Year: 1872

Signs Of the Times.


A private letter from a valued
friend in Marshall county contains
ideas, and suggests to US thoughts
and facts which at this particular
season may be interesting and per-
haps valuzble to some Of our far


mer friends. The letter referred to
deplores the .persisteucy with which
our farmers stick to the planting Of
cottoR, aud the writer deduces
therefrom the conclusion that corn,
pork, etc. win be scarce and high
the coming season. lie doubts,
and with. great propriety, the poll
cyof growing cotton at all in Mid
die Tennessee, and says that it
should never be grown only rs
sarPlas crop. I" No class of men
have as little fxedness of purpose
as farmers. They clange with
every wind, and Whatever is high
nOt0 they 60 for. Better far to fol
low one line oc business, such as
the taste of the individual, land,
etc, is adapted to, and stick 70 Il.
This viii hit ofbener than miss. /"
It appears TO US that these remarks
are sensible and true, and it be-
hooves the farmer above all to look
to his interest in this particular, and
study well the ideas above en-
bedicd before he commits himself
again to the mercy Of chance in
getting paying price for his cot
ton. The necesSaries Of life are in
their nature staple aud always find
a market and price. and the
raising Of these tend more surely to
the bnilding an of our people and
country. The greatest need Of the
Southern people is Independence.
We must do away with our depend
ence. upon Northern markets and
Northern manufactures before we
can ever rise to any degree of emf
nence or prosperity, and the way. to
accomplish this end without mate
rally injuring ourselves should be
our mighty aim. Why is it that we
have to buy almost everything wc
need from the North? It is simply
this; The Southern people before
the war. when slavery was in rogue.
gave their entire attention to the
raising of cotton, relying upon the
North for everything else, and
thereby sending to the North such
an immense trade that It built
IL mp with manqfaetoTies Of every
description, which drew their sue
cor from the South. Thus was eul
tivated a spirit of lethargY on the
part ofthe South, and so great was
their blindness that they allowed
this Northern serpent to gradually
wind its folds about them and suck
the very life blood from the veins of
the South. This is known TO be a
fact, but the point with us is, is
Middle Tennessee obliged to stick
to the course which has almost
proven the ruin of the South? The
answer is patent to any sensible
mind. Our lands are better adapt
ed to other products than cotton,
and are we to sit down in the leth-
argy and sloth which has hitherto
characterized this unfortunate peo-
pie. and with the light Of the past
throwing out in bold relief the skel-
eton finger Of blasted hopes and
ruined fortunes, pointing with un-
erring certainty to the rock upon
which VIC stumbled, still pursue the
track which leads to our eountry's
ruin? "Ah," you say, "but cotton
brings in ready money Yes, and
it goes right back to the North, and
every dollar thus gone is another
knot in the cord which binds us to
slavery and poverty. We must live
within ourselves, and if our lands
do not produce sufficient cotton to
make us wealthy VIC must find out
what viii, for as sure as the sun
rises in the east the elements OF
great wealth and power lies within
our own boundaries, and we must
foster and cherish and build up
a system By which We may be indie
pendent. Tie uncertainty OF the
price Of cotton is known to all and
is felt by all, and If we could once
induce this people to throw it of,
before long we would see this eoun-
cry rise Phenix from the ashes Of
poverty and on Pinions Of fortune
sosr high above the concentrations
OF Northern mOBoPolies and gain
the goal OF greatness and renown
for which she is itted-independ-
enee.