others create instead Of
creators Of wealth.
I honor our merchants anI lawyers
and bankers-I would not stir up any
class feeling-but must we not admit
the soundness of the Japanese reas-
cning? And when we put face to face
with the fact that the Carolinas are
reported two Of three poorest .Ameri-
can States-with per capita wealth
. of s414 in South Carolina and s420
in North Carolina agains. s1,31S
average for the whole Unitel States
must we not also admit that not
all our bankers. lawyers. and mor-
chants can redeem us-simply be-
cause these businesses do not create
wealth? We need lawyers, bankers,
and merchants. OF course, but the
trouble is that here in the S: uth--in
Mr.. r. Beverly Herbert joined Mr..