The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-04-20
REVIEW OF WEEKS
D0|NGS IN SUFFOLK
Main Question Comes Back to-
Town After All--Things b
Worth Considering. Il
DO WE HELP COUNTRY FOLKs7I
\ Few Thoughts That Drop In
Naturally by the
Waysidc. +
tBy n stan CORRESPONDENT.

tBy StaT Correspondcnto
HOW can the city assist in the de- =
velopment OF farming In the country
surrounding 1t? To that question the
hrst Business Mems Conference. of thef:
Conference for Education in the South s
last week devoted the best part oI
a long afternoon. but no solution
there offered was as simple and as
practical as the method used by the
business men OF suffolk last Saturday
week, In holding in the beautiful little y
capital of Nansemond the first Farm
crs' Congress OF the Second Congress s
sional District. The convention WAS a.
decided success. More than one thou
sand farmers. their wives. their sons
ana daughters. the school teachers. Il
me preachers and the business men
OF the counties OF Nansemond.. Prin-
cess Anne. Norfolk. Southampton and
isle OF Wight came TO Suffolk and
listened for four hours to nine ad
dresses on progressive farming and
better conditions of rural life by dis
ttngutshed speakers went 1900 strong
TO the high school and partook OF !.
most excellent dinner. as the guests OF
the Suffolk business men. met ana
mingled with the business men. ana
went home with feeling OF closer re-
,ationship with Suffolk and with in
creased interest In and knowledge OF
better farming
How was it done? First OF all the
main credit for devisins the conven-
ton and getting 1T mp must go 10 NJ
walter Joyner chairman OF the en-
tertatnment committee, who was the
particular live wire In making the.
congress n thorough success. He went
10 the business men OF Suffolk eN-
planned his idea OF having the meet
Ing and dinner, and asked each for :,
small and reasonable contributions.
They at once the benefits that,
would flow to the city from such an
event and so from ninety-two firms
and persons was collected SlSS.91. The
largest contribution was S766. There
were many of 81 and 81. One firm
gave free use of china and glassware,
local bakery supplied half Of the
bread, and another the corn bread u
local hotel cooked the shad free OF
charge, a local business man gave the
lumber for the tables. and another
hotel cooked the hams. The school
authorities gladly granted the use or
the high scool building for the dinner.
y citizen allowed the use OF his pot
for the cooking Of the oysters, an
other gave load OF wood. the SUI
folk Herald printed the programs. n
bakery gave the use OF paper plates,
loaned 1t for the congress-
| The speakers for the meeting were
easily secured. Governor Mann repre-
/ sented the state. Dr. Roy X. Flanagan
| came from the Virginia Department or
| Health DIR. 5. K Fletcher represented
the Virginia State Agricultural EN-
pertinent station at V. p L.. AIR. La
| Baum OF the Norfolk and western
| Railway and Mr.. Graybiu, OF the
Snt !, Dlil
respective railroads. and Commissioners
Koiner came for the Virginia Depart
ment Of Agriculture.
The best result OF the meeting was
/ that ii carried home the conviction
| 10 hundreds OF farmers that the city
| of suffolk is interested in their greater
welfare, and realizes that its prosper
| ity is inseparably bound up with that
| OF the great farming district around
| 1t. suffolk felt that. as one OF the
| largest communities In the section, II
was tho logical and inevitable meet
! ing place for the farmers, and met Its
/ duty and opportunity. 1t knew that
I II could aid the development or
! farming BY getting the farmers to-
gether to accept the city's hospitality
and listen to informing and Instructive
! addresses. 1t contains enough wide
awake business men to get up such n
not exist In the case OF smaller com
munities, which would not be able TO
collect enough money for the ex-
| penses necessary 10 the holding OF
| such n Farmers Congress representa-
tive OF four counties.
Why Is It that more Virginia cities
do not pursue this plan? There are
plenty Of other municipalities as large
! as Suffolk, and many much larger
I t,l, l,o ltl al \,
terprise- Tho most common cause for
such inactivity is that there is no per-
son who Is willing 10 undertake ana
carry through such a meeting. or that
there is no local commercial body sur
iciently alive TO do II. More Joyners
are needed. some who will willingly
and cheerfully give time and labor
from their own businesses TO get up
farmers congresses.
Another notable and helpful feature
OF the suffolk meeting was that IL
came right upon the heels OF dis
trict teachers meeting and the corn
club boys and the school boys and
girls who are accomplishing things
in other lines. the farmers and their
wives were all brought together ar
the same time. The relation CT the
school TO the farm was emphasized in
such u way that IL must have TN
any one OF the three meetings.
There has been since the congress
such a revival OF Interest in farming
that the Nansemond County farmers
and Suffolk business men arc contem-
plating the e-establishment OF an an
uual county fair. 1t is TO be q cons
bined school and county fair Options
on forty acres OF land on the Norfolk
and Southern Road. near Suffolk, have
been secured. The location is ideal,
and the proposed site so spacious that
mile track could easily be laid ont
in it. The owners OF the land Will
sell for cost, and accept stock in the
fair as the compensation. Transpor
tation facilities could readily be ar
ranged. There is already an active
movement to make the county fair q
permanent proposition.
The business men OF Suffolk have
demonstrated how city can help
promote agricultural development
without great outlay upon anyone, but
with Initiative and confidence IN the
1 hnlfng tbat Tho cit and country rPnx-