The Atlanta News. (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 16, 1908 Page: 3 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 22 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
IS
fee
tMd
|H
r
FARMERS' EDUCATIONAL
MID
CO-OPERATIVE UNION
I ===== OF AMERICA =
mi him «a
READY FOR PEACE.
w
"They Cry 'Peace, Peace,' but There
Is No Peace."
The farmers, under the leadership
of the Farmers' Union, have put up
such a fierce fight against the specu-
lative interest for the last four years
that they (the speculators) are ready
to treat for peace, but boys, they are
not willing for us to name the term3.
We have fought them until they
have decided that we were a power to
be reckoned with. At first they
laughed at us. They made fun of us.
Now they are coming to us and say-
ing, "let us reason together about
these things," but it is not yet time
to consider peace. We must prepare
for the most terrific battle this fall
that has ever been known between
two great financial interests. The spec-
■ ulators when they find that we will
not treat on their terms, will prepare
to stake all on that battle, and it is
up to us to decide whether we will
surrender on their terms or fight as
We have never fought.
Shall we surrender? No, new.
Then we must prepare for battle.
This preparation should begin with
the beginning of this year. The farm-
ers should stay out of debt, and should
$ plant plenty of home supplies. Leave
off buying the buggy unless you have
the %ash to pay for it, but above ev-
erything plant your home supplies. Re-
member that trenched behind the
breast-works of home supplies, with
your guns of co-operative enterprises
trained on the enemy, there is abso-
lutely no chance for you to lose in the
fight.
Shall we thus prepare and stand to-
gether? Yes, every patriot, every
home-loving citizen, every man who
from the depths of his heart, pledged
to support a wife and family will pre-
pare for the Battle.—Union City, Ga.,
Union News.
ifs
Help your neighbor to keep away
the mortgage upon them this
The proper handling of a farm calls
for thought as well as work. It pays
to study every field and crop.
w the rains with a split log
and you will help cut down the
of transportation on your stuff.
, Don't commence the season without
a pig or two In the pen. You will find
-that you have use for him a little later
on.
m
Local is what you make it, and
is not an interesting place to go,
•you and your neighbors are to blame
for it
r'„!
The waste of the farm will pay the
interest on a mortgage If handled
right. Weeds may be turned Into 7c
lambs and mutton.
East, Central and South Texas will
not plant so much cotton this year,
but the Panhandle sections will broad-
en the area somewhat.
They are going right along in the
Northwest consolidating the public
schools, getting better teachers, better
and longer terms of school.
Every sucker on your trees is a tax
on yoa. Let your motto be, "Millions
for defense, not a cent for tribute."
Get out your pocket knife for this
sort of tribute raisers.
im&. &
The good Union man has no time to
"run the whole community," but he
has plenty of time to be neighborly
and helpful to all around him. Arc
you a good Union man?
The plan for this year is to till a
less number of acres of cotton, raise
less and get as much money for a
small crop as Is usual for the bumper
crops.
The biggest thing many fanners can
do this year Is to use better seed than
they have been in the habit of using.
Seed is the first step, and let the first
step be taken right.
FOUNDER OF THE UNION.
A Short Sketch of the Life of Newt
Gresham by His Daughter.
Mf father, Newt Gresham, the
founder of the Farmers' Union, was
born in Lauderdale County, Ala., Feb-
ruary 20th, 185G. When he was six
years old, his parents moved to Kauf-
man County, Texas, where they soon
died, thus leaving him, at an early
age, to battle against the worlc\|and
its hardships. It was, undoubtedly,
during this time that the foundations
Of his character were laid. The
strength developed in these early
struggles helped him in shaping and
leading America's greatest organiza-
tion for farmers.
He was a member and a leader in
the Farmers' Alliance, and was never
reconciled, after the death of that or-
der, until he succeeded in having an-
other take its place.
My father never had the opportuni-
ty of attending a free public school.
All the education he received was the
result of his own labor and determina-
tion. He was not a polished scholar,
but by dint of hard work he secured
a good practical education and a vast
amount of general information. v
In May, 1877, with seven dollars in
his pocket, he left his home at Cedar
Hill, in Kaufman County, and went to
Terrell, Texas, where he boarded a
train for Fort Worth, on his way to
Granbury, Hood County, Texas. There
was no railroad from Fort Worth to
Granbury, and not having money
enough to hire a private conveyance,
he walked the entire distance of for-
ty miles. He then hired himself to
work on a farm at thirteen dollars a
month.
In January, 1881, he married MJfes
Ida Peters, whose home was in Gran-
bury. He joined the Alliance In its
infancy, and was the first man in the
State to receive a commission to go
beyond State borders to do organizing
work. He was the best posted man re-
garding farmers' organizations in Tex-
as. Leaving his young wife with her
parents, he went to the very commun-
ity in Alabama in which he was born.
While there he organized a good local
Alliance, and before leaving the State,
a year later, he succeeded in organiz-
ing many thousands into the Alliance.
He then went to Tennessee, taking hi3
wife with him, but remained there
only a few months, having to return
to Texas on account of his wife's ill
health.
In January, 1896, he went into the
newspaper business at Granbury. In
1899 he moved to Greenville, Texas,
where he was engaged in newspaper
work also. In January, 1902, he moved
to Point, Rainp County, Texas, and in
the fall of this year, after many hard
efforts, he induced nine men of RainS
County to unite with him and securS
a charter from the Skate. My father
was made General Organizer, and in
the face of every discouragement be-
gan the work of building up our great
Farmers' Union.
I give a list of the names of the
ten men who were instrumental in
bringing about the F. E. C. U. of A.:
Newt Gresham, O. H. Rhodes, D. L.
Seamster, W. H. Cochran, B. F. Mor-
ris, James Turner, Tom Donelson,
Jesse Adams, Tom Pounds, W. S.
Sisk.
My father was honest, sincere, self-
sacrificing, always seeing the good
points in a fellow man, and never giv-
ing a thought to the bad. He was a
loving husband and father. He died
the 10th of April, 1906, after an ill-
ness of five days. Our earnest wish
was that he might have lived longer
so that he could rejoice in seeing the
great work he started going on so
faithfully and helping all who be-
longed to the great organization.—
Lutle Gresham.
Peanuts grow and produce well on
light friable lands, and they will fetch
a good price a bushel almost any time.
The vines make good hay. The chil-
dren love the roasted nuts. The hogs
get fat on what are left In the field;
and, taken all together, It Is no littlo
peanut business to raise them, and
they help keep up the price of cot-
ton .—Co-Operator.
Half the money spent each year
for wagons could be saved if better
care was taken of the old ones. Make
it a rule not to leave the Wagon out
of doors overnight.
Don't let the summer come on and
your cistern remain still unscreened.
Fevers are generated in uncovered cis-
terns by the small and industrious
mosquito "while you sleep."
The man who has a good garden, an
orchard, a few cows and plenty of
hens Isn't worrying about the price ot
cotton, and if he has some, in the
warehouse, he isn't in any sort of a
hurry about getting It out.
Trim shade trees high, and trim
fruit trees low. The shade trees want,
to be high enough for under-ventlla-
tioo, while the fruit trees must be low
to make the picking easy, and to pre-
vent breaking down in the high winds
and under heavy fruitage.
Who are you raising cotton for this
/ear? For yourself, Bettie and the
fchildren, or for the cotton spinner?
You want to make up your mind right
away, for the spinner is pursuing his
usual course—contracting to dellvei*
cloths next fall and next spring, spun
and woven from the crop you are to
grow this year. Suppose you fool him
this year, and really own yourself the
cotton you grow.—Co-Operator.
Of course you planted all the odd
corners to trees last winter or fall,
and now it behooves you to take some
care of them. Keep the grass from im-
mediately around them, and they will
grow twice as fast as if the grass were
growing all around them. Bermuda
grass is particularly poisonous to pe-
can trees.
Suppose you bring up the matter
of consolidating your neighborhood
schools at your next meeting. This is
a subject that needs ventilating. Of
coarse, you will have to have good
roads before you can do much along
this line. Good roads seem to precede
almost everything else good.*
The very best time to do a thiv-g
that ought to be done is right no it.
Get busy getting all the good men in
your neighborhood into the Union,
where all can work for the general
benefit. It is, a poor sort of a commun-
ity wherein each "bird flocks by itself.
The real Farmers* Union man does
not need to be told of tne vaiu«a tn<u
every rain is washing from the barn
lots of the shiftless chump who is too
busy to take care of the barnyard
manure. He knows the value of this
rich mine, and he is working it for all
lit is worth.
FARMING IN
THE SOUTH
THE OLD FARM.
When the busy day is over, with its
anxious hopes and fears,
And the telephone stops ringing and
the last clerk disappears,
With a sigh I lean back weary in my
swinging office chair
And my thoughts go back to child-
hood and the old farm that is
there.
I can see the dear old homestead,
broad and low beneath the trees,
And the row of shining milk cans sun-
ning in the fresh, sweet breeze;
I can see the barn and horses, and the
orchard on the hill,
While we gather golden apples
for the old straw cider mill.
I can see the upland pastures dotted
o'er with grazing sheep,
And the wheat field waving golden,
ready for the men to reap.
I can see the old stone fences, where
the chip-munks used to play,
And the com field and the meadow
with its piles of fragrant hay.
I can see the cattle standing 'neath
the willows of the brook
Where I used to fish for minnows with
a bent pin for a hook;
And the pond where grew the lilies
that my mother used to prize—
Ah, the light of heaven's shining now
within those dear old eyes.
And I sigh while fancy lingers o'er
each well known pleasant scene
Of the happy days of boyhood thrown
by memory on the screen.
And I'd give all I have gained since,
all my wealth and treasures rare,
To go back again to childhood and the
old farm that Is there.
Maxwell's Talisman.
CORN A MONEY CROP.
Cereals Have Always Been the Main-
stay of Prosperity. „
It Is only a few years since to have
talked of corn as a staple or money
crop in Mississippi would have been
to court' ridicule. Time and opportu-
nity have taught well the lesson that
It Is better to have the smoke house
and corn and wheat bin at home. Re-
cently the Southern Farm Gazette,
(Starksvllle, Miss.) has taken up the
campaign for corn. Before this
reaches the majority of Its readers
corn will have been planted, but it is
not too late for the following sugges-
tions taken from a recent Issue of
tht excellent journal, says to be of
value:
Learn a proper rotation.—Com
should not be raised on the same land
year after year, for several reasons.
It is a rank feeder, and the land should
have raised some grass crop, or a
crop of clover or peas, to put it in
the condition for making a large yield
of com. It is rare, indeed, that' those
who do not rotate their qrops think
it pays them to raise corn. The ques-
tion goes further than to supply the
com with plant food. When com is
raised on the same land year after
year, insect enerpies get to making
their homes In the land; and they are
there t'o destroy the next crop as far
as they can. Depredations from in-
sects are accepted by the average
farmer in much the same way that
rains and drouths are on the supposi-
tion that these things are sent by na-
ture and that man can do nothing
about them. But the farmer can rest
assured that if he raises corn on the
same land year after year he is turn-
ing his field into a hatchery of enemies
that will devour his crop; and this
injury is far more serious than gener-
ally supposed. If the crop does not'
do well, the matter is dismissed with
the supposition that the weather or
the soil was unfavorable. The com
grower should certainly be a grower
of clover and peas, and one of these
crops should be grown on the land
the first year preceding the corn.
Is cotton a good money crop?—
There are many years when cotton
farmers make no money; but whd can
point to a year when corn raised by
rational methods did not pay a reas-
onable profit? There is always a mar-
ket' for it, and bears do not manipu-
late the market to the loss of the
grower. The market is found right
on one's own farm and on the sur-
rounding farms. Bears cannot mix
up with It When the stover Is saved
by rational methods—not by pulling
fhe leaves'—the stover has as much
feed value as the grain; and -the South
is slow to realize this. If that idea is
made one of the working rules of the
farm management, it will not be diffi-
cult to see how a corn crop will yield
more net profit than a cot'ton crop.
More net profit, mind you; we do not
care for the gross profit It is the
money that a farmer can lay away
that he should be interested in. A
cott'on crop makes a big income, but
the big outgo is right there beside
the big income. With corn under good
management, there is relatively more
profit left behind; so much that', while
corn will not replace cotton as tne
great Southern crop, it ought to be
a close second and help to make cot-
ton raising more gainful. At least,
there will be none to dispute that
the raising of more cotton gives bright
promise of a more prosperous South
and more thrifty, farmers. Home-rais-
ed corn will keep money at home, that
now goes to enrich other sections; it
will keep money right on the farm
where the corn is raised in the South.
Then we need better preparation of
land for corn (and for all other crops,
for that matter). "Deeper prepara-
tion, shallower cultivation": this is a
good motto for most farmers, and to
this should be added, "Get rid of hand
hoeing." In growing corn there is
small reason why we should not us®
labor-saving implements by which
com is made so cheaply In the Great
West. The photograph on this page
in last week's issue—cultivating two
rows at once—is a good illustration
of how a good corn crop may be
made without hand hoeing.
Then having cultivated the crop
with small expense, do not follow the
suicidal policy of tearing up the corn
roots when the crop is laid by. It Is
by its roots that' the corn plant gets
the food by which it grows, and aside
from the cruelty of it, it would be no
less fooollsh to knock out half the
teeth of your grazing cow and expect
her to do as well than it' is to cut the
roots of your growing corn and expect
the yield not to be decreased.
Last of all comes the stover and
here it is that after working half the
year to make the crop, our farmers
throw away about a fourth of its
value. Only 51 per cent of the feeding
value of the corn plant is in the ear
and the other 49 per cent must be had
through silage or shredding. Fodder
pulling is folly. This phase of the
com question, -however, will be dis-
cussed later and for the present we
leave the message with our readers,
emphasizing:
Belter preparation and shallower
cultivation; better varieties and bet-
ter selection of seed; doing away
with hand hoeing; the folly of cut-
ting com roots; and the saving of the
stover.
With a proper regard for these
principles it is not one whit too much
to claim that the value of the South's
com crop to the farmer may be doub-
led without extra cost—and this would
mean millions to the South,
Sand Hills Made Them Rich.
I wish that every Southern farmer
could see what I saw this week in
North Carolina—a man making a fer-
tile farm on the sand-hills of Moore
County mainly from the products of
the sand itself. I was at' Pinehurst
and rode over the farm with Mr. Tufts.
Cowpeas and cows to eat them are
making a farm on what was the most
barren of sands. Mr. Tufts has been
growing corn year after year on the
same land, and putting back on it all
manure made from feeding cowpea
hay and ensilage made from the corn.
And right there a howling wilderness
once covered the land he has at least
one field that I am sure would make
seventy-five bushels of corn or more
per acre if it was matured for grain
instead of all being made into silage.
And he is growing corn In rows three
feet apart on land that In the begin-
ning would hardly have made stalks
two feet high and six feet apart.
Cowpeas and cows, with acid phos-
phate and potash have done it All
over another field I saw great ricks
of cowpea hay covered with tarred
felt' covers, for the large barns were
all too small for the produce of the
sand-hills, and he has enough cowpea
hay and silage to carry his herd of
nearly 100 through the whole year.
Shallow Cultivation for Corn.
Cora is a very shallow rooted plant
Most of Its feeding roots are near the
surface of the soil. Roots also feed
only at their ends; and when they are
cut off they cannot nourish the plant
much till new feeding halr-like roots
put out to gather the food. These
facts show that deep cultivation dur-
ing the early life of the crop may
not be injurious; while deep cultiva-
tion later, when the root's have spread
across from row to row near the sur-
face of the soil, cut off the roots just
the time the crop needs to be fed
well. Do not make the work stock do
unnecsssary hard work by running
the cultivating implement deeper than
is necessary to keep the ground clean.
Some growers act as though they
thought they would lay by the corn
well if they run the cultivating im-
plements deep; and this means that
they are laying by the crop by cut-
ting its roots off. Yet, cultivation
must be deep enough to kill grass and
weeds, even if the corn roots are
pruned off.—Southern Farm Gazette.
tm 9R0QJQD
HIS GREAT INVENTION.
"Do you want to make a fortune
easy as a wink?" queried a hawk-eyed
man, with a lop shoulder, to a shoe
dealer the other day.
"Of course."
"Then buy my patent."
He unrolled a package and brought
to light a shot, a tin funnel, and a
quart of ashes.
"What on earth is it?" asked the
dealer.
"It is Bronson's patent safety shoe.
Here's the idea. In winter our pave-
ments are dangerous from ice. By
sprinkling ashes on ice you produce
decomposition, and render walking
safe. Do you follow me?"
"But—"
"Oh, course you don't; but I'll ex-
plain. This is a double-soled shoe.
There is a space between the two
soles, and the toe and heel ends are
open. You fill this space with ashes,
and, when walking, they slip out in
advance of you."
"The idea!"
"Yes; I worked 22 years on the idea.
This funnel fits into the heel of the
shoe, and Is used to load up with."
"But the ashes?"
"Oh, you hire a boy to follow with
a pail of them. When the shoe is
empty you whistle, and he fills it up
again. There's nothing like it. I can
walk 20 miles a day over a perfect
sheet of ice. Will you give me an
order?"
He somehow failed to get it.
CAUSE FOR SORROW.
Bobby—Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, papa just
slipped and broke his leg!
Passerby—Never mind; he'll be bet-
ter soon.
Bobby—Boo-hoo! Every one saw him
fall—but me. Boo-hoo!
Profitable Investment.
"Yeas," drawled the old postmaster
of Bacon Ridge, "Jeff Weatherby
bought an ostrich from a circus and
started an ostrich farm, but by gum,
the ostrich died."
"Then I suppose it was a dead loss?"
remarked the hat drummer.
"Oh, no. Thar were so many hoss
shoes and bolts and rivets and screws
In the bird's stomach that Jeff opened
up a blacksmith shop."—Chicago Dally
News.
A Gentle Reminder.
"There!" growled Mr. Suburbanite,
as he stored the snow shovel in the
farthest comer of the basement, "ding
you, I won't have to wrestle with you
for a few months, anyway!"
Turning suddenly around in the
dark, he fell over something that gave
forth a nerve-tearing rattle and click.
With a wild shriek he fled up the cel-
lar stairs before the lawn-mower
could catch him.—Judge.
His Ambition.
SHE.
Sou cannot climb too high nor roam
So far I shall not care; .
My Jove shall come to lure you home
And keep you captive there.
HE.
Tis true—all that you say—I know;
Now If you'll get your dad
To fix it so I needn't go
I'll stay here and be glad.
—Chicago Record-Herald.
PERHAPS.
I,et everyone be his best to those
with whom he comes in contact.
When the head officers spend more
time settling the personal things that
are constantly springing up between
themselves than they do in actual
Union work, It Is a good time to pul
la a aew get of officers.
Green Irish Potato Tubers.
To the human being the Irish potato
tuber when green is a poison. We
have seen It stated that farm live-
stock can be fed this without harm.
It is not yet clear to us that such
ia the fact.
Quite a number of plants are made
into good foood from bad by cultiva-
tion. Thus we have the carrot and
celery. The Irish potato belongs to
a family of plants with poisonous
characteristics. Among its members
is tobacco.
Ordinarily these potato roots are
thus kept covered, and so they are
free from any green, but if a portion
becomes exposed to the light, and
"especially to the direct rays of the
sun, a change is wrought to a green-
ish shade at the "exposed part, ana
even the flesh, for some distance un-
der the skin, is also discolored.
The tuber of the Irish potato has
an underground stem—a stem with
buds regularly placed upon it and not
a root without any such buds, as is
the way among all true roots.
Madam Plug—We had our automo-
bile made to order.
Miss Sparks—I suppose you had to
to get one big enough to hold you!—
Chicago Journal.
DEFINACE UP-TO-DATE.
"I give no single person best:
No hulking giant frightens me!"
The little man threw out his chest
"I wish you had been there to see—
"For I told Brown exactly what
I thought ,of him. Yes!—to his face!
I 'gave it-to him very hot;'
And called him names—his conduct,
base."
"But did he not assault you, pray?"
A friend inquired. He shook his head.
"Brown spoke in such- an angry way
I left the telephone," he said.
—Leslie Thomas.
HIGHLY COLORED DIALOGUE.
Gray—I'm in the pink of condition,
old man. but I feel pretty blue because
everybody tells me I'm looking awfully
white.
Brown—Well, I think that a chap
who gets blue because he is white
must be terribly green *or have a
strong streak of yellow in his makeup.
—Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. ?f||
)
Stung.
"Say, pop." .
"Well, what is it, son?'
"Did you know that New York
twice as big as London?"
"Eh? No such thing! Who told you
that?"
"But it is, daddy."
"What! You're areaming, youn#
man!"
"Will you bet it Isn't?"
"No, no; I never gamble."
"But, dad, will you give me a dollai
if I'm wrong?"
"Eh? Certainly."
"All Tight I'm wrong—give me the
dollar!"—Judge.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT.
m
n
The size a man feels on being
caught with his friend's best girl.
Crafty Girl.
"Yes," said the miss who was writ-
ing a love letter, "every time I write
a word ?nd am not sure It is spelled
correctly I make a blot over It."
"But don't you think he will be sus-
picious of so many blots?" asked hes
chum.
"No, indeed. You see, I just draw
a little heart around it and he thinks
every blot Is a kiss."—Chicago Daily
News.
Adding a Third Sin.
Pastor Goodman—Working on com-
mission, are you. Brother Baxlide, and
using your Sundays as well as week-
days? That Is the reason, I presume,
why I have not seen you at church for
a long time.
Parishioner—Yes, doctor; I am sin-
ning both by omission and commis-
sion.—Chicago Tribune.
A Pessimistic View.
"Do you believe in leap year pro-
posals?"
"I don't know that I do. It seems 1
rather like jumping at chances."— |
Baltimore American. j
The Limited Inn.
"Don't I get any sheet on my bed to-
night?" demanded the irate drummer.
"I'm afraid not, pardner," yawned
the proprietor of the One Horse inn.
"One of them thar actor folks that is
stopping here borrowed it."
"Borrowed it?"
"Yes, he is down to the opera house
taking the part of the ghost in 'Ham-
let'"—Chicago Daily News.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Atlanta News. (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 16, 1908, newspaper, April 16, 1908; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329800/m1/3/: accessed May 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.