The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, December 15, 1914, Page 2, Image 2
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NATION'S LABOR
PROBLEM
OVER A MILLION AND A HALF
WOMEN WORK AS FARM HANDS |
IN THE UNITED STATES.
By Peter Radford
T.eoturor National Farmers' I'uion.
Oiir government never faced so tre- '
mendoua a problem as that now lying |
dormant at the doors of congress and j
the legislatures, and which, when :
aroused, will shake this nation from
center to circumference, and make
civilization hide its face in shame.
That problem is?women in the field.
The last federal census reports
show we now have 1,514,000 women
working in the field, most of them
south of the Mason and Dixon line. |
Thero were approximately a million
negro slaves working in the fields
when liberated by the emancipation
proclamation. We have freed our
slaves and our women have taken
their places in bondage. We have
broken the shackles olT the negroes
and welded them upon our daughters.
The Chain-Gang of Civilization.
A million women hi bondage in the
southern fields form tne chain-gang of
civilization ? the industrial tragedy
of the age. There is no overseer quite
so cruel as that ot unrestrained greed,
no whip that stings like the tash of
suborned destiny. ,i:;d no auctioneer's
block quite so revolting as that of organized
avarice. J
The president of the United States
was recently lauded by the press, and '
very properly so. for suggesting mediation
between the engineers and rail- i
road managers In adjusting their
schedule of time and pay. The engl- j
neers threatened to strike If their
. wages were not increased from approximately
ten to eleven dollars per
(day and service reduced from ten to t
eight hours and a similar readjustment
of the overtime schedule. Our
women are working in the field, many
of them barefooted, for less than 5h
.cents per day, and their schedule is
the rising sun and the evening star, j
and after the day's work is over they
milk the cows, slop the hogs and rock
the baby to sleep. Is anyone mediating
over their problems, and to whom
nan tncy inreaten a striKe""
Congress has listened approvtncly ^
to those who toil at the forge and be- (
hind the counter and many of our
statesmen have smiled at the threats
and have fanned the flame of unrest
among industrial laborers. But women
are as surely the final victims of
industrial warfare as they are the
burden-bearers >n the war between na- J
lions. and those who arbitrate and
mediate the differences between capt- ^
tat and labor should not forget that j
when ihe expenses of any industry are
unnecessarily increased, society foots
the bill by drafting a new consignment
of women from the home to the field,
^inch no Crumb From Women's Crust
of Bread.
No financial award can be made
without someone footing the bill, and
we commend to those who accept the s
responsibility of the distribution of in- j
dust rial Justice, the still small voice of
1he woman in the field as she pleads
for mercy, and we beg that they pinch >
no crumb from her crust of bread or <
put another patch upon her ragged
garments.
We beg that they listen to the 1
scream of horror from the eagle on 1
every American dollar that Is wrung
from the brow of toiling women and
hear the Goddess of .Insttce hiss at a |
verdict that Increases the want of |
woman to satisfy the greed of man.
The women behind the counter and
tn the factory cry aloud for sympathy
and the press thunders out In their '
defense and the pulpit pleads for
mercy, but how about the woman in
the field? Will net these powerful
exponents of human rights turn their
talent, energies and Influence to her
relief? Will the Goddess of Liberty ,
*athroned At WAshingi^g hold tha ggj-.
Jis' G
JR CLOtH
sc
AND GET C
loused hand and soothe the feverish
brow of her sex who sows and reaps
the nation's harvest or will she permit
the male of the species to shove
i women?weak and weary?from the
hread-Jine of Industry to the back alleys
of poverty?
Women and Children First.
The census enumerators tell us that
of the 1,514,000 women who work in the
fields as farm hands 409.000 are sixteen
years of age and under. What is
the final destiny of a nation whose future
mothers spend their girlhood days
behind the plow, pitching hay and
hauling manure, and what is to become
of womanly culture and refinement
that grace the home, charm society
and enthuse man to leap to glory in
noble achievements if our daughters
are raised in the society of the ox and
tue companionship of the plow?
In that strata between the ages of
sixteen and forty-five are 950.000 women
working as farm hands and many
of them with suckling babes tugging
at their breasts, as drenched
In perspiration, they wield the scythe
and guide the plow. IVhat Is to become
01 that nation where poverty
breaks the crowns ot the queens of
the home; despair hurls a mother's
love from its throne ana hunger drives
innocent children from the schoolroom
to the noe?
The census bureau shows that 155,000
ot these women are forty-five
years ot age and over There is no
more pitiful ^ight in civilization than
these saintly mothers of Israel stooped
with age. drudging iu the field front
sun until sun and at night drenching
their dingy pillows with the tears of
despair as their aching hearts take
it all to (lod In prayer. Civilisation
strikes them a blow when it should
give them a crown, and their only I
friend is he who broke bread with
beggars and said; "Come unto me all '
ye that are weary and heavy laden and
[ will give you rest.'
Oh, America! The land of the free
md the home of the brave, the
world's custodian of chivalry, the
shampion of human rights and the de
render *>f the oppressed?shall we per- J
mit our maidens fair to be torn from t
the hearthstone by the ruthless hand
>f destiny and chained to the plow?
Shall we permit our faithful wives,
whom we covenanted with God to cherish
and protect, to be hurled from the
fiome to the harvest held, and our
mothers dear to be driven from the old
zrm chair to the cotton patch?
In rescuing our citizens from the j
forces of civilization can we not applv ;
to our fair Dixieland the rule of the
sea? women and children first?"
There must oe a readjustment of
the wage scale of Industry so that t' t
women can be taken from the field or
eiven a reasonable wage for her services.
Perhaps the issue has never been
fairly raised, but the Farmers' t'nion.
w ith a membership of ten million, puts
its organized forces squarely behind
the issue and we now enter upon the
docket of civilization the case of ' The
Woman in the Field" and demand an
immediate trial.
MORK SHOTS FROM Wi *<.
Naco. Ariz.. Dec. IX.? Three p?rions
were injured, one of them Mrs.
lose Martinet, seriously, hv bullet
rom the battle at Naco. Sonora.
? hlch fell into this city today Mr-!
Ifartinez was hit by a bullet, whi-'h
penetrated the wall of her homo.
Her husband and one men were !?*ss
seriously hurt.
Mavtorena still purposes it is
said, to carry out nis plans for a
final attack Tuesday Meanwhile
fie is occupying his men with persistent
firing from the south, which
keeps American Nrco 'u constant
danger.
A carload of artillery ammunition
was received by Me.ttorena today
The reinforced American border
patrol under Brift. Gen. Blisw continued
it* proportion# for poMible
actio*.
THE LANCASTER NEV
reat IV
ING \ AND C
>LD KEGARI
)UR PRICES,
REM I
OK FOR THE
LANC/
THE RURAL
JJHURCH
THE FARMERS THE CUSTOOIAN8
OF THE NATION'S MORALITY.
| Co-operation of Church, School and
Press Essential to Community
Building.
By Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers' Union.
The church, the press and the school
form a triple alliance of progress that
guides the destiny of every community.
state and nation. Without them
civilisation would wither and die and
through theni life may attain its greatest
blessing, power and knowledge.
The farmers of this nation are greatly
J indebted to this social triumvirate for
i their uplifting influence, and on behalf
! Gl t hi AmpHnon ? *
r.v... unii l nitni 10 j
thank those engaged in these high
callings lor their able and efficient
service, and 1 shall otter to the press
a series of articles on co-operation
between these important Influences
and the farmers in the hope of 111<
teasing the etllcienc> ot all by mutual
understanding and organized effort.
We will take up. lirst. the rural
church
The Farmers Are Great Church Builders
The American farmer is the greatest
church builder the world has ever "
known lie is the custodian of the
nation's morality; upon his shoulders ,
rests the "iii k of the covenant" and \
he is more responsive to religious in- ,
rtuences than any other class or ctt- ,
ixenahip
The farmers of this nation have
bwilt 120,000 churches at a cost of '
$750,000,000, and the annual contribu- '
tk>n ot the nation toward all church
institutions approximates $200,000,000 I
per annum. The farmers of the Unl- I
ted State* build 22 churches per day. ;
There are 20,000.000 rural church com- |
municants on the farm, and 54 per .
cent of the total membership of all
churches reside in the country.
The farm is the power-house of all J
progress and the birthplace of all that (
is noble The Garden of Kden was (
in the eountrv and the man who would '
get close to God must tirst get close 1
to nature I
The Functions of a Rural Church, j;
ll the rurai churches today are go- ! ;
lng to "ender a service w hit h this age
demands, there must be co-operation
between the religious, social and eco-, ^
uomic life of the community
The church to attain its fullest mean 1
ure of success must enrich the lives 1
ot the people in the community it I
.serves; it must build character; devel- c
op thought and increase the efficiency j c
ot human life. It must serve the so- r
cial, business and intellectual, aa well $
as the spiritual and moral side ot life. s
If religion does not make a man more ,
capable, more useful and more Just,
what good is it? We want a practical '
religion, one we can live by and farm {
by. aa well as die oy. T
Fewer and Better Chore he*. c
| Blessed .is that rural community,
which has but one place of worship. 1
While competition is the life of trade, d
j It is death to the rural church and j
| moral starvation to the community j
Petty sectarianism ia a scourge that ^
blights the life, and the church preju
dice taps the vitality, of many communities.
An over-churched comraun
Ity la a crime against religion, a seri-,
ous handicap to society and a useless a
tax upon agriculture
While denominations am essential 1
and church pride commendable, the [
uibu irni'iuuK ui uoiTeruj t. nnstianit)
tnuit prevail if the rural church is to t
fulfill its mission to agriculture
We frequently have three or four
churches :n a community which is not
able to adequately support one Small 1
eusniftationa 'Tire? mc? a 1
7S, DECEMBER 15, 1914.
.? ft
loney-I
HTHER MER
)LESS OF C(
BEFORE BU
^BER
POINTING FI
tSTER AND HEA1
month and all fall to perform the re
j itgious functions of the community.
; The division of religious forces and
the breaking into fragments of moral
efforts 1b ofttlmes little less than a
calamity and defeats the very purpose
they seek to promote.
The evils or too many churches can
be minimized by co-operation. The
BuuiBt ttuu economic me or a rural
community are respective units and
cannot be successfully divided by denominational
lines, and the churches
can only occupy this important field
by co-operation and co-ordination.
The efficient country church will
definitely serve its community by leading
in all worthy efforts at community
building. In uniting the people in all
co-operative endeavors for the general
welfare of the community and in
arousing a real love for country life
and loyalty to the country home and
these results can only be successfully
accomplished by the united effort o|
the press, the school, the church and
organized farmers
THK IX M Tit INK OK SKI-F-ltll.P
Orangeburg Times aud Democrat.
A Congress mett agin we wait
for hte frantic appeal of Southern j
congressman to the United States
government to save the South. The ^
poor helpless people who fought I
through four long years of war. had j
their lands plundered and their j
home burned went through the fiery !
furnace of carpet-baggers and scal-a (
wags, and yet built up a prosperous
section uotwithstanding an enternal
drain of money northwards through
the working of a protective tariff
and Republican congress, hut aow
In a moment of sodden distress, are
unable to hande the situation, and
their representatives urge all sort of
wildcat. nationalistic aid. deserting
entirely tie safe and honored principle
of state control of its own affairs.
One of our re-vders seat us a
mouth or so ago a quotat'on
from a letter written by Rev.
A A. Steele. I>. D. which
lias much bearing upon the
'good doct/ine of self-help." Our
rorrespondent was a fanner him
?*lf and he. evidently along with
>ttaer furiners In this county and all
lver the State, resents the idea of
liedplessness and iniportency and
'eebleness which such a continual
ilea for aid must five of our South
ind its people. We are reproducing
? part of Dr. Steel article:
"I am arfriad something is wrong
vith our people. This frantic appeal
o everybody to "buy-a-bale these unnanl.v
moaning about hard times,
hese out-cries to the legislature and
ven to Tncle Sam. What has become
>f the good old doctrine of self-help
?ur noble Anglo-Saxon pride of sel-f
eitance, the splendid sprit of the old
iouth that prefered to "?ote hor own
killet' to the humiliation of asking
lelp from anybody under the heavns.
or above them, except Almighty
?od Himself! I don't like it. It
neans a softening of the fibre of
>ur manhood.
"We are too ready to ask the pubic
to do for us whr.t we ought to
lo for ourselves. I don't like this
?roposition to say by law what, or
io? much, a man shall or shall not-*
ilr.nt on his farm. It is very dargertus
legislation. Only the most
lesperate cirumstances could justiyf
t. No such circumstances exist
imong us. The greater part of the
rouble with us is in unmanly scare
have sold cotton at a dollar . >
K>und and then I have seen it sold
it live cents and the country lived
h rough both extrmes. The present
itringeney is due to a sudden emergency.
and is temporary; and while
t works great hardships for the time
t lasts, yst we steal* meet its srlsis i
Saving
CHANDtSE
)ST.
YING ELSE)
.. . '
nIPSR
rH SPRINGS, S. C.
| with a bouyant an dself-reliunt
'spirit, and not sit doyn and boohoc
j like a big baby.
"No man In the world ought to bf
! more independent than a Soutli
i Carolina farmer. What more could
Clod do for anybody than He lias done
i for a South Carolina farmer! He has
given him a soil that responds promtly
to a intelligent culture; a climate
that favors every effort in the
field, seasons that encourage the
highest hope. Diversified agriculture
in South Carolina would make it
of the most self reliant and indepeni
dent states in the nation. And this
suggest that not only has ngture
| done all that he could ask, but
, science nouis out lier helping
hand, and in bulletin, from her great
agricultural college instructs hin;
as to what he may do to the best
advantages, telling him what to
plant, how to plant 't, and the way
to cultivate it to make the largest
yield. How do you mix your paints
to produce such glorious colors?
asked a visitor a tthe studio of an
artist, "With brains," was the significant
reply.
I "If South Carolina farmers will
mix their brair.s with their soil they
can do wonders. And as long as our
sunny skies bend above us, and our
fertile soil spreads out. beneath us,
and seed time and arvest return to
us in their regular circuit of the
year, let us depend upon ourselves,
raise what we need to live on at
home, and after that make as much
cotton as we please, without hav'ng
a lot of law makers monkey1 ng
with out business. If I ^ere a farmer
in South Carolina, and the legislature
passed a law telling me
what I should or should noa plant I
would sell out for what I could get
and emigrate to a free country.
Bah!
"A few years ago I held a meeting
in a Texas town situated in a
section that had been ravaged by
the boll weevil. The land, before
the little invader came easily made
a bale and a bale and a half to the
acre without ever thought of fertllzer.
But like General Sheridan,
the weevil did not believe in leaving
the enemy 'any thing but his
eyes to weep with,' or perhaps a 1'ttle
cotton to wipe his tears away.
A fteld of a hundred acres produced
less than half a bale when the
weevil went through it. This obligee
the farmers of that county to quit
cotton, and plant other things. The
leading banker in the town told me
that a greater blessing could not
have come to that county, that there
were ten dollars where had been
one; and that nobody would think
of returning to the one crop system.
"After all the fanner holds the
key to the situation. He has the
stuff, or can have It. If he will. With
corn in his barn, and wheat .Id his
bin. and pigs in his lot and sheep in
his meadow and cows in his pasture,
he can. stack his cotton up in hi
own warehouse under the shed in
the back yard and wait to sell till
the price suits him.
"Everything depends on him and
we who live in town and have every
blessed thing to buy, even water,
are the folks to be pitied.''
New York Editor I* Strirkm in
Atlanta.
Atlanta, Oa.. Dec. 13.?Arthur
Brisbane, editor of The New Y i
Evening Journal, ia ill at a lo<a!
hotel. His condition was considered
serioas for a time, but phy*ici.tii'
tonight sail lie wm somewht im
proved. Mr Brfotane's Nek Yorx
physician Is expected to arriv? hero
t.morrow. The edi'or has b -e-i here
?;?* laat Friday.
KJUgii??El??!?MC'
~' ffc>
Sale
MUST BE
WHERE
OUR DOOR
1 SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
' "Premier Carrier of the South."
P A QC^\m LM) mn a tat
, . ..uuui.vnjii i rv/\ 11') OV/nCiUUiiEiH.
T-alns arrive Lancaster from:
^o. 118?Yorkville, Rock Hill and
intermediate Htations 8:31 a. m.
> N?. 113?Charleston, Columbia and
intermediate stations lu:06
a. m.
No. 114?Marion, Blacksburg, Charlotte
and Intermediate stations,
1:36 p. m.
i No. 117?Col-rnbia, Kingsville c~d
intermecjatc stations, 7:48 p. m.
Trains leave Lancaster for:
No. 118?Kingsville, Columbia and
intermediate stations, 8:31 a. m.
No. 113?Rock Hill, Blacksburg,
Marion, Charlotte and intermediate
stations, 10:05 a. m.
No. 114?Kingsville, Columbia,
Charleston ard Intermediate
stations 1:35 p. m.
No. 117?Rock Hill, Yorkv'.llo and
intermediate stations. 7:33
p. m.
N. B.?Schedule figures are published
as informa n only and are
not guaranteed. For information an
to passenger fares, etc., call en
W. B. CAUTHEN, Agent.
W. E. McCEE. A. O. P. A..
Columbia, 9. C.
W. H. CAFFEY. D. P. A..
Charleston, S. *}.
KEEP IT HANDY FOP RHKOIATISM
j No use to squirf and wince and
J try to year out your Rheumatism.
It v. ill wear you out instead. Apply
some of Sloan's Liniment Need not
rub it iu?just let it penetrate all
through the affected parts, relieve
the soreness and draw out the pain.
You get ease at once and feel so much
letter youNvont to go right out and
tell other sufferers about Sloan's.
Get a bottle of Sloan's Liniment for
25 cents of any drlggist and have it
in the house?against Colds, Sore
and Swollen Joints, Lumhugo, Setaback
if uot satisfied, oat it does givs
almost laatant relief, lluv a bottle
today.
LANCASTER ft CHESTER KAILWAY
COMPANY.
Effective Sunday, December 20th,
1914, following changes will be
made in schedule of Lancaster &
Chester Hallway trains:
Train 14 leave Lancaster 7:30 a.
tn.. Grace 7:48 a m., Fort Lawn 8:00
a. tn., Bascomville 8:17 a. m., Rl^hburg
8:28 a .m. Knox 8:42 a ai.
arrive at Chester 9:10 a. m.
Train 15 leave Chester 11:00 a.
m., Knox 11:26 a. tn. Richburg
11:50 a. tn., Bascomvllle 12:07 a. in.
Fort Lawn 12;30 p. in., Grace 12:42
p. in. .arrive at Lancaster 1:00 p. in.
Trr.ln 10 leave Lancaster 2;20 p.
m., Grace 2:48 p. in.. Fort Lawn
3:10 p. m., Biscomville 3:30 p. ni.,
Kichburg 3:45 p .in., Knox 4:00 p.
m.. arrive Chester 4.30 p. tn. Jf
Train 17 same as at present.
A. P. McLURK.
Uuperintendenl
The LANCASTER PHARMACY
"The ( orner l)ru? Slorr."
V
A