The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-08-08

Sa a3SioNS tNSoA--F icO3 SSSisC
By w. G. HUTTON, in F
Agriculture is a restless industry,
it's followers being tossed about as
is sand tossed by the sea. This is
not good.
The drifting farmer, always ready
to seek out greener fields, usually is
the man who desires a mere living
with the least expenditure of energy,
But there are many in the older
states of the nation who for good
cause are reaching out for new fields
to conquer. The increasing price of
land, necessity for climatic change
because of the condition of health
of some member of the family, the
natural overplus of citizenship in the
older settled states, these and doz-
ems of other valid reasons have
served to populate the newer states
of the west with the right kind of
people, some of the salt of the earth
to temper the restlessness of the ma
tural drifter, the unsatisfied pioneer,
the seeker after the new Eldorado
But now the field for such drifting
is greatly restricted. The best home
steads long have been gathered to
the bosoms of the better farmers
and have become real and high
priced property. There are left the
waste places, the broad prairies of
the semiarid sections of the west,
the lands that are being brought in
to their own through irrigation. Dry
farming in its uncertain way is devel-
oping wide areas, according to the
determination and grit of the men
who are handling the land. Canada
has drawn it's hordes from the Unit
ed States, and now the flag of our
fathers and the more congeniaI eli
mate of our native country are draw
ing at least a part of them back.
Thus may We appreciate in part
the shifting nature of the farmers of
nation,
/ have never advocated a man quit
ting a satisfactory location for the
uncertainty Of some other location,
no matter how alluring it is painted,
but I do believe every man who sees
small opportunity for betterment Of
self in surroundings of Years should
try to discover the reason. If the
trouble is internal he would just as
well stay where he is. If he can
conscientiously believe his interests
lie elsewhere he should move, but
before taking the step he should be
certain of all of the conditions on
the other side OF the horizon. There
are thousands Of honest land men
and companies, but on the other
balance of the scales there are thou
sands of dishonest ones.
If you must move be certain you
are moving in the right direction.
I have seen colonization and lmml-
grafton schemes in many states,
many based On attractive conditions,
some on fraud; but never before
have I seen a state with such at
fractions of soil, climate, citizenship,
means of transportation, length OF
growing and grazing season, and
with such slight exploitation among
the seekers for new homes as exists
in one of our oldest southern states,
a commonwealth made when nature
was in a gracious mood, and state
which has had shoWered upon it the
great gifts of nature since the CONT
nents were formed out of the Seas
and the great Mississippi and her
feeders, the Red, Arkansas, Missouri,
Ohio, began depositing silt soil OF
the north, the west and the eastland
within her borders.
The shifting mouth of the Missis-
sippi has for ages, until mastered and
made stationary by the devices OF
man, been swinging back and forth
along the Gulf, building soil the
richness of which probably is not
equaled on the face of the earth in
extent and accessibility.
Louisiana is this favored state, ana
her people have allowed the common
wealth to lie sleeping under the
balmy sun of plenty and easy living.
The boil weevil shocked some of the
people into a knowledge that no
country can depend on single crop
ping. but the real awakening came
when, as one of the residents ex-
presses it, the government withdrew
from it's partnership with the state
through it's tariff legislation in the
matter of sugar. Then did a great
state come to a realization that as a
whole it knew but few of the turns
of agriculture and that she must
know all if she continues to prosper.
This knowledge sounded the knell
of the "a niger, a mule and pow
type of farming.
Now, very empire in itself, Lou
isiana is holding out her hands in
supplication to the north and east
and west for progressive farmers TO
come and people her acres. This oy
no means indicates the cry OF pow
erty-stricken people. It is the mere
acknowledgment ac that she must
change her system of farming.
Where one plantation bloomed be
fore. a dozen, 20, SO farms devoted
to general and stock farming must
exist in the future
It not only means continuation IN
the culture of cotton, rice and cane,
but the addition of other staple
crops and the raising Of stock to con
sume the crops. That the situation
be not misunderstood some explana'
tion is necessary regarding the op
en-armed welcome awaiting the farm
ers of the north.
The people of Louisiana were hard
hit by the war and in their compla'
cent Way have been drifting. Nex1
the enormous lumber Industry Of the
state. is bringing thousands Of acres
| of rich land within reach OF the p1oN
each year, the boil Weevil contrib but
i - 4. :, ,.4 4E,s, ,nancsstr ~ fyar. hard