Farmers Can't Afford to Back-Slide, Says Uncle Josh, March 27, 1919

From the French Broad Hustler, Hendersonville, N.C., Thursday, March 27, 1919.

Back-Sliding

By Uncle Josh

Say, what would you all say if there should step up before you all and says as how you must stop being progressive and drop back into the habits and customs what yer great great grandfathers practiced? I allow as how you all would jist about run that there person out of this here country. Some of you all would git gol durned mad and tell that there feller as how he was hindering the progress of civilization and that you all was aiming ter git all the knowledge and education what yer could, and that you all did not want yer children ter hev ter live as you all did. Now ain’t I about right?

Now this here state of North Carolina is a pretty good old state and so is Henderson county a fine county and there are lots of durned good people in it. And we don’t want no other state or no other county in our state ter be more progressive than we all are.

Now there are in this here Henderson county some pretty good farmers what raise fine crops, but agin there be lots who don’t know much about farming  and raise pretty poor crops. Corse these here poor farmers sure allow as how they are as good as the best, but they don’t raise the crops and don’t make the money as what some others do.

None of we uns farm jist ter be farming. If we do, there sure is something wrong with us and we should see a doctor at onct. I allow as how all of us are farming fer what money we all can make out of it. Some of we uns are pretty hard headed and think as how we know more about farming than anyone else. That there may not be true jist because we hev been farming fer a good many years. We can usualy find some other feller if we look long enough, what raised bigger crops and makes more money from the same number of acres as what we do.

Now the only way ter improve our methods and get so we can raise bigger crops and make more money at the game of farming is ter try some of the things what them thee more successful fellers do. But you all can’t git around ter visit all the better farms in the county and you all probably don’t take time ter read about them there things so how are yu all going ter improve yer methods? Lots of you let your apples rot because yer don’t know where ter sell them. Lots of you have a poor yield of corn fer you don’t know how ter select your seed corn.

For about 15 years the government has been trying to help we uns farm in such a way as how we will make more money and live happier lives. Away back in 1904 Congress appropriated $27,000 for Farm Demonstration work, just as a sort of experiment. It did so much that first year that they increased it each year until now this here congressional appropriation is nearly a million dollars. And for every dollar what Congress spends the various states spend an equal amount. It is a good thing or elst the Government would not be spending money on it.

There are now in North Carolina over 100 Farm Demonstrators and up until the County Commissioners of this here county told our Farm Demonstrator that he was out of a job, there were only seven counties in this state what did not have a Farm Demonstrator. But now I allow as how we are to be numbered among the back-sliders and people all over the country will point to we uns and say as how we are either too poor to support a Farm Demonstrator or that we uns know so much we don’t need one. But I give you all fair warning as how your Uncle Josh is going ter leave this here county if there aint no Farm Demonstrator pretty soon. I allow as how I might go to a county where they hev one. How about you uns?

If the editor of this here paper allows me to and the Lord lets me live another week, your Uncle Josh will give you all some hot stuff next week what will bring tears to the eyes of them what is opposed to the Farm Demonstrator and the progress of Civilization.