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der. It will jSJi J|SKL^^ e resting to members of to have the news of the working of the dif ferent lodges disseminated among the brothers; or we would be glad to have articles written by any one on sub jects of interest to the Union.—Cor dele Rambler, Cordele, Ga. NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR SOUTHERN FARMERS. Prof. Soule Suggests Four: (1) Keep Accurate Accounts; (2) Plan Care fully; Use Business System; (3) Make Higher Yields on Fewer Acres, and (4) Co-Operation for Higher Prices. Messrs. Editors: It is the fashion on the opening of each succeeding year to make resolutions of high character for the ensuing twelve months. And it is a good thing for men to sit down and reflect occasion ally, and take a census, as it were, of their present condition and what the future holds out to them. I. Importance of “Keeping Books/' So it does not seem inappropriate to suggest that the most important thing for the farmer to do on the opening of the new year is to sit down with pencil and paper and figure out his financial condition as it has been affected by the year’s operations. It is only by striking a trial balance and ascertaining what sources of income are available to him that he can ar rive at a just estimate of his finan cial condition and be in position to intelligently pursue that line of in dustry which promises the best for the future. So seldom are books kept on the farm and so indifferent are the business methods pursued that it seems incredible that farmers should succeed as well as they do; and to the mind of the writer there is no single operation that promises more for the advancement of agriculture, for the increase of profits on the average farm and the cutting down of unnec essary losses than that of keeping a record of the operations pursued dur ing the year. To show the importance of farm accounts, it is only necessary to state that beef cattle can be fed in two different ways. From our own expe rience it would appear that under a given set of conditions a pound of beef may be made on grass at about half the cost entailed by stall feed ing. Is not this information essential to the success of the man who would engage in the raising and handling of beef cattle; and how shall he obtain it (unless it is worked out by some experiment station) if he does not keep a record of his own business transactions! It is safe to say that the operations on many farms would be essentially changed if statistics were available to show the profits de rived from the several crops usually grown. Therefore it seems as if Resolution No. 1, for the improvement of the condition of Southern farms may properly be labeled, “A determina tion to ascertain the actual financial condition resulting from the opera tions during the year 1907.” n. Business System and Foresight Pays the Farmer. The second matter to receive earn est attention is an to plan the work do every thing as nearly as ..possible at the right time. It is that Reason and soil conditions interfere with the best laid plans,Wod J observation im presses the faA’ asi ’re emphatically each year that systematic farmer nearly always accomplishes what he sets out to achieve, because there is system and method in all that he undertakes, and therefore he can accomplish twice as much in a given time because he has worked out things beforehand, systematically; he has repaired and painted his machines during the winter, he has planned out accurately what he shall devote each field to, and he has looked into the future far enough to anticipate many of the unpleasant conditions which will confront him during the year. Farming to him is a pleasure and a delight, and though he may not accu mulate great wealth, he is nearly al ways a successful and prosperous man, a man who enjoys the respect and confidence of his neighbors, and who has a respectable bank account to his credit. He is a jovial, whole-souled person and takes a larger view of life than the ordinary man because he has brought his fields under a sys tematic rotation of crops, he has purchased his fertilizers at the most opportune time and so secured them at the lowest possible cost. He has studied the markets carefully and placed his crops on sale to the best advantage. He has examined closely into the methods pursued by h ; s friends and neighbors; he reads an agricultural paper; he examines the bulletins from his state experiment station; he places himself in touch with the latest and best source of in formation, and so he is posted well in advance hs to the conditions which are likely to prevail and which crops are likely to prove most remunerative. System has achieved wonders in business life and, all opinions to the contrary, system can be introduced on the farm, and in proportion will achieve relatively as valuable results as it has brought to our great cap tains of industry. This little word bears a, prominent place in the suc cessful operations of every farmer. in. Why Cultivate Five Acres to Make What One Should Produce? Intensive farming should also be a slogan of the tillers of the eoil for 1907. High-priced labor makes it a necessity, and in our discriminating markets of the present day and gen eration quality alone counts. Quality and quantity must be obtained by the farmer in order to make his oper ations profitable. Why should any farmer persist in following the slip-shod methods that have so frequently brought ruin in their wake! Intensive culture is the plan by which success alone can be achieved in the face of the grave dif ficulties which now beset the farmer. It takes but little more labor to culti vate an acre of land capable of pro during fifty bushels of corn than it does to cultivate one which will not produce more than ten. We often see one hundred acres of land culti vated for a yield, say of 1,500 bush els of oom. Twenty-five acres or one quarter of the area, properly fertil ized, can be made to produce the samp amount of com. In this instance one can grow a larger ciop than two THE WEEKLY formerly did. Is it not economy, therefore, to practice intensive cul ture in the future! By the means of labor saving implements and inten sive culture the farmer can largely overcome the very serious labor situ ation with which he is confronted to day. * JOIN THE UNION. “We hope that all our farmers and workingmen will join the Farmers’ Educational Union. The Union move ment is a movement in favor of hu manity. It is only through co-opera tion that we 'will ever be able to stop the aggressions of capitalistic and corporate greed. It is only by organ izing that popular rights can be se cured. The few who are already in the saddle will continue in control as long as the workingman and the farmer remain Helots and allow themselves taxed to death to support the rich corporations which are mak ing large dividends on watered stock. There are enough farmers and workingmen in this country to right every political wrong if they will only organize and work for the bene fit of the many against the encroach ments of a few. Let us all go out, join the Union, and work for the good of our coun try'.” V e clip the above from the Cor dele Rambler for the reason that it expresses our opinion so fully in so much better language than we can command. The Banner has contended all along that money was the ruling power, that sooner or later, there must come a revolution, a reversal of things, when men will be rated by instrinsic value, and not by dollars and cents. Money has ruled until the middle classes—the common peo ple are mere tools and serfs, and yet when an election comes round, a large number of them allow them selves to be hoodwinked into voting for a human Octopus by the “dirty politician’s” cry of, we want a man who has been iSUCCESSFUIa and the poor fools never stop to think that success in this world’s goods does not always mean an honest man, and that perhaps every dollar of the wealth of the so-called SUCCESSFUL man has been wrung from the hand of labor by means and methods that are anything else but right and honorable. Again, we say to the farmers and laboring people—those who produce wealth—get together and see to it that your rights are respected—vote your convictions and stop pandering to the ill-gotten gains of the MONEY SHARKS.—The Turner County Ban ner, Ashburn, Ga. •t LET THE FARMER PRICE HIS OWN CROPS. After ’the farmer has grown his crop, moreover, he should give more attention to how he shall market it so as to secure the largest returns for his labor. The old method of simply going to town and taking whatever is offered is a relic of bar barism. In the past the farmer has not stood up for his rights as he should have done, and so he has fre quently failed to receive a fair re muneration for his industry. This is the farmer’s fault for he has allowed himself to be brow-beaten by men *y . V/' 1 who are not superior to him in rospect except that they learned advantage of comfawmig for the vancement of J interests 1 an earlier datejHßFlocation, thejK fore, should reinJji el tention atfw hands of the farmer, and by mean rational co-operation. is no reason why the farmers in ' 1 given section should not get together " and determine what would be a fair price for the crops they have to sell, and then by presenting a united front to the buyers, obtain what they ask. So long as they go as individuals into the markets and offer their crops at any price the buyer will give them, they are bound to get the worst end of the bargain. Co-operation, therefore, should he one of the planks in the farmer’s platform, and every progressive citi zen will respect him more for stand ing out firmly for his just rights. Too frequently in the past the residents of towns and cities farmers could be overridden wi.ff that their wishes could be ignored— in other words, that the success of the farmer depended entirely on the city. There never was a greater mis take. but the present never be solved satisfactorily^’wtil the farmers unite Vet in touch with the consnnieifl®l wl more of their products ..fid not through the middlemtlrf who makes life a burden to the conVmer. Co-operation rationally pursuet Yvill enable the faimers to improve lieir condition financially and to < /tain better prices for their products. it should, therefore, bo the du ' A every fanner to give attention t< its * important phase of his business Id to work in harmony ’with his fri Jas and neighbors for the achievement of an end so desirable from every point of view.—Andrew M. Soule, Director Virginia Experiment Station. Blacks burg, Va., in Progressive Farmer and Cotton Planter. NOT A POLITICAL ORGANIZA TION. The Farmers’ Union has been stead fast in its contention for the agri cultural classes to remain true to certain principles in the business af fairs of its membership. It has been charged by certain venal newspapers —those who sell their editorial ut terances for a few paltry dollars of public patronage—that the Union .is going into politics and is, therefore, dangerous. With all the trusts and farmers cannot be blamed for at least voting intelligently upon the public issues confronting the country. The Commercial knows that in the three last presidential elections the corpo rations actually furnished all the money necessary to elect a president. United States senate and House of Representatives, thereby controlling the exectutive and judicial branches of the government with the money of the people. It is certainly not trea son for the plain citizen to exercise his right, of suffrage as he sees fit. The Fanners’ Union is not a politi cal organization, but stands now, and ought to stand forever, for the sacred rights of the humblest citizen. Upon this basic principle it will live on while its enemies will perish by their own narrow selfishness and avarice.— Georgetown Commercial.