McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1916-11-17

naut of progress, and may their
moral and physical worth still temper
the ambition of their descendants
who still, fortunately, hold character
as something more important than
wealth. and honesty and piety as Of
more worth than great riches.
But to-day, while we still honor the
early settlers of McNairy, and our
ancestors whose blood flows in our
veins, we must set our faces to the
future. and help lay the foundations
of solid prosperity for our people of
to-day and our descendants that are
to take our place. The county of
McNairy has always since its organ
ization supported good population,
but many of them have gone, and are
still going, to other places in search
Of wealth and position. The great
question now is: How are we going
to keep our people here, and add to
the present population by inducing
other to come? What are we going
| 10 do with these broad acres in order
to make the best use of the land and
the climate with which this section
has abundantly been blessed? Shall
more cotton. corn, or other farm pro-
ducts be planted? Or shall new re-
sources be developed?
know what some Of my old friends
will say: "0h, yes. the boy means
we'll, and thinks he knows it all, but
he can't come down here every five or
ten years from the great city and tell
US how to run our farms. We don't
want any book farming here; we
know how to run our farms by prac-
tical experience, and don't want to
hear any theories" Well, it may be
natural for them to think that way,
but lots of them feel, nevertheless,
that they are not exactly on the right
track, and would like to know how
to better their output from the farm,
and make more and surer money with
less labor, and, above all, to keep
their best boys and girls from going
away to seek their luck elsewhere.
Some of the wisest and most prac-
tical McNairians with whom | have
been talking agree that the raising
of first-class live stock is the best and
most promising field for the McNairy
farmer at the present time. They re-
alize that the cotton bell weevil is a
very present menace to the favorite
money crop of McNairy, and that
twenty cent cotton will not do to de-
pend on. A great strike or a monop-
oily for war purposes Of the transpor-
tation systems would knock the bot
tom out of the best cotton market;
the white staple would pile up under
the sheds, and it could not be eaten.
Corn. meat and eggs-they are the
great staples to tie to, and let things
come as they may, these things are
safe to raise.
No naturally good stock-growing
country like that of McNairy has
such cheap lands; farms that are
well watered. near to market. and
that can bring all the feed necessary
to raise the finest cattle hogs and
poultry in the South. | have walked
to-day over miles Of grand farm lands
near Selmer, through which never
failing springfield streamlets wend
their crystal course. and on which,
without manuring, the tall stalks Of
corn hang heavy with big ears. /
can see, in my minds eye, big herds
Of fat polled Angus cows and steers,
droves of big Berkshire pigs. and
thousands of snow-white Leghorn
pullets decorating these hillsides and
rich bottoms, and carloads of choice
products Of the biggest atock farm in
Tennessee moving from Selmer to the
great markets in the North and West
| can see lots of well-dressed pros
pectors alighting from the trains and
enquiring the way to that stock farm,
and to the real estate Office where
some more of that stock-raising land
can be bought. can imagine the
swelling bank deposits, the increasing
number of handsome dwellings, and
stores, and the improved roads and
schools of the county; the long en-
thusiastic articles in the big stock
journals about what McNairy is doing
for the live stock market, and the
STEADY increase in value of all farm