The Washington times., 1917-10-02

! Consumer III bOnOOn IntTt Is no LlAa-
dleman. Handling charges are re-
/ duced to the minimum. The gain
goes to the producer in the shape of
almost the full price, and to the
consumer in the shape OF reduced
cost.
The cooperative farmers associA-
tion OF Denmark buys saltpeter and
nitrates in Chile by the shIpload, and
, distributes them as they are loaded
! in carload lots to the cooperative as
! sociations in every village at hand
/ ling charge that is almost Insight
! ficantly small. This is the right way
for farmers to organize.
Examples OF what is done In for
eign lands are OF great use; yet We
must always adapt them to our own
needs, and not merely copy them;
for no scheme of national betterment
| can succeed unless 1t takes into ac-
counts national characteristics. Ex-
periments in our own country there
fore have a peculiar guidance value
for us. For this reason those inter
ested in the problem of farm life
can we'll afford to pay some atten-
| tion to what is a. this moment be-
ing done in the Sandhill district OF
central North Carolina.
This is district of sandy, and
rather easily exhausted, soil. 1t was
settled in the micdle OF the eight
eenth century. chiefly by Highland
Scotch. 1t was then covered with
valuable pine forest, and there was
good, natural pasture. The people
worked at numbering and raised cat
tie.
Gradually the timber. was cut OF,
and the wild pasture gra1ed out-in
our usual wasteful fashion. A rather
poor type Of tillage was left-cotton
and tobacco being the best crops. The
people were Of fine stock; but the
schools were poor, the land was poor,
the methods OF farming were poor,
the roads were bad, life was hard and
fiattened and joyless, and there was
no idea OF cooperation among the
farmers-or indeed among the towns
men.
Then, a score OF years ago, there be-
gan to be an uneasy consciousness
that things were going backward
rather than forward, and that some
Joint effort must be made or there
would be complete dry rot. The ef-
fort was begun. with the usual pre-
liminary struggles and failures. En-
thusiastic reformers attempted to
better matters by wrong-headed ac-
tion: and "hard-headed, practical men"
sourly refused to take part in any ac-
tion at all. But gradually leaders
were developed. Gradually wisdom
grew out of the soil of disheartening
experience.
Board of Trade Executive Head.
The first concerted effort at Joint
action. made under the lead of half a
dozen public-spirited citizens, was an
attempted organization confined to the
farmers-the cotton. the fruit, and to-
bacco growers. The objects were to
solve the marketing problem, to de-
wise system of rural credit for the
small farmer, and to spread better
knowledge OF agricultural methods.
This effort failed, one prime cause
OF the failure being the fact that the
townspeople OF the section, the 1ner-
chants, and business men who were
In reality just as vitality interested in
the agricultural prosperity of the sec
tion as the farmers themselves. were
not asked to join. They had more
ready money than the farmers. they
were more accustomed to act together
and were better acquainted with the
outside world, and It was found that
their help was essential
So tho organization was transform
cd into a board OF trade, which was
pledged to promote the deveIopment
OF the section as whole and the
interests OF all classes OF its citizens.
II Is composed OF farmers. mercba1f.
dOctors-all the leading citizens Nv
Its activities II has shown that n
represents the organized SandhIlI
community, covering an area as large
as Rhode Island and having a popu-
lation OF some 10000 souls.
The board Of trade works in prao-
tical fashion, which means that while
II tries to educate the people TO their
real needs. It also commands their
confidence by meeting the-usuaIIv
less important-needs to which they
are fully awake. Therefore II adver-
tlses fuiiy-but honestly-the advan-
tage OF the SandhiIls region for sat-
tiers and has been instrumental in
getting a number to come in.
II II did only this II would be no
more important than a thousand other
local advertising committees. n n
did not do this II would soon ceas.
to appeal to the ordinary man. ana
would sink into the well-meaninE i'm
potence Of so many "highbrow" asso-
Citations for q species OF uplIft which
the average man does not regard a.
pAaNNASoL inns OOdTu is a practical |
organization with intelligentIy high
purposes. No organization can Iast
long enough even to make a begin
ming In doing practical good 10 m.
people unless II is practIcal. and
unless II actually functions instead n, |
combining Itself to manIfestoes and ad-
vice. Great is the persuasive power
OF concrete action!
Working Out Two Problems
The people OF the district are work
ing out the two problems OF schooIs
and health work. These two prob ]
lens are, OF course, themselves mere
~ portions OF the greater problem or !
securing in our struggling, IndivIdu- !
alistic country democracy the proper
regulation by coherent community CO. |
operation and self-control. In other
words, our AFFAIR Is to get our de- |
mocracy to discipline itself; q dim |
cult task, but essential to perform II |
we are to become a really great |
nation.
The Derby Memorial School in the
Sandhills represents the consolidation
of three small, struggling backwoods |
schools. There are now over $50 |
pupils In the school: those that live
moro than two and one-half miles
away are transported In cheap motors |
at a cost OF 8 cents per child per day,
The school Is an excellent school
not markedly different from other |
hrst class country schools in different