The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1915-02-13
COOPERATION IN THE SOUTH
Farmers Are Thoroughly Aroused and
Are Devising Ways and Means
to Help One Another.


1t has been a favorite saying with
us for good many years that the
average man land we might add,
woman, whether on the farm or in
town, won't do what he knows in his
heart he ought to do, until he has to-
or until circumstances compel him TO.
Individually, We won't even consult
a doctor until we are really sick, and
meanwhile keep up manner of living
that our better judgment should teach
us will inevitably result in a call Tor
the doctor and serious illness.
Several illustrations of this general
truth come to mind. Take, for exam
pie, the farmers of the South. They
have been going for many years
against the advice of the agricultural
papers, of every teacher of agricul-
ture, and of the leaders or the farm
demonstration work. None of these
classes could foresee this war; but
they could foresee the end of the pros
perity OF southern farmers, though no
one could tell when it would end.
Now they are doing what they have
been advised to do by every person
whose advice was worth listening to;
and in doing so they are forced to CO.
operate in various ways. The whole
South is thoroughly walked up. They
are devising ways, all of which neces-
state more or less cooperation, not
cooperative society-but cooperation.
They are calling special meetings OF
the legislatures. Some are advocating
the reduction of crop area by law;
others, and we think more wisely, by
the active cooperation of the farmers,
each agreeing to cut down his area a
| certain per cent. Some are presenting
| petitions to the members Of the legis-
latures and of congress. All involve
cooperation, and without cooperation
of some kind nothing can be done.
The agricultural press, the expert
ment stations, and the United States
department of agriculture have been
teaching better methods of farming.
Here and there an individual grasped
the ideas and put them in practice
1--WE speak now of general farming);
but the counties where farmers got
together and co-operated in employ
ing advisers, and did not stint their
money, are getting ahead much faster
than counties where each man works
out his own agricultural salvation. 1t
is only by farmers working together
whether we call it cooperation or not
that they can achieve any marked sue
cess; but the man who has studied hui
man nature understands that farmers
will not do 1t until circumstances COM
pei them to do so. This is enforced
cooperation.
So long as every farmer kept a few
cows, and MIXED them, and his wife
made butter and traded it at the store,
we never got anywhere. Our butter
was of all sorts and colors and fiavors,
and only the best of it was sold for
what it was worth. Now that we have
creameries, we have demonstrated to
the world that the corn belt can make
first-class butter and as much of 1t as
can be found anywhere in the world.
Take it in another line-the breed
ing of live stock. Breeders are begin
ming to understand that they can sue
coed only by sort of cooperation.
They group themselves together at
some point with good railroad con-
nections, and then, instead of COM
peting with each other, they cooper.
ate-co-operate in the use of sires, Co
operate in advertising, cooperate in
selling. They have found out that
farmers in search of improved live
stock go to some point where there
are a number of herds of the breed
they want; and the various owners
find out that 1t is not wise for them
to do their very best to sell their own
animals, but that it pays to help their
neighbors to sell by pointing out the
best points of their own stock and
helping visitors to see the stock oil
their neighbors also. In this way they
succeed. 1t Is difficult for any man
with any breed of live stock to sue
coed. where he is alone and does not
have the cooperation and support and
help of his neighbors. In fact. wher
we begin to cooperate in any line, We
begin to succeed. Until we do that
we usually find 1t hard shedding IL
these days.-Wallace's Farmer.