Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WEDNESDAY, JAL 13, 1886. B. S -DINKINS, Editor. We publish in to-days Thrs the ad mrees delivered by Capt. R B. Till man before the Clarendon Agricultur al Association on last Monday. Not withstanding the extreme cold, owing to Capt. Tilman's wide reputation, an inteligent audience was present. The address was appreciated by a good many, but there were others who considered it extreme and un ebaritable. The wholesale denuncia tion of the officiaeenduet admotives of the "powera that be," gives it the compexion of a personal or partisan attack, rather thai a-ealm effir,. hav ing for its purpose desired and needed Reform. The- Speecheomaied many good poiats,-and we heartily concur in some 6f the reforms suggetsted, but we most earnestly deprecate any leg i na n based upon the extravagant principles and propositions advocated by Capt. Tillman. Why should the farmers of the State enter into a crusade against those sup posed to reiesent other interests? Anarchy an& jibitical confusion, re Salting in untld misehief to the ' wel Are of the trniaterestsof the State, would be the'resuiL Te attempt by any clasa to ostriiee anothei class that they might gain power, is dan gerous to the peace and prosperity of the Anglo Saxon race, (as -has been too well demonstrated in our past history) and if commenced is likely to become a controlling factor in our State. We have been iiformed that a majority of our Representatives are farmers and that those who are not farmers, simple and pure, are largely interested in'agridulture. These men are not all recreant to their duty, nor are they fools or ringmen, but Repre sentatives-* d trades and avocations -farmerslaiyers, doctors, mer chants, iechanics, artizans-of the people as a whole. Reforms may be necessary and there are possibly gi-ievances to redress, but for Heaven sake let it' be attained otherwise than by arraying, in hos tility, tade -against trade, creating strife and possibly political disintegra tion. We m4y-again in -the future ave more to say on this subject. - - - Ahees-et Capt-TMam before the larendO'.AgrIFMrI AssoeieUon. ME. PRismTi: Gentlemen of the Clarendoi'griculturalociety: It is hardly necessary'forme to say that it affords mne no small pleasure to meet so mazgy of the intelligent and Tepresentative farmers of the county a portion of # tate in which I have never been before. And'wbile I thank -you for the beor of being thought worthy to addtess you, I can assure you'i all sin8leitthat nothing but a strong sense ofilgif induced me to accept your invitat in. I felt that it would be cofrardly not to make use of tlJis opportunity to urge those re foms and xssthe demand for a full -er reogitan.of our rights as farm ers, which Iye been recently agi tating : and-therefore I am here. I have grave misgivings lest, some, of your mndeue= who heard me speak at Bennettsvinle last August, may have led you to think you would hear some thing eloquent or laughable ; to-day, ad there you will be sadly disap pintei in what I amoing to say I amno peaerand make' rio peetone t'o graory. This is the dhtimeidsflife~at Iave ever attempted- &d sdess 4a audience of strangers-and my speech at Bennetts- I ile waamy first attempt. M-a wrtten and deliy undeeoniarcircunatameand surroundinigs, such as are never like ly to occur-again and I cnnot hope I to ever coah~ol and enthnse an aud isee gainaIdki-tat one. Ithere Lore beg of 3our to eliminate from. your minds aniy expectation of hear ing anything 1mt; a..plain common sense talk, frqonMa.plain .farmer like 1 yourselves. I shall appeal to your reason and judgemnt, 'rather than 1 your passions, though the farmers of South Carolina have enough to bear ta excite their indignation and arouset their anger. . . - If you shall stiU be disappointed in ~ even what Ldo say-you must blame ' your President, Mr. TindIal.' I will do ~ the best Ican and/Angel cadono C moe -- Th usin Ipropose to discs is, ture." It .is a very large subject, and gives scope-for almost any amount of I argument ofrassertion. I have already ~ hd agood deal to say ad have writ- a ten much on this subject in some of I itspases ery receity. It is not to 9 be expected that one man can contin- e ime to write and speak on one subject F and not reeat himxself. I shallido as e little of thiiss possible and hope to t prset enough that is new to at least tj old -our attention. k The recent orgaiation of County r and local agricultural societies in v-a-t riousapartsbf the State is an encour oging .sign and shows-first, -tlat our people are Abeginning to realize the ~ real condition-of our. agricultural in-'t terests; ani4aeondi, .that they feel P that organized effort is necessary to U aecomplish any r-esult,-not disap- 1 pointing. I smitoo young a man~ and 14 too poor a~ faner t.o feel that I;n )ay myself openrto thecharge of pre c sumption and' egotism by some thinga I have said~[adddone in the crusade I have inaurate&, buit no one .else q been impelled, as it were, to mak known some of our grievances, anc wrongs, and demand redress. I havt given voice to my own honest thought and wishes, and I find from numeroni letters received from all over the State that I have spoken those of others My temerity in atiacking such bigi and mighty men, perhaps, has attract ed as much attention as my arguments You know they say, "Fools rush ii where angels. ear to tread," but how ever that may be, my only hope ha, been, and is. now, to arouse older anc nobler men, to a consciousness of th< impositions practiced upon us, wb may thus be lead to take up the move ment and cay it forward to a com plete success. You have many such among you and they are numerous in every coun ty. If they can be induce I to pu their shoulders to the wheel, we cai hardly fail to accomplish great good While each county in the State dii nobly in 1876, it was the fortune o Edgefield, where 1 live, to lead in th< straight-out movement. She and bei daughter, Aiken, threw themselves int< the breach and stormed the Radica citadel. They risked all and gainec all ; and the farmers throughout th< State, here as elsewhere, bore th4 brunt of that phenominal contest Even in Edgefleld the people were it advance of their leaders and urgei them forward-but you and I iny friends-we farmers, whose rights are now ignored or boldly invaded, and who are only considered fit to pay tax es and vote-are not reaping our jusl share of either the honors or bene fits. Where were .you lawyers and time serving politicians then? Witi a few honorable exceptions they failed to face the music-they didn't risk their carcasses much or take any chan ces for a Federal halter or Albany dun geon, and so with you merchants and brokers. When I say farther that the agricult urista are either boldly robbed or their interests ignored, when I say that there~ are ten laws passed for the ben efit of the professions, the railroads, and the broking or commercial class es, for every one so passed in our in terests, I think, I speak withinI o-uds -and can prove what I say. Some of the intelligent farmers of the State have been for years hammering at the repeal of the Lien-law. But without any concert of action or ever agree ment among themselves as to whether it was desirable or not. The few thousand merchants and the few hun dred lawyers, who don't want it repeal ed, have been able to thwart us, and keep it on the statute books. This is merely one instance. As I have had a good deal to say recently in the newspapers about the composition and management of the Board of Agriculture, and the so-called Agricultural College at Columbia, I will only mention for the benefit of those of you who have not read those letters in the News and Courier, that this Board has only two men on it, who can be called farmers, and judging by their acquiescence irr palpable in justice, they cannot be considered as being very loyal to, or enthusiastic, for Agricultural advancement. While the Board of Truste'es of the Dollege, which was reopened in 1882 is an Agricultural and Mechanical Lolege, and receives $5,700 from the rund devoted by the United States to round a college for educating farmers md mechanics alone. This Board of Trustees, I say, is ~omposed entirely of professional men, with the exception of these, some two ~armers, who are also on the Board of ~griculture. These are tbe two 'representative farmers" of the State. They represent us on all occasions md in every official position where a farmer is wanted, and they represent is besides as-happy recipients of ;ood fat salaries-one as Sec'y. of State, and one as R R. Commissioner. The lawyers run the college and mave made it almost purely a classical md literary institution. I do not feel JiatlIneed to argue- with even the graduates of the old South Carolina ~ollege, who may be among you, that ao make a successful farmer, now omething more is needed than a miowledge of the classics and litera ure. And while it may be said, that amers' sons are educated at this in iitution and at the citadel, and thus ye are bene~tted as much as other laes, I retort, that they are educat d away from the farm, and that if hey go to farming, as a few will, their ducation has been entirely erroneous nm principle and practice, considering he occupation they are to follow. The professions are thus enabled o absorb thei~ best brain and talent mong the farmers' sons, and we put ~ther classes ahead to rule and rob us, rhile those, who from choice or neces ity must follow farming, are left with at special training to butt their rains out, and only learn how to farm, they ever do, after years of study nd bitter experience. The consequence is that while we' ye in the ninteenth century, we are ot of ite-buit are groping blindly long the parts trod by our fathera a andred years ago. I speak on this uestion, not as a man, buit as a farm r. AndlIsay that in aState whosei aramount interest is AgricultureI ducation should lead rather towards me farm than from it ; and that while ie South Carolina College should be ept opeu and liberally supported a school of polite learning, the in ~rests of our farmers demand that ose who necessarily must follow rmng, should receive a practical ientific education which will enable emn to carry on their profession with rout and success, rather than go pn the farm at the end 01 their col giate career a~s ignorant and help- - as as new born infants-of all things acessary for conducting a farm suc asfully. I cannot dwell on this point, thongh it is one of the most imnpor nt which can arise in discussing the .&kgricUILure. . WiL UoWeVer, UlISWte any question that may be asked. Le I us examine this question a little befor going further. Without entering int statistics I will say that inasmuch a the farmers constitute three fourth of the popuTation of] the State, pa' three fourths of the taxes and furnisl three fourths of the votes, which mak anything like decent government pos sible, can we not fairly and justly lool 1 at it, and discuss it, from the stand point, which can be best expressed b - asking, what are the State's duties t I itself? We constitute the State, what ar our duties to ourselves, and how hay - we discharged those duties? Peopl are generally supposed to look afte their own afirs in a free country but I feel that I am speaking nothin but the truth, and the naked trutl when I say, that you and I, and all o 1 us,-we farmers, all have acted like id iots and cowards. We have basel I surrendered our birthright, which en titles us to control and dir e a] fairs of this State, and afpte year of this neglect of our r' , al ter nine years durin4 in hav, 1 drifted, soto speak,' tedfo something to "turn tha somehow, some oul< come out all right, we find o lye in our present condition. Not con tent with turniag theState over to th I lawyers and politicians to run(as the choose, we have turned our lafidsove to the negroes to manage,-the Anglo Saxon abdicating in favor of the Afri can. Brains and energy giving plac to muscle and ignorance, and yet w( have vainly imagined that we couk prosper, and that the State could pros per under such conditions. Witt mulish conservatism we have followe in old ruts, the ruts cut by slaver' and a system of farming which re garded land as only made to wear out the quicker the better if its fertiliti was turned into money. With an ap atby which may well be called crimi nal, and a stupidity which borders or the sublime. We have in a great degree intensi fied the errors of the old system o farming by renting to negroes, whil< we have trusted to the statesmanshil of others, not interested in agriculture and we feel and see the result. Igno. rance, extravigance, and laziness hav held high carnival. The State ha proved a veritable step-mother to hei "agricultural interests, and they havE been neglected or subordinated to ev. ery thing else. "Only a farmer" ha become to be regarded as equivalenl to saying a man is "only a fool," and looking back to my own shortcom ings in the management of my lands seeing their and my present condi tion, compared with what ought tc and might have been, I acknowledge my errors, most of them due to a faul ty education, and say to those of you who may feel aggrieved at this in dictment, "Let him that is withoul sin amongst you cast the first stone.' Here and there in the State reasona ble thrift and progress can be found -butetaken as a whole, our farming interests are badly depressed, and. gaunt poverty is an ever present guesi in many farms whose owners were once wealthy or well-to-do. We are grow. ing poorer as men, and our lands are doing the same thing in spite of our increasing use of fertilizers. While judging the future by tthe past there is not a g.leam of sunshine to lighten the darkness. It is claimed by s'atisticians and those who are employed to write up such things that this is not true-that the State is progressing and growing in wealth--and that the outlook is hopeful. I may be a nessimnist and "see through clouded spectacles" as a gentleman told me at Bennettsville last Summer. But I will undertake to prove and demonstrate to any thinking man, and I belie ve every in telligenit farmer, who has given the subject any thought, will agree with me, that whatever may be said as re4 gards our cities and towns, the coun try is poorer than it was in 1865. We have raised in this State alone over $300,000,000 worth of cotton during the twenty years since the war, but all the profit of raising it has gone into the bands of merchants and others, and they hold this increased we:dth. if it exists--not we. Where one farmer has grown richer, enough of his fellows he have lost more thanz sui ficienit to make a balance. Like Sisy phus, we hav-e rolled the stun to th top of the hill only to see it roll down again, and we have nobody to blame for our poverty but ourselves. If these things are true, and I don't think many farmers will dispute them, will you permit me to give my inter pretation of the causes which have brought them about? It is an inter esting study but I cannot treat it ex haustively without tiring your pa tience. I have said we alone are to blame for this state of things. Wep, farmers of South Carolina-we, the Stats of South Carolina. You have read that three tailors once met in Tooley Street, Londlon, and commenced an address ; "We, the people of England," &c. Wheth er my claim that we, are the State of South Carolina. be admitted or not, we are too large a part of it to be im posed on as we are, and whether we itend to take charge of our own af fairs and run the State in our inter est, or allowv other classes and inter ets to continue to furnish both cap tain and pilot for our ship of state, a they now do, and have been doing; since Hamptou was inaugurated, is for you and the farmers all over the State to determine. We are an army of 60,000 white voters, farmers, all against 20,000 of all other classes, and yet most of us are slowly sinking into hopeless poverty and servitude, '-hew er of wood and drawers of water," for a few thiousxd mn in whose in-i terest the lawa are passed and ad ministered. "Only a far-mer," is now synonym for "only a fooL" It is cast Pearing the point with, many,1 r mideed more than Lai oI ihis white t agricultural host are :dready the hope a less slaves of debt and ignorance, witl >I only two gloomy means of escape, a starvation or emigration. s I am aware that in talking thus I shall be accused of &magogueism-and i the charge made that I am trying tc a 'array class against class," &c. It ha. already been made out such is uot my t purpose. I only desire to show ou farmers their true condition and get F them to-make a manly and merited effort to remedy these evils. ThE fault lies with us, you and me, that wE are underlings. We do not farm ra. R tionally, apd very few of Us really B know hpwto farm at all. We sneei r at the rock and pumpkin way of doing things while nearly all of our farming is conducted solely on that principle, , It is rock and pumpkiu from years I end to. years end :while a grinning - happy negro rides the mule across F which the boy is tiriown. It is fun for him, but death to us! Why are - we so ignorant, so apathetic, so indif s ferent, so stupid? Because we have - had no agricultural societies to act as e educators and stimulants, no Board r of agriculture, worth the name, to set t in motion these hidden springs of ac tion, and to utilize those means of pro moting and encouraging progress and - enlightenment which are in use all 3 over the North. 'ecause we have had no agricultural college, conducted by men loyal to our interests, to teach our young men scientific and practi cal agriculture, so they could go into any county, and act as missionaries to teach a better way to those of us, who are still blindly following the old slave system which said, "Cut down, wear out and move West." In a word, we have had no statesmanship, and the farmers of the State must awake from their lethargy and devote themselves to bettering their own condition if they expect any change-"God helps those who help themselves" and if farmers will not look after their own interests nobody else will do it for them. We have yearly waited for some Jupiter to lift our wagon out of the mu.i, but until we put our own shoulders to the wheel it is likely to remain stuck there. Have we lost the breed of Statesmen in South Carolina, and have we no farmers, pure and simple, wio can cope with these burn ing questions and solve them? who can pilot our people out of the wilder ness of debt and ignorance, in which we are plunged? We have waited patiently, prayerfully, for nine years for an "agricultural Moses" to appear, but so far in vain I have been called s ich, in derision,-by one who claims to be a beacon light, to show the people the way of salvaion, I make no such .claim for myself. I do not aspire so high, but I can and do claim to have a clearer conception of our needs than the gentleman in question, and to possess honesty of purpose at all events. Bjkt the yeal Moses, I hope and believeA near'at hand, and only wditing fornin prtunity 'to show himself. Idta?beed the curse of this Sltate since hei- redeuiption from Rad icalismi that we have been pmpeled as it were, to encourage what I smy call personal politics. WVe have voted for men and not measures, and the dire necessity under which . we have labor'ed of suipportinhe Democratic nominees, howeter-; pnfit they might be, has also kept ys until recently -fromi agitating ann question which .would be likely to eieate a division in diar ranks. This condition of affairs has been a fruitfulsource of' evil, and the demagogues aiikselfish politicians I ave had entire p~ossession of the fiel. Office seeking has grown into a mania, and hand-shaking into a fine art. The how-d-ye-do statesmen have had it all their own way; and so far as we farmers are concerned a pret ty mess they have made of it-In other words, a pretty mess we have made of it by sending such mnii to care for our in terests. Many of the very best men we have, all over ttie State have held back and refused to crawl through this slime and filth to obtain office. There have been no issues before the peoplei, t: ese men have been unwilling to enter a race in which shaking hands kissin'g the baby andismiling sweetly on the sovereign voter, were the ouly avenues to success. 'It will be asked, if we have had no honest and loyal. farmez s in the Legislature at all, and da I consider them all as office seek ers and demagogues? I answer, by no meaus. There have been good and true men, able men, some of t hem even lawyers, sent to Columbia from dif ferent parts of the State, but they have found themselves in a hopeless minority, and have failed to urge any measures looking (o.the advancement of Agriculture, simpley beeause they felt it was ubeless and -hopeless. The Legislative mall has ground <'u laws year in and year out; our taxes have poured into the State Treasury, in no diminished stream, but if there has been but one or two acts passed to benefit agriculture4I am unaware of it; and not one to encourage, to ele vate, or to educate' our farmers or farmers' sons. Mlany - of the former whom we have sent to represent us have either been incompetent to deal with public questions, -or have been the willing or unwilling tools of thel astute lawyers and wire-pullers, who control and direct 1legislative actio'n. Self has been the deity wvhom they worshipped, and with, a hand on the public pulse and a keen eye on the main chance, they haxe blownu hot or. cold on every question as they-believ ed it popular or iioE They hive blossomed as farmers: and tickled your fancy by calling j on the "bonze and sinew of the land," but they have fruited as office'-seekers and hav e bar tered<>ur rights, which we thought safe in their keeping, for the p)oor priv-p ilege of being in the "ring;" though they have got nothing to showv for< their treachery to our interests, ex cept the remembrance of having been.j made much of by...General this, or' Colonel that, in Columbia. They have sold themeles' disepablheoma What other interpretation enn be put on their actions ? We feel and know that the interests of the farmtrs have received little or no attention at the bnds of the Legislature, and it might be said that too many of the farmers sent there, have been either traitors, cowards, or fools. I cannot think, I am unwilling to believe, that this charge would lie against many, but "Evil is wroaght by want of thought, As well as '.Lnt of heart." and they have been duped or lackingr a leader to organize them, have been unable to accowplish anything. Eve ry year 'e have had a majority in one or both houses, but they were elected on personal issues andi many felt at liberty to continue their electioneer ing at the capital. They have subor dinated their duty to their constituentts to what they thought their duty t, themselves, if indeed they ever thought of their constituents at all, ex icept to take care to vote against some measure that would enable them to claim that they tried to keep down taxes. A few have obtained the cov eted preferment; they have got their "thirty pieces of silver" and it should be the study of our lives to make these men go out and hang themselves. But as that would suppose a con science on their part, we can only hope to punish them by sending them back to their farms, to toil and sweat for their living as we have to do, while we try to find worthier servants, who will remember our interests while looking after their own. And now,in the slang phrase of the day: 'What are you going to do about it ?" Will you bestir yourselves and organize and call upon your brother farmers in all the counties in the State to do like wise? Will you cease to "tole your sock and pumpkin' awhile, and to at tend to your duties as intelligent citi zens ? Will you take the time once a month, no matter how busy, or what the temptation to remain at home, to attend a meeting of your agricultural society, and devote twelve days in the year to learning or teaching the (tu ties of citizenship and improved meth ods of agriculture ? To whom much is given, much is expected. Those of us who are com petent to advise and icach our less for L-n:tte bret'.n e -, c:not escape the con sequences of not doing so. Ignorant voters are the natural prey of dema goguEs, and their votes count the same as those of intelligent meu. And so in the race for wealth. If our masses are ignorant of how to farm profitably, if even college graduates are thus ig norant, as I know many of them to be, it will not do to argue: "I can man age my own affairs and every other man must take care of himself." No agricultural community was ever pros perous or had its lands increase in val ue, unless there was something like general prosperity. It is surplus money, seeking investment, which en hances values, and if we farm so as notto have any sarpu.s, v.Oas wid never rise; while if a neighborhood or township has a surplus and other re .gions near are not sijnilarly situated, its lands will not appreciate to the ex tent they ought, because no man will b-uy lands at 830 per a.xe, when 'ud just as good can be lad a few miles off at $10. You ali remember Aesop's fa ble of the Btlb- and the members; and you all know a wound on the foot will affect the bead, and often throw the whole body into a fever; andi so wvith~ a commonwealth; your township eetn not prosper- unless your county pros per-:;, and your county cannot prosper unless your State prospers, and the man who thinks he can paddle his owvn canoe thr. u ch th's worHI v~iihout assixting or beinig assisted l1y others,, is as silly as the ostritch,~~ wich ides his head in the sand on th aprac of danger an:d imagines~ its body; is safe, although not conceal d. Ard| that is just what we f.Lrauer's have 'oeen doing. Etch manI among? us hasi with drawn himuolf from his .Ab-,: and st:iven wvith nmig::t and mn.du, t. be. ter his in~lividau:d f' rtunesx. We hae uti~izedi none~ of the como 'lh nd ' re-| cogz:'iza miodes ''f ad vanlinlg o:r-ig - ciab and i- tees fo. n-ce suoy the world on.r1. suto a us fairs, aZrit-:;:ur-ai socie:ies, f~amas in1. tuI-s. et., e, n-I s -quently wve are sa anat e 1, an I iui many parts of the Sta:e the agr-icultur al interests arec steadily- decayi ng,~ while like a p~atient ass, we sta-gger along under the burders heaped upon us, by oth~ere, b'.ause of our ignorance and' apathy. Sixty thousand men wvor-king together wounld surely hold their own against twenty thounsand, but twenty thousand arec too much for one, or even a hundred. Thiere must be concert of action, and unity of purp-lose among the farm ers of the State, ere we catn miake our political power felt, - bring abouL those r-eforms in the management of} our State affair-s, which are so necessai- Ii ry. Our interests will be ignored, and V o'ur rights continue to be invaded, un til wye unite in demanding that somue of the money wrung fromi us, by taxai tion, be spent for our benefit, and the men who are now imposing upon ns be taught that they can no lon;.:er di s> with impunity. I cau give no bet ter exaimple of the power of or-ganized effort than that presented by Edge field in 1880B. Here thirty -five huu Llred white voters wvelded themiselvesr into a solid nutss, and moving, think ing, acting as one man, they put then selves under Garyv's command. F~or Whe emergency, God never madea wviser or more fear-less leader, audaciity wvas even mnore needed than brains, uid there was no order he dared give, a t-hich thev- d-ared not execute: and you all know the result. He used i :hose men as a battering-ramn to sink hec radical ship, and did sink it in spite ' >f the seventeen compaies of Yankee v oldiers sent to intimidate them. T1he ' 'Bald Eagle of Edgefield" never re -eived h's5 just mneed of praise or of re vard for what he did for South Caro- o ina in 7U. But I will not touch ? tgain that subject here, and will close lie allusion to him by savint!: Peace have d:1:1 greater sns, hit she icve had one who wa.s trer, or did her greater service. Thirty-five hundre, white men, farmers mind you, wer too much for six thousand negroes even better organized than themselve and backed by seventeen companie of U. S. soldiers, but lacking the im peridal manhood of the Anglo-Saxo and without the daring leader whor we possessed in Gary. And yet w G0,000 farmers are now the puppet and bondslaves of less than 100 law yers, and twice as many politicians who parcel out the offices, spend th taxes, pass laws in the interest of th merchants and corporations, and tak no more thought how to elevate an( promote our interests than the En glish do to elevate and promote th interests of their East Indian slaves Yet we submit to all this and seem t( wonder why it is so. And the strang est thing of all is, that we know that ii every <ssential quality, as intellect, ed ucation, character, business capacity honesty, we can show three men tc one, who are the equal of any lawyer merchant, manufacturer, or railroa< manager, among them. The only ad vantages which they possess being or the part of the lawyers, the ability t< speak, gained by practice and th knowledge of law, which we lack; ant even on that point there are man; farmers who know enough to com pete with them, anywhere except ir the courts. The secret of all is the' work together for a purpose, while w( are a mob and will not organize. I are bamboozled, flattered, cajoled hoodwinked, deceived, and robbed bN them, and I fear it will ever continu< to be so. "Twas ever thus beneath the sun, The many still must labor for the one. Farmers of Clarendon are you tire< of all this? Would you like to see t return of ante-bellum ways and ante bellum prosperity? When the land owning farmers of the State were tb<E salt of the earth and called no mau master? When such farmers as M Duffie and Hammond and Pickerm and Aiken and Allston and your owi Manning, with a host of others, con trolled the State and reflected credit upon her and upon themselves, boti at Columbia aud at Washington When men'were patriots and souglr political honors, _ as honors, not for money nor for the salary. If so, you must organize. Organize' or pnize organize !-with orgainiza:i:u you wil become free once more, without.it you will remain slaves. Organize for tih purpose of laboring and teaching eaci other how to f.trm pr.fitab'y. Organ ize to protect yourselves and advane, your own interests. To consult to. gether about what you think for th< benefit of agriculture and tiu "vot< for measures and not men." Let vour ballots think. Legislate for your selves in a large agricultural society at the couuty seat and a State societj at Colurbia.. Educateyourselves by the same means; and above all thing: let us detuand and enforce that de mand with our bal->ts, th-tt at least half the money spent for higher edu. cation in this State be spent to train f irue ers' sons as farmers, in a farming callegt with a loyal board of trustees. How elM can we hope to either regain our weelth, 'i to prevent that control ot mini over m atter wai~ch is onel( of the natural law~s of the uni verse ? If all the best educated men go : the.profess~ons and le ave the fi-ls ani the fa.lares to tariu, can the farm,-rs expect tc rnik with membiers of other professious andI coumpete with them in the in.ttl-, ever going on, between mena to "live by the sweat (m1 somebody else's brow. " The ignom ant m:,.D can no more bold his own against the eda-. cnted man than the savage cani stand up I.e fore the trained soldher armed with the al plinnees of modern warfare. 1 therefore beg yon g 'ntlemuen of the Clare-ndon Agricnitor di society, to sound a bugle note calling on the faramers of your county to organize, and cat ling on the farmers of every county in the State t> do likewise. Let us come together fr-nm t'is moiutams to the seai and take com.mand of our own vessel. We have left her' in charge of rmi'. who have proven un t ithtnl or incom p tent, amnd she is fast drif: 'xng on the rochs. Her moasts are gone and uer sides are badlly battered. Near by are several erafis of varions sizes, carrying diffcr ent fings, filled with amen advocating this is .one or ihat idea. and as usual, each and ev - ry one with its quita of farmers, who thina more on every suibject than their own ad-. ianicem.'nt. All of taese are striving to) g. t near en. ugh to board and take e->ntrol of our good though badly dismiantledl ship. In the distance i< a lirtte tag-boat flyiug the "Free trade ' dlag, with a smnail but choic crew of amen who appe&ar to ime to be dream ers and idealists. Here again are soa . farnmers; but they remind me of the man wh wia [.p ing on tie staus and feil in.o a I e p'it. 'farit--refrmi is no doubt a g 'd thinmo and we hope wm will get it. Uint agrien tuna re-for.nm is a better thinx', andl -e must have it, or go to the poor house. If thec free tral ers get on board andl take coraumind th..y will, as some of thema now do, be .4ntent to :lrawv fat sa:-ies "for the benefit n'f Agrica}i :re', afld leave agricaiture to t1deLre of .tself. Tneir remedy tor our ills is1 ..r 'iff. [is like preeribing ai dose ol5. t cine, mnd th:-2 iutting' it oait of the r' >- 'e >atient, and thinking the sight do it wv uld ure hin. If our fairmmers are wvi4e they will ook after agricumlture ai little mmre closely man they havie b 'en dloing an let "F!ree ;mde ae nor allow it to d'y~.rt them roth "the ills we b-ar" that are ma'.lng out mir vitals. If the j'rohibtionistsi get on oard I tear thev' will release soum of the 2~>.000 n-grno voters now securely 'astenadl i ider thme hatce.,e -.nd arm them, ~v.t:i tlhe tupo te of gtinmg entire c matrol or the yes el. This is a two-edg. d sword a?~t may >:erce our own vitals. Better to fbiar the ils we have than flv to th?ose we~ ' now not f. T~he farmers of the State rd deemed the tate anti their interests wg- -r nost if the >olitical passions of the n. oncem ire zonsedi into acivt na sh1, cm eratic n~spices. We cann->t af th~ an v such 1..1', and we ought to E h i ense than a run wild after this iva that New 'antdora's Box. Let us Se bstractionis lone-. I am no drairn. and if all v--n were as indififeren ' josbject as I mi, men would qjuit n h stutl. but I -resee untol I evils to. E hspo ibition agilation, if e if tis prey nee. If p~rohibition11 > te sale and eof lignor I woud e speed, but has not and can no ', .1 as every nsible man will , e- e this, why bould we disrupmt tl. eri ic part3 andl rar our atfairs overfc4 upt men, who -il surely gain conmt-egj. negroes are made t'ie b.lance of , our politics, as -as <tone in Atlantil'a. Let ns not be ivertid from searia .he canses and1 pplying th~e remeip1 depressed and ppIressed agrictt sts, andn there >re let the turmere b *ite take coi zand of their or-~ a 'eep these men ho are going wil-rf rics in subjee on---maike the p: a4 nd office seekers port. You ar o_;__~1 o art do. do it, will ' do it? You want to do. are you do it?jIf so, organize! HENRY STEITZ, IMPORTER AND DEALER IN s'Foreign and Dooiestic Fruit, Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Cocoa nuts, Lemons, Pinespples, Potatoes. Onions, Peanuts, Cabbages &c. S. E. Corner Meetng & Market Sts. Charleston, S. C. D. BENTSCHNER & CO. CLOTHING, Furnishing Gbods and Hats FOR ME, YOUTHS ASD BOYS, 230 King Street, CILLRLE9TOX, S. C. TO THE PEOPLE OF CLARE E . Having made arrangements with the best distilleries, I am now pre pared to furnish my cu-t->mers with the Purest Distilled Liquors. -:0: My stock is now complete with the choicest brands of Whiskies, Brandies, Wines, Cordials, Beer, Ale, Porter, Etc. Etc. I have in stock a magnificent line of Ciga and Tobacco in which I defv (cm eti:ioi. 992Liguors for Jedicinal pur poses a specudty. I also take pleasure in iutroducing the Kni-itz kie's celebrated Wire Grass Bitters; also the Carolina Ginger Tonic. These Bitters and Tonies are noted for their medicinal --r-,ertie,;. My Pool and Billiard tables A,:E N-:W AN) FIRST CLASS. Thanking tlh public 'or past pat rouige aoi a continuance of same, I remain, Rtespectfully, S. WOLKOVISKIE, Aar. J:imG AFFLICTED SUFFER NO MORF Dr. Howard's Famaily Medicines are now for sale by J. G. Dinkins & Co., at Manning. thcr, Kidney and Dyspepsia Pow; ,ers. eures chilfs, pains in the back and side, Liver complaint, idyspepsmia,, retention or suppression of urine, con stipation, nervous anid sick headache price, per box 50 ets. Dr. Howard's Infallible remedy for Worms. Er pelled :310 large -worms from four children in Clarendon County, after using second dose. Try this great. -,orm medicine, it is plen totake anfd perfectly haxmless. 14e -per box 25 ets. A(GENTS WANTED To sell these'great medicines.. Addres, Dr.. J. Mrsrza Howanz, Mt.. Olire, K. C.. PATENTS CAVEATS, TRADE MARKS AIW COPYRIGHTiS Obtained,. and all other buiness in the U. S. Patenit Office attended t. fbr MODER A TE FED'. Send M'oiEEi OR IJRA AWYG. We ad vise a opatenalbility free of charue ; and we make.' Xo IIW GE V XL.SS W E OB TAtIX PA TEXT. We refer here to the Postmaster, the Supt. f Mo:nev Order Div., and to officials of the IU. S. P'a'nt Office. For cirefilar, advice, termso and references to actual clients in yorown St.ate or County, write to C. A. SNOW & CO.,. Oppo-s:re Patent Offiee, Washingtom,D. C'. C. art & Co. IPORTERS .AN WHOLESALE DE.\LERS IN FR UIT 77. 71 & 81l Market St. -NOTICE Is hereby ginn that the undersigned mem~abers of tin:- Manning Baptist Church will app)~ly to. Janses E. Davis, Esq., Clerk of tle .ourt, f'or Clarendon County, on the 30th day of JIanuary 1886, for a chartar for said Minning~ iaptist Church. WV. .T ToucHBEBBY, J. G. DrsN~S, T. A. Ba.ios.or, - A. J. TrsDLL, B. A. WAsLKEB. D. JT. BRAonix, ID. W. ..wERMAN,. P. W. JArmoE, Manning. S. C., Dec~ 28, 1885. a"MjACME PENETRATIVEL POSLTIVEL.YBURNS So, wn bumn It, ROs ALL SedV oer .nov.