Newspapers / The Carolina Union Farmer … / July 25, 1912, edition 1 / Page 8
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Page Eight THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER [Thursday, July 25, 1912. ^ ^fie CAROLINA ^VnioM Farmer PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE UNION FARMER PUBLISHING COMPANY. Subscription Price: One Dollar a Year. iW“ All sub*criptions are, payable in advance, and the paper will be discontinued when the time expires, unless renewed. The date on the tae which bears the name of the subscriber indicates the time to which the subscription has been paid. J. Z. 6REEN. Marstaville. MRS. E. D. NALL, Sanford. C, A. EURY, - - - - Editor Home Department General Manager ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES JOHN D. ROSS, 812 Hartford Buildinsr, Chicaeo. L, E, WHITE, Tribune Buildinsr, New York. Entered as second-class matter March 21, 1912, at the Post- office at Raleisrh, North Carolina, under the Act of March 3, 1897. Raleigh, N. C. July 25, 1912. EDITORIAL COMMENT. ATTEND THE INSTITUTES. Don’t forget to attend the farmers’ institutes, and take part in the discussions of agricultural topics. And don’t hesitate to ask questions about the things you are interested in. Somebody in the crowd will probably be able to give you infor mation first-hand, acquired from personal experi ence. And after all that may be said about dif ferent methods of soil preparation and cultivation you will conclude that there can be no fixed rule that you can always follow. No people in the world have to meet as many, changing conditions as the farmer, and methods of cultivation must vary to suit the seasons. And the result of fer tilizer tests vary greatly with weather conditions. If you are looking for some fixed rule to follow, >ou will be disappointed. Therefore the informa tion you get from the bulletins and institute work is not the kind of information that you can ap ply mechanically. DIGGER YIELDS PER ACRE. Bigger yields per acre and fewer acres should be the purpose of the average farmer, for only through fewer acres with a system of improve ment can there be any good wages for the man be hind the plow. The cultivation of large areas of depleted soil means a hard living for those who still follow that ancient method. It’s through an clement of greed that we persist in planting all the land we can “break up.’’ It causes misdi rected physical effort and wasted energy. If Southern farmers would produce on twelve mil lion acres twelve million bales of cotton every year instead of fifteen million bales on thirty mil lion acres, the South would soon become the rich est agricultural section in the world, as its na tural monopoly of cotton production justly en titles it to. IN CONFLICT WITH OURSELVES. Last spring commissioners of agriculture from several Southern States were active in trying to reduce cotton production, and farmers applauded them. They advised negative action. This partic ular work was carried on by voluntary contribu tions. After paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars of money which was paid in by farmers (in form of fertilizer tag tax, etc.), to teach far mers how to produce bigger crops, we placed our selves in the rather humorous attitude of soliciting more money to be expended in teaching farmers I the importance of not Ioiiig what they had been |taiiglit to do and wliat they had learned to do '.‘.iiccos.sfiill.v, as indicated by the sixteen-million- f hale cotton crop. As long as we permit our agrl- 'cultural departments to ignore the most import ant side of the business of farming, the selling side, we may expect this sort of thing to happen periodically. Along with every farmers’ institute crowd there should be at least one man to discuss co-operative marketing, for how does it profit a farmer to make two blades grow where one grew before, if the distributing agents take the two blades for the price of one blade. • SHOULD ELEVATE STANDARD OF LIVING. Good farming and good selling should go hand in hand, and when this happens the average far- fer will be enabled to elevate his standard of liv ing. Sermonizing on a well-kept farmer’s home sounds well, but the well-kept country home will he the exception as long as farmers get only forty cents out of the consumer’s dollar. One of the greatest needs on the farm is a shorter day’s la bor. The ten-hour system ought to be substitu1;ed for the fifteen-hour system. In a business way farmers can not compete successfully with super ior intelligence. A part of each day of a farmer’s life should be spent in reading, for in no other way can he acquire the necessary information to make his life a real success. And especially are the boys on the farm entitled to shorter hours and more time for reading and mental develop ment. Of course home should be made comfort able and attractive, provided the attractions to do not lead to extravagance and useless display, but the greatest need on the farms is a shorter day’s labor. And when we remember, that in the ag gregate a normal crop of cotton brings more money than an abnormally large crop. Southern farmers will be practicing the very best kind of farm economics when they reduce the hours of la bor on the farm. WHAT HAS BECOME OF PARCELS POST? The Rural New Yorker, which is perhaps the most impartial and unbiased farm publication in this country, so far as partisan politics is concern ed, has the following to say about the outlook for i parcels post law: “What has become of parcels post? We fear it has been lost in the political shuffle. It is the old story of a fight between the dif ferent factions of an army when there should have been solid battle against the enemy. Unable to agree upon any bill, the parcels post ‘leaders’ seem to have split into three factions. Now the political parties have'‘re solved’ as follows. First came the Republi can party: “In the interest of the general public and particularly of the agricultural or rural com munities, we favor legislation looking to the establishment, under proper regulations, of a parcels post, the postal rates to be graduated under a zone system in proportion to the length of carriage. “This is one principle of the Bourne bill. As it stands at present that bill would prac tically double the rate on all printed matter, and therefore should not be passed. A fair application of the zone system of charges would do. The Democrats were satisfied with the following: “We favor the establishment of a parcel post or postal express and also the extension of the rural delivery system as rapidly as practicable. “We do not see that this means anything at all unless it is a half-hearted squint at the proposition for buying out the express compa nies and running the business as a branch of the Postoffice Department. Elsewhere the democratic platform favorsthe valuation of all public matters by the Interstate Commerce Commission. But if they mean to back this postal express, why not say so openly and stand for it? Thus the sad truth is that poor old parcels post has become a political football. Neither party will permit any bill to pass that would give credit to the other side.” J* RURAL CREDITS. The Rural New-Yorker also refers to the Very important question of rural credits and agricul tural finance as follows: “Two weeks ago we gave the ‘plank’ in the Republican party platform favoring the principle of credits for farmers. The Demo crats also took up the matter, their ‘plank’ being the following: “ ‘Of equal importance with the question of currency reform is the question of rural cred its or agricultural finance. Therefore we re commend that an investigation of agricul tural credit societies in foreign countries be made, so that it may be asce’rtained whether a system of rural credits may be devised suit able to conditions in the United States; and we also favor legislation permitting national banks to loan a reasonable proportion of their funds on real estate security.’ “Both parties confine themselves to calling for an investigation of European methods. If anything the Republican statement goes fur ther. The point is that both f the old parties at last recognize the right and the need of rural credits based on farm property. Not only will such a system help farmers directly by giving them needed cash capital on easy terms, but it will help all people indirectly. By making land and its products a solid basis for public credits the government will go far to break up the present monopoly of credit en joyed by the financial interests. It will also open up; new lines of safe and solid invest ments for idle money. The more people bor row or lend on government security t’iie greater will be their patriotism and genuine interest in government affairs.” TRUE EDUCATION. We are in a period w’hen the demand is for uni versal education and that demand can only be adequately made and can only be sustained by the right sort of education. We must not only teach, but we must teach aright. We must teach all the people to know something, to do something, to be something.; Knowledge is pow’er, but it is power merely because it enables us to do something, and to do something enables us to be something, and to be something is what constitutes character, and this last is,the only thing which we can take into the world to come. Education is not reading and writing alone; it is reading and writing, but it is something more, something better, something higher, for we read and write not an an end, but as means.—Chas. B. Aycock. APPOINT^IEN'TS OP H. Q. ALEXANDER. Near Poiwellsville, Robeson County, July 25th, Thursday. Saturday, July 27th, Polkton, in Anson County. Thursday, August 8th, Yanceyville, Caswell County. Friday, August 9th, Happy Hill School House in Davidson County. Snow Hill, Green County, August 15th, Thurs day. Oates School House, near Bessemer City, Gas ton County, Tuesday, August 20th. White Oak Local, Nash County, August 16th, Friday. Harrisburg, Cabarrus County, Wednesday, Au gust 21st. Prof. W. C. Crosby, of Charlotte, N. C., will speak at Supply in Brunswick County, August 9th. He is open for appointments in adjoining counties on August 7th and 8th. Write him. “Ma, do cows and bees go to heaven?” “Mercy, child, what a question! Why?” “Cause if they don’t, the milk and honey the lireacher said was up there must be all canned stuff.” No place feels like home after you have once lived in the W’hite House.—Brooklyn Eagle. It Is more to the honor of a Christian soldier by faith to) overcome the world, than by a mon- astlcal VOW" to retreat from it; and more for the honor of Christ to serve him in a cfty than to serve him In a cell.—Matthew Henry. We can never replace a friend. When a man Is fortunate enough to have several, hp finds that they are all different. No one has a double In friendship.—Schiller. 'hurs The V.. Joh anua ^ucai «caii) le onve Rej ''e he 871 ] 'ent filce. lil attg, adia 6W \ Igest ew y tate, atioa Mr. aa Illy ( lies,' >ich am. vei is 4 ec If 'ore '•ch o| Mo Dree Paia Tea.' Of ^*aite ■In ^au, •nii lj.^ll mi Oq Su, Asi t Ho s f."’ M . ‘ai s
The Carolina Union Farmer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 25, 1912, edition 1
8
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