The Prescott daily news., 1914-12-05
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
 WRITES TO NEGRO FARMERS
President of Tuskegee Institute Ad- dresses Second Communication Advising Disseminating the
 Growing of Cotton.
Editor, The News,
 Prescott, Arkansas.

l Some time ago, through our South
 ern papers, 1 made suggestion that
 each Negro :lmily raise one or nor,
 additional pigs this year in order to help bring about more prosperity In the South have been surprised to
 note how well the suggestion has been
 received, and how many are following ! it; one minister in Uniontown, Ala,
 went so far as to organize a Pig Club
 in his church.
 1 Now, 1 want to make one other sug-
 gestion, that, in my opinion, is of still
 greater and more practical impor- tance. For months the great cry has been all through the South to stop
 growing cotton or reduce the acreage. Chambers of Commerce, Business
 Leagues, State Legislatures, and
 other bodies have passed resolutions
 without number urging that we in the South stop growing so much cotton.
 To stop growing cotton is very easy; in fact it is always easy to stop work,
 but merely to stop growing cotton is
 mere negative proposition and will
 not 1 fear, leave the South much bet
 ter off than it is at present. If we destroy, or cripple great industry, we should be very sure to have one,
 or number of equally good to put in l its place. In addition it should be kept in mind as a matter of great i'm portance, that if the labor once leaves the farm by reason of changing crops it will be very difficult to get the labor
 to return to the farm in after years.
 The great cry is to grow food crops.
 That is well, but one must keep in mind that the geat masses of Negroes who have actually grown the most of the cotton in the South for years, and who live upon the most valuable land in the South do not hear of the resolutions that are passed by these
 various bodies. These peiople have
 been trained to grow nothing but cot
 ton and do not know how to grow
 anything else, In fact, in many cases they have not been permitted and are
 not now permitted to grow anything else
 We must also bear in mind that the largest land owners seldom visit their plantations--some not more than once or twice a year, and hence can be of little service in teaching these Negro tenants how to change all at once from a cotton producing crop to
 food producing crop.
 If permanent results are to be se- cured, the Negro who actually culti- yates the land must be reached and trained into growing food-produc- ing crop. How can this be done? My answer would be, by putting Negro Farm Demonstration Agent into ev-
 CT county of the South where there is any considerable number of Negro farmers. This Negro Demonstration Agent should be a man of good com mon sense. He should be man who knows the characteristics of the col
 ored people, who knows how to reach them in and through their societies, their churches and their various or ganiZatiOns of one kind or another. He should be a man required to travel from one farm to another throughout
 the country training the Negro farm
 CT how to produce a food crop. Where
 ever these Demonstration Agents
 have already been at work in the
 South, they have done work which has been most helpful and commendable.
 If this important work is to be done, no time should be lost in selecting these demonstration agents. The cost should not be very large. Either through county appropriations or from some part of the State funds ap- propriated for agricultural purposes, portion of the money for the salary perhaps could be provided. Appro- priations are also being made by the
 United States Government to encou- rage and promote various kinds of agricultural work. Some part of this money, l feel sure, might be secured from the Smith-Lever Fund or from the United States Demonstration Fund administered through Dr. Brad ford Knapp. While I am not in posi- ton to suggest just where the money may be secured, think that if an earnest effort is made, some portion of it can be secured from some of the