The farmer and mechanic., 1915-04-20
LIVE, STOCK---THE
SOUTH'S SALVATION
Can Address Delivered by George A. Holderness, OF
Tarboro, Thursday Night April Is, at the Annual
Ranm1et of the Wilson Chamber of Commerce.

but To the one VINO mas given IL
thought its potentialities are some
thing wonderful. 1t can create from
a country of profit this year ana
bankruptcy next year, wealth that
stavs with YOU; it can change a peo-
ple of dissatisfied tenant farmers to
happy land owning families; it gives
he merchant cash customers Tor
twelve months in the year instead OF
for six; il can make for the banker
large deposits the year around, ana
il can create for the farmer SOIL
reserve that will honor the drafts OF
his children. 1t can do all these
things because live stock on the farm
also means diversified farming. TO
the sections of one crop. he it cotton,
corn or grain, Eastern North Carolina
would appear to be blessed with dl-
verstied crops, and when one con-
siders the splendid productions OF to-
bacco, cotton and peanuts. 1t appears
futile to argue further on the SUBJECT,
but for some unaccOuntaDle reason
the wealth produced by these great
crops does not seem to stay with US,
and their exclusive production GER
tainly tends towards our present syS-
tenn of tenant farming. No sane man
would urge the average farmer TO
abandon these crops. They shouio
continue to be part of his production,
but their acreage should be reduced
and part of it devoted to the produc-
ton of live stock. Let the farmer
grow his tobacco, cotton and peanuts
to sell in August, September, october,
November and December: his beef
cattle. for February, March, Aprl!
and May; his lambs, for June end
July; and his hogs, butter and milk,
TO sell the year around.
Go to any farm in your county
which is producing live stock and tell
me if you do no. find a more intelli
gent class Of labor. When our full
possibilities in the way of production
Of live stock are demonstrated We
will attract then the best class of Ia
Dor, class which will not be salts
fed to remain as tenants or hireC
hands, but will have the ambition tt
own land, and when this desire ex
lists, sooner OF later, it succeeds II
gratifying itself.
One of the greatest drawbacks t.
the upbuilding of any county is tn
ownership of its farming lands o
city or town landlords. No count
can attain its greatest degree o
wealth or furnish it's best class o
citizenship that is titled largely b.
tenants. This is a criticism Of my
self and my county but we canno
get away from it.
If the results of introducing liv
stock more largelysnOn our farms ha
no other effect than to lead to the en-
OF the tenant system, and mean
nothing else than that every man VIII
farms lives on his farm. the resu
would at least be better citizenship
something we are striving for. and "
then can we'll say. Live Stock-tf
Salvation Of the South" The chang
from the tenant system to farm OWL
ership will necessarily be gradua
but the section that accOmpliSheS
first will make the most rapid strid'
towards wealth, and IN that sectio
mark my words you will hnd tn
it's increases in live stock has ke
pace with its steps towards pro
perity.
In any business or profession, II
creation of wealth Is brought abO
by receiving more than is paid o,
Gross receipts do not count. 1t is u
net gain that makes the wealth. w
son county is the sixth in the State
it's per acre crop yield. $3.50.
handsome sum, but with this lar
return per acre your farmers ha
not been able to accumulate t
amount of wealth that such an i
come would indicate. Your per capl
country wealth is 1877 and you a
ninety-fourth in the number Of cat
acres.
Now follow me to another cOun
county without railroads, but wi
eighty cattle to each thousand acr
where the lack Of transportation pt
haps~ha forced them into live stoC
county that produces no cotton
peanuts and very little tobacco, a
whose per acre production is
smallest OF any county in the Sta
$4.S3. and still the net gain from Z
insignificant amount has been su
cient to create a per capita coun
wealth Of $3.50, the largest of a
county in the State. This is Allegha
county, county in which only l
per cent of its farmers are tenaI
While in your. county 69.1 per G.
OF your farms are occupied and til
by tenants. To bring the matter. m
directly home to you, I have IN;
these comparisons with your cour
but they apply with equal force to
county and practically all OF
counties Of the South that do not
d1cn live ,fn or otpffq