The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, 1921-11-02


mer needs now is not more advice,
but assistance of a practical nature;
and this assistance must come from
the business men of our State, or else
they, as we'll as the farmers, are going
to have a rough road to travel for the
next four or five years. The pros
rerity of our merchants, our banks,
our professional men, and in fact
every kind of business, depends al
most wholly upon the farmer. When
he prospers all business pulses with
the vigor of new life. When he fails,
then all other business goes down
also.
If the above observations be true
then from the standpoint of self-pre-
servation, if from no other, it is to
the interest of our business and pro-
fessional men to stand by the farm
er and keep him on his feet if it is
humanity possible to do so. My views
as to how such assistance is to be
given him, purpose to get out IN
this letter. At this point I wish to
say that the small farmer-black, as
well as white, the one, two and three
horse men, are those to whom our
main attention should be directed.
The large farmer as a rule, can take
care Of himself. The great mass of
our farm products have come from
the small farmer.
In the first place, it will not do to
refuse him credit entirely. In this re-
spect good judgment and discretion,
of course, must be used; but what
business house in Aiken, or what
bank, as to that matter, could stand
the shock of having credit absolutely
withdrawn from it. If under such
conditions a business house or bank
cannot survive, is it reasonable to as
su1ne that the farmer can. Certainly
not. In the second place, what the
farmer needs most now is a market
for his products other than cotton,
and this must be provided by the
business men of our city. He doesn't
need any more advice at present. But
with him there is now crying need
for this market. In my humble
Judgment if he doesn't get 1t soon,
there will be many mercantile places
Of business closed in the next few
years. The farmer is not going to
create or find it for himself, because
he is not a business man. If it is
found for him, then no more time and
effort need be wasted in advising and
urging hi INTO sdiversify.' He will
not do so without it; and I might add
also no more advice need be given
him in case no market is found, for
in such case he will be fool to raise
more Of these things than he could
use on his own farm and have them
rot on his hands or be destroyed by
insects. But, I heard a man say some
time back, First get the farmer to
raisel these things and then we will go
after the market" Would any mer
chant fill his store with goods on any
such basis? Not if he has any busi-
ness sense. There is now on the farms
of our. County, or at least great
many Of them, a surplus OF farm
products, which the farmers would
sell if there were a market. Not any
huge amount it may be, but ready
market for such as they have on hand
now would go a long way towards
helping them through the winter; and
when he finds he can haul to Aiken
wagon load of corn, velvet beans,
sweet potatoes, oats, peanuts, hay,
and other things produced on his
farm, and sell them just as readily as
he formerly could sell bale of cot
ton, and at fair price, then he will
produce more and more of such crops,
and the life blood Of business will
again SO pulsing through our arteries
Of trade, an dthe smile will again sit
upon the countenances Of our bank
presidents.
What I have said above as to the
products OF the soil applies equally
TO livestock IS I have already
statcd, q greet many hogs are now
raised in our County; but the num-
Der would multiply many times if
there was a ready market for them.
The problem then, to my mind, is
clearly one Of marketing, which, as
have said above, will have 20 be
;clvcd by our business men. There