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Joe, the Book Farmer, Making Good on the Land

1914; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 7; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00007611-191402000-00015

1541-8243

Garrard Harris,

Architecture, Design, and Social History

A^' 'hain't no use > a P oor man ain't got no l\chance in this danged country.If I had enough money to move on I'd go to Oklahomy."Tom Weston thus delivered himself after tak- ing his year's crop of cotton to town.When he finished "settling up" for the twelve months' advances of provisions, clothing, fertilizer, and feed for his two scrawny horses, with ten per cent, interest on the whole amount, in addition to the three bales of cotton as rent he had to pay for the dilapidated farm he occupied, he was still in debt.Tom Weston had never owned a foot of landand he was forty-six years old.His father had never owned a foot of land, and died in debt at the end of a long life, the scant proceeds of his misdirected labors going always to others.Joe Weston, fourteen years old, had the same i i JQE r THE BOOK FARMER unhappy prospect stretching down the years for hima slave in the chains of circumstance, and nothing but toil, always for others.For his portion, existence, and the privilege of toiling.Joe had come to town with his father on settling-day.He hoped that when Mr. Weston finished with the Somerville Mercantile Company, or the company finished with him, there would be money enough for a pair of real store trousers, and a new hat, and a pair of stout boots with bright copper bands on the toes.For four years now Joe had worked in the fields with his father, and Mr. Weston had promised him the shoes and hat and clothes this year for helping.In the spring Joe dropped the cotton-seed in the furrow.When it came up he handled a hoe, and helped "chop out" the surplus plants.Then came on the bitter fight with weeds and crab-grass, to give the little cotton stalks a start.The last year Joe had been given a light plow, and he plowed the cotton.Then along in the middle of September he and his mother and little sister Nell helped pick it.After all the cotton had been picked, ginned, and sold Joe was allowed to go to school, from November until the last of February, for in March the plows were started to going again."Why don't you diversify a bit, Mr. Weston?"hundred farmers in town to-day, and not twenty- five will have interest enough to go listen to these gentlemen.""Aw, shucks, what does a little dood from Wash'n'ton or up to the capital know about farmin'?I've done forgot more than they'll ever know."" There you are, you don't know what they know, and you don't want to know.That's the way you pig-headed farmers are."Weston merely scratched his chin and looked stubborn."Go over and see what they've got to say, at any rate," insisted Mr. Somerville."Naw, I ain't goin' to waste time on 'em talkin' a lot of fool truck out of books writ by just such sissy farmers as them.I reckon they'll be recommendin' us to tie pink ribbons on our pigs' tails, an' buy feather beds for our hosses an' cows?"He guffawed at what he thought was his wit."Well, go around and see.You can laugh at them if they do advise fool things like that.""Naw, ain't goin' a step.Ain't got time.Jim Sullivan told me he was goin' to get a jug of the real old red-eye on th' noon train, an' me an' him is goin' to drown our sorrer.""Leave that stuff alone, Tom," said the kind- hearted old merchant, who had known him from his boyhood; "that is one reason why you are about down and out now.""Dad, let me go to the farmers' meeting?"Both men looked around.Joe had been seated on a sack of beans at the end of the counter and in the shadow of the desk.His father had forgotten him, and Mr. Somerville had not noticed that he was about."Ain't got time.Me 'n' Jim Sullivan's goin'to leave as soon as the train gits in," began his father."I don't mind walking the five miles home this evening; I do want to go hear those gov- ernment people, daddy.""I ain't got no quarter to spend for your dinner, Joe.""I don't want no dinner.""That's all right; Joe's going" to take dinner with me," interrupted Mr. Somerville."Oh, all right then; but you needn't think yer goin' to try any of that foolishness and new- fangled lum-de-dums on my place."There was a streak of stubborn meanness in Tom Weston."My place, Tom," corrected the older man, gently, "for which you have failed to pay all the rent this year and owe a balance on last year.""Well, 's long's I got it rented," began Weston."I'll tell you what I'll do, Tom; I'll just let 5 JOE, THE BOOK FARMER you off one bale rent, and take four acres forJoe and me to experiment on if we want to.,, " That's a trade," grinned Weston."But how about the time he takes fooling with you- all's projects?His time belongs to me."Mr.Somerville looked at him in cold scorn for a moment, then at the eager, bright face of the boy."Dad, ain't you never goin' to give me a chance?I go 'round dressed in your cast-off clo'es; I work like a nigger, an* now when I want to learn somethin', an' try to make more stood that a " Boys' Corn Club" was to be organized, and he was authorized to say that the board had appropriated a hundred dollars in gold, fifty of which was to be paid to the boy under eighteen years of age who, on a measured acre, produced the greatest yield of corn at the least expense; twenty-five to the next, fifteen to the next, and ten to the next."You can just add as prizes from my com- pany a complete outfit of clothes for the first prizeentire suit, hat, shoes, underwear, shirts, collars and ties; a pair of shoes and a hat to all of the next prize-winners.'' Mr. Somerville's announcement was greeted with applause."Mr.Chairman, the Planters' Bank will add fifty in gold, twenty-five to be added to the first prize, five dollars each to the next prizes, and a fifth prize of ten dollars to be created," chimed in the president of the bank, who had followed Mr. Somerville in to see what his best customer was doing at the farmers' meeting."Now, there's something else," said the State Commissioner of Agriculture."The state will give to the winner of every prize a handsomely engraved certificate of merit, bearing the signa- ture of the Governor, myself, and the Secretary of State, with the great seal of the state on it.This is a testimonial you can frame and keep always.And in addition the winner of every 10 JOE, THE BOOK FARMER first prize in each county will have the records gone over in my office, and the winner of the highest record in the state will receive a free trip to Washington."An agent of the national Department of Agriculture will collect the boys at various points; they will be taken to the capital as the honored guests of the nationthe champion corn-grower of each state.They will be shown every attention ; the President will receive them especially; they will stay a week at the best hotel in the city of Washington, see every inter- esting sight there, and be brought back home at no expense whatever.This trip would cost anybody else at least three hundred dollarsthat is the grand prize for all the boys to strive for.""I'd rather he'd give us the poorest, meanest land there is on the place.I don't want him com- ing around afterward saying we had any advan- tage on the land," said Joe. "That's right; the poorer the land the bigger our demonstration will be.Get it laid off, and anything that suggests itself to you, why, just go ahead and do it.I'm going to give you a check-book, and when you need to spend any money write out a check for it and sign it 'Weston & Somerville.'I will instruct the bank to pay it.""All right, sir, but I am not going to spend anything I can possibly help.""Now, let me tell you something right here; don't ever be afraid to spend money if it is going to pay you to do so.If you can see where a dollar brings a return, spend it quick.The thing to do is to spend wisely; that is invest- ment.""Well, I think the first thing I want, then, is enough hog-wire fencing for those four acres.Seems to me I've never done anything much except chase hogs out of our fields.""You are starting right, Joe ; that's good sense.I'll send the wire out Thursday and a man to stretch it and put it up.You get the posts ready.