Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-03
HELPING THE FARMER.

Almost from time 1mmemOrldl tue
farmer has been the recipient of much
free advice from the man in town and
at the newspaper desk. He has been
told how to do almost every conceiv-
able thing.
In most glowing terms he has been
told of the enviable position he Occu-
pies in life and how much the welfare
OF the country depends upon his sue
cess, Boquets in endless profusion
have been thrown at him as the horny
handed son of toll, the fellow who
rocks the cradle of commerce and
keeps the wheels of progress moving.
He has been told exactly how to run
his business so that he could get on in
innate terms with the elusive and skit-
fish American dollar. He has been
told how to feed his dogs, swat the
flies, milk his COWS, curry his horses,
plant his seed, in fact everything there
is to do on the farm. He has been ad-
vised to keep his boys and girls on the
farm. Picturing to him the noble life
of the farmer, emphasizing him as the
mainstay of human progress and the
one cornerstone of pure and elevating
society. He has been warned against
killing calves, planting untested seed,
signing papers for passing strangers
and denying himself the luxury of
bath tubs, pianos, automobiles and the
like
1t has been pointed out to him that
starvation would surely soon overtake
this great republic unless he made
two blades of grass grow where only
one grew before and otherwise speed
up the yield of the various products
produceable on his land. In short
he has been urged, commanded and
rathetically importuned to tickle his
soil into greater abundance that the
9orld might continue to exist.
One thing however has been over
looked and perhaps selfishly so, and
that is no particular interest has been
Shown the farmer looking to a proper
distribution of his crops or the mark
citing of same. The lack of this inter-
est in him and his welfare is perhaps
the reason he has gone on in a
way heedlessly ignoring the volumes
of advice handed out to him so gratui-
tously.
There is no denying the fact that
the marketing of his products is the
greatest problem that faces the farmer
today, and until something is done for
him along this line his condition will
remain practically the same as it is
now. The fact cannot be gainsaid that
the present system of marketing is
cumbersome and unyielding, it is ex-
pensive and inadequate and there is no
good reason why it should not be
remedied and made more conducive to
the Welfare and prosperity of our farm
or friends. There is no doubt but that
the farmer could and would increase
the yield of his land if market condi-
tl0ns were improved and so fixed as
that he would get fair price for the
Increased yield of farm products. The
farmer without doubt recognizes the
fact that only by increased yield can
he hope to increase his earnings. At
the same time he is slow to follow the
advice of his many advisers, because of
doubt of their understanding his
problems, or that they are not sincere.
ard so here the matter stands.
| To our mind the sum and substance
of the whole thing is that the farmers
will never get the things they need
until they help themselves. In short
+ they must organize, and when they
have organized they must stand
shoulder to shoulder, working together
in common cause to the end that
their problems may be satisfactorily
met and for the good of the whole
/ country There are many who will ac-
eept advice given them by others, but
taey must build the highways of their
! own progress and with tbair oup