The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-09-01
THE CASE FOR THE FARMER.
Address of Judge Robert w. Winston Before the North
Carolina Farmers Convention at Raleigh, August
TWenty-Seventh
TWenty-Seventh

ShOulu make loans on
farm lands at all, if so o it should
go about it.
III latest census shows that the
PROSPEROUS States Of Ohio, Indiana
and Missouri had fewer people upon
the farms in the year 1910 than there
were i'm the year 1900 and that in
vas a practical standstill of the opu
lation upon the farms during the same
period. 1t will perhaps surprise you
to know that the State of North
Carolina during these ten years in
creased In its city population fifty
three per cent, while the increase in
it's country population was only twelve
per cent. William c. Hunt, chief sta
tistician for population in a bulletin
entitled: Number and Distribution
Of Inhabitants" shows h a u cities
and towns, taken as a whole, are rap
idly growing in population at the ex-
pense of the country districts. In
1880 seventy per cent Of the popula-
ton Of the United States was living
upon the farm and only thirty per
cent in the cities. In 1910, SO rapidly
had the cities grown that the popula-
ton was divided about half and half
between city and country. If this rate
continues for twenty-five years ninety
per cent of the voters will be living
In cities and only ten per cent IN the
country districts; and the reinS OF
government will have passed from the
man who owns the soil to the man
who has no interest in the same and
who lives in the cities. This cOndi-
ton of affairs calls aioud to US for a
change
People.
This subject concerns us Of the
South more vitality han other sec
tions because of the necessity Of con-
Serving our white civilization and Of
the danger of our lands passing into
the hands Of negro owners. Says Clar-
ence Poe:
las a result of these conditions the
facts are-(and they remain facts
whether we ignore them or not)-that
in every Southern State east of the
Mississippi, except Florida, the per-
centage Of negroes OF the farms is
increasing; the negroes are gaining on
the white proportionately and rural
districts are becoming blacker instead
OF whittier. Moreover, not only are
the rural sections of the South get
ting blacker instead of whittier, but
the negroes are gaining most rapidly
in farm ownership OF per cent gain
in negro ownership to IL per cent in
white), while-most sinister fact OF
ALT is h white farmers who are
fastest becoming tenant class (1SS,-
600 gain in white tenants or 27 pei
cent and only $4,000 gain in negro
tenants, or 81 per cent?.
American Agriculture Behind the
Times.
DR.. Wiley says that in agriculture
We are 80 years behind Europe anC
that the better utilization of our farm
resources is one of the most import.
ant problems before the country. Acr,
for acre We are producing less thar
any nation on earth except Russia
We are beginning to buy our meats
from South America and our bread
stuffs from Canada. We have NOR
waste and idle land than any natio1
on earth. In Europe the averag
farm contains from fifteen to twent
acres, while in America the averag
farm contains more than one hun
dred acres. Ambitious and enter
prising families are leaving the farm
and rushing to the towns. The arm
of producers grow smaller and small
er, the army of consumers multiple
daily. In manufacture, in commerce
in railroads America leads the worlS
but not so in agriculture. In tn
matter of fostering n en~couragin
agriculture the policy of our nationf
government has been that of "dC
nothing" In this respect we have TO
lowed the example of England. Ems
land and America have been confer
to build UP factories and great mar
of commerce, so that it has come
pass hat London, Liverpool and Ne
York are are the mistresses of tt
commercial world, but both of thes
nations have neglected agriculture.
Agriculture Disseminated Against
Until recently there have been 1
colleges or schools in which farmir
is taught and no experiment station
n to this day, there is no intelligel
financial system built upon the far
as the basis of credits.
Until the passage of the region
bank act, it was a violation of the la
for a government bank to tax a NOR
gage upon real estate at all. Wher
as more h fifty years ago COVER
ment banks had been established
france based upon farm and as S
curity, and other continental countr
had followed her example with SUI
CESS. But for the troubles in Mexi
it is probable that President wills,
would have urged upon Congress t
passage of a bill at this session G