The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, December 11, 1909, Image 3
SAVING RURAL SOUTH TO WHITK
RACE.
Th* Hope of the South Is In Having a
Great Body of Prosperous, Intelli?
gent, Home-owning White Farmer*
?Our Great Plantation* Hold Rack
Prog low Immigration Coming?
Help Ambitious White Furniers
Buy I*nd Now.
Raleigh. N. C, Dec. I.?The Pro?
gressive Farmer.* the moat largely cir?
culated farm weekly In the South,
prints a notable article this week urg?
ing ambitious white tenant farmers
to buy land now. and declaring thut
the whole South must stand together
to encourage the development of s
class of prosperous small white farm?
ers ss the backbone of the country.
The big plantations. It declares hold
back progress. The article says:
"We hope we have seen about the
last of Southern white farmers leav?
ing the farm to take work In cotton
mil la We are anxious to see the
manufacturing enterprises of the
South build up. but we are more anxi?
ous to see the farm lands of 'he South
held by prosperous small white farm
era, and to see these small white far?
mers have their part In the great
agricultural awakening now going on.
"Someone has wisely said that In
all ages and all countries the men or
the classes who own the land sooner
or later make themselves the aristoc?
racy of that country. We have not
come to this condition so rapidly In
America as In other countries, because
of the abundance of cheap land re?
sulting from the newness of the set?
tlement and the sparseneas of popula?
tion as yet; but In the long run the
history of other countries must be
repeated here.
"These thoughts came very forcibly
to mind as we rode through a cotton
mill village the other day and saw
Its hundred of white employes?men.
women, and children?who have left
the farm to become the homeless
hirelings <if the cotton manufacturers.
The negroes, finding no place In
manufacturing for them, are left
on the farm and are becoming
land-holders In rapidly Increasing
numbers. Prof. W. E. DuBols. a
prominent Georgia negro educator,
has Just published a map showing
that since 1900 Georgia negroes have
Increased their land-holdings from
?10.000 to 1.600.000 acres, and now
own within the State of Georgia alone
an area larger than the entire State
of Delawsre.
"Not only this, but the negro child?
ren are going to school and develop?
ing healthy bodies In the open air j
and healthy surroundings of country
life Instead of being shut up in the
Icctton mill, over-worked, under-edu?
cated, and poorly developed physical?
ly?as the tendency must be in all
cotton mills so long as the legislatures
of the South are too subservient to
the less humane mill owners to enact
needed laws of restricting child labor
in the mills?the less humane mill
owners, we say, because there are
many thoughtful and far-seeing mill
owners who heartily favor stricter
regulations.
"Remember, we have no 111 wlli
toward the cotton manufacturers; we
have no 111 will toward the negro. We
do realise very strongly, however,
that the safety of the South depends
upon the presence of a large white
rural population. The drift to the
towns and the cotton mills not only
affects this directly, but also Indirect?
ly, because when once the population
of a community becomes predomi?
nantly negro, the small number of
white people left may be forced to
move out In order to And sufficient
numbers for a society of their own.
"It was a wise saying of James
Oliver's, "Happy Is the land that is
tilled by the man who owns it," and
the great need of the South today Is
to encourage the holding of small
farms by white farmers. We repeat,
that we say this In no 111 will to the
negro?In fact. It should not be neces?
sary for us to say this, because no
one else In the South has preached
more persistently than we the doc?
trine that It Is the Intelligent, pros?
perous negro who helps, and the Ig
norant poverty-breeding negro who
makes us all poorer?but we say
this ioi the i, ?od of white and bla< k
alike because the best Interests of
both races demand that the rural
South mulntaln Its large white popu?
lation. Unless this Is done the negro
himself will not progress as rapidly
as he will with white guidance, and
unless this Is done, the cities of the
South must also inevitably go back?
ward
"We urge every white tenant-far?
mer, and especially every white man
who for any reason Is thinking of be?
coming somebody's hired man In
town Instead of owning his home In
the country, to buy land. The great
plantations of the South, for the good
of our section as a whole, must be
broken up. We must encourage the
spirit of home-owning. with every
man sitting under his own vine, and
fig tree, und we must especially en
I "trage the development of a great
class of sm ill white farmers.
"The saving of the rural South to
the white race Is one of the most
Important problems now before the
people of the cotton belt.
"In thlg connection, there la an?
other thing that ought to be men?
tioned, and that la the problem of
Immigration. The Farmers' Union
und other farmers' organizations are
right in protesting against the com?
ing of large numbers of Ital ans,
Russians, Hungarians, Poles, etc.
This would only make a bad matter
worse, and complicate matters still
further. What *ould help, howeve?\
is the coming of a large number of
wide-awake Northern and Western
farmers, buying small farms among
us and making; their farms object les?
sons in stock raising and other lines
of diversified agriculture. These
Northern and Western farmers will
also set a good example for our
Southern people in that they are
ready to do any and all kinds of work
with their own hands, entirely inde?
pendent of hired labor. As a South?
erner, reared on the farm and a de?
scendant of generations of Southern
farmers, we must confess the need of
our people at this point, and the help
that we would get here from an in?
creased number of wide-awake Wes
tern settlers besides the - aid they
would render in keeping up the bal?
ance of population between the two
races in the South and preventing the
predominance of a colored farming
population, which, we repeat, would
be undesirable for both whites and
blacks and ruinous to our section as
a whole."
The indications now seem to '
that the President's message will he
more remarkable for what It does
not contain that for what It does.?
Indianapolis News.
COOK'S SECRETARY IN NORWAY.
Lonsdale Reaches Chiisttansaiul With
The Records.
Christian, Dec. ft.?Walter Lons
dale. secretary to Dr. Frederick A.
Cook, arrived today at Christiansand,
aboard the steamer United States. He
said that he had with him all of Dr.
Cook's records and reports concern?
ing his North Pole expedition. Mr.
Lonsdale said that when he left New
York Dr. Cook was suffering from
overwork, but could not be described
as 'broken down." He added that
when Ydelivered the documents to
the authorities of the University of
Copenhagen he would be ready to glva
information concerning Dr. Cook's fu?
ture plans.
Other passengers on board the Uni?
ted States said thai they observed Dr.
Cook giving directions to his secre?
tary just before the steamer left New
York.
Fannie Try and her mother, color?
ed, have been arrested in Edgeneld
on the charge of infanticide.
FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS GIVEN AWAY!
Great Voting Contest for
Readers of : : : : :
THE WATCMAN AND SOUTHRON AND THE DAILY ITEM
A $400 Piano and Two Gold Watches Costing $50
Each are the Prizes.
Contest Opens Monday, Nov. 29th and Closes February 28th.
Do You Want the Piano? It is yours if you comply with the Easy
Conditions and Make the proper Effort.
Conditions and Prizes.
The $400 Piano, the grand prize of
this contest, will be ?,iven to the sub?
scriber or a nominee of a subscriber of
the Watchman and Southron or Sum
ter Daily Item rece ving the greatest
number of votes in this contest. No
matter where you live you are eligible
to enter this contest.
One S50 Gold Watch, cither Gentle?
man's or Lady's size, as the winner
may select, will be awarded to the per?
son, not a resident of the City of Sum
ter, receiving the next largest number
of votes.
One 550 Gold Wai ch, either Gentle?
man's or Lady's size, will be awarded
to the person resident of the City of
Sumter, receiving the next largest
number of votes.
The contest for the Grand Prize, the
$400 Piano, is open to all readers of
The Watchman and Southron or The
Sumter Daily Item. It can be won by
a resident of Sumter, Lee or Clarendon
County, or some other County. One
Gold Watch as a special second prize
to be contested for by non-residents
of the City of Sumter, while the other
is a special second prize to be contest?
ed for by residents of this city.
This Magnificent Cote Piano, wbich we will give away, is 4 ft. 9 in. high J
o ft. long and weighs, boxed, ready for shipment, over 800 lbs. The finest
materials and most experienced workman have produced in the-Cote an in?
strument excellent in tone, power, durability and appearance.HTbis piano
Is installed in the best homes, conservatories and music halls in the land ;
is Woll known and widely recommended hy the leading musicians and
teachers.
It Is positively guaranteed for ten years by the Manufacturers.
Nominations.
Each and every person entering the
contest must be nominated on one of
the Nomination Blanks published in
both the Watchman and Southron and
the Daily Item. The nomination
counts as iooo votes, but only one
nomination will be credited to a per?
son.
In ~ach issue of the Watchman and
Southron and the Daily Item will be
published a ballot which is good for
the number of votes specified on the
ballot.
How to Obtain Voires
Ev rery new subscriber paying in ad?
vance, will be credited for ec.ch dollar
paid, 200 votes. Every old subscriber
paying up back dues will be credited
for each dollar paid ioo votes, and on
each dollar paid in advance 200 votes.
No votes will be given on payments of
less than $\.00. Every person or firm
that brings or sends an order for ad?
vertising or printing and pays for same
in advance will be entitled to ioo votes
for each dollar paid. For money paid
on accounts 50 votes will be allowed
for each dollar paid, if money is
brought or sent to this office. No
votes will be given for money paid
collector.
wishing to vote must send the money, for which a voting
made out, signed and returned promptly to this office.
Nominations will not be received later than December 24, therefore, i: is important that the blanks be mailed
to this office at once. Remember every nomination blank counts for 1000 votes, but will not be
counted twice for the same person. We have a supply of voting ballots at our office which must be filed
2 there, properly signed, as the cash is paid for subscription, advertising or printing. Those at a distance
"oting ticket together with a receipt, will be mailed to the person making the remittance. The tickets must be
THE WAY TO WIN
Ask your friends and neighbors to subscribe for the Watchman and Southron or the Sumter Daily Item, and get them to vote for you as their
candidate. Ask your friends and neighbors or the merchants with whom you deal to patronize the Osteen Publishing Company by advertising in
Watchman and Southron and the Daily Item, and by giving us their printing, and get them to vote for you or your candidate.
If you do not want the Piano or one of the Gold Watches yourself or have no friend you wish to win one of the elegant prizes, perhaps your
Sunday School, or public school, or lodge needs a fine piano, and this will be the golden opportunity. It costs nothing to enter the race or to vote.
If you are now a subscriber to cither of our newspapers the votes are given for payments you will make anyway. Il you are not a subscriber you
ought to be, for you need your home paper. If you or your friends give us your printing, you get the best work at the lowestjjfprices consistent
with good work and good material. We challenge and meet any and all competition on price and quality.
Osteen Publishing Co.
No 18 West Liberty St.
Phone No. 30.- S 9
Sumter, So. Car.
SEE PIANO ON DISPLAY AT THE SAVOY ICE CREAM PARLOR.