The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-12-20
STANLY COUNTY AND THE
BANKHEAD LAW

Two counties in North Carolina Vote1
against the continuance of the Bankhead
law. One of these was Caswell, where
only 10 votes were cast, and the other was
iStanly, where more than half the farmers
voted and the result was two to one de-
feat for the Bankhead act.
The Times-News does not mention the
matter for the purpose of continuing the
discussion of the Bankhead law, but in Or
ider to cause our public to direct attention
to Stanly county for few moments. The
,Albemarle News and Press gives its views
las to why a majority of Stanly farmers OBJ
pose the Bankhead law. That is the very
interesting matter which engages our at
itention. The News and Press says:
"Stanly is a county of small, individual farmers
who-irave been accustomed to making living out
of the soil in the manner they think best. AS own
ers of farms, they are inclined to look upon them
as their own, to do as they please with them They
are hard workers, and their families work hard
The same kind of farming is not carried on IN
this county as in other sections of this state and
IN other cotton states. There we find large farms
seQlClNated Oy tenants where the COTTON crops are
counted by the hundreds and thousands of bales
Here in this county, approximately 5000 farmers
are going to make less than 5000 bales this year."
Stanly is a county of small farmers, who
s0wn and cultivate their own lands Like
the pioneer stock of this country, they are
Willing and able to take care of them
Selves They are hard workers, we are in
formed by their county newspaper; and
that they are successful workers is attest
ed by all reports of economic and business
conditions coming from the county. AS we
remember the record, Stanly has asked
and received less relief from the gov
eminent than any other North Carolina
county. Throughout the depression STAN
ly's population has been in an indepen-
dent, self-Supporting position; and general
conditions in the county have been as
good, or better, than in any other county.
1t is a pleasure for The Times-News to
hold Stanly county up as an example to
the other SO counties of North Carolina,
not as a county that opposed the Bank
head law, but as a county that is inhabit-
ed by independent, intelligent, hard work
ing people who have the old fashioned
American character and spirit. Stanly
people do not propose to lean on the gov
eminent; they do not need or accept cod
ding; they do not get cold feet every time
an emergency arises and "holler" for help
No doubt, they believe it is the duty and
privilege of the people las Grover Cleve-
land stated the case) to support the gov
srnmnt, not the obligation of the govern
tnent to support the people.
Enduring prosperity in the South could
be (note that we say it could be done)
based en- system of farming similar to
Che Stanly system, if it was planned and
executed by a population similar to the
Stanly people. That would mean the elm
nation in large measure of the curse of
southern agriculture, TENANTRY, and
The discarding of one-crop system OF
farming for a diversified and sanely bal
cotton surpluses; and, as far as southern
agriculture is concerned, would eliminate
al the soft jobs for controlling and cod
ding the tillers of the soil. The last named
development would be highly unsatisfac.
tory, and would be resisted to the bitter
end, by a horde, of government barnacles
but to be able to trade these fellows for
system that would be a guarantee of fu