Peninsula Enterprise, May 22, 1886

To the People of Accomac.

Moral -- Alcohol

At a late election in Pungoteague District 'for or against license,' local option has been defeated. With the four remaining districts of Accomac gone dry, and with a dry majority of nearly seven hundred in the county at large, it is only fair to ask if the late vote in this district has voiced the statement of our people? It is well known that the white and colored vote of Pungoteague District is nearly equal. The latter, as an analysis of the late vote will show, was cast almost solid for license. It was not a vote of sentiment or even of preference, but a political following which, under influence of its party leaders and their manipulations could easily have been turned to either side of these question. Eliminating this vote, the suggestive and rather startling fact remains that of the entire white vote of this district were cast against license!

These facts are submitted without argument or comment. It is only just and fair to Pungoteague District that public attention should be called to their consideration.

By Order of Dist. Com., GEO. W. LECATO, Secretary. F. T. BOGGS, Chairman.

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Moral -- Alcohol

Mr. EDITOR. -- The local option campaign in Atlantic District is ending and prohibition is secured. Your correspondent having made a thorough canvass of the district does not hesitate to say that all the piety, and nine-tenths of all the intelligence and wealth of this district backed up and supported this prohibition movement. But for the vote of the negroes, upon which the saloon men relied, the leaders of whom were bought, the victory would have been as complete as the victory of Chincoteague. The supposed stronghold of the license system, New Church, where the liquor men concentrated their forces, and where the large negro vote was influenced and led by a colored man who is a Methodist, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of his church, gave the insignificant majority of twenty-seven for license, and this would have been wiped out had it not been for the pernicious influence of a white minister of the Gospel, who dared, in opposition to every other minister, and all the christian influence of this county, white and colored, stand up on the day of election and defend, with his voice and his ballot, the liquor traffic. There were a few righteous in the black Sodomite vote, and the name of the colored minister and the few Spartans who dared act and vote contrary to the wishes of the paid hirelings of the saloons, will not soon be forgotten by the christian men and women of this district. Our people are in earnest in the adoption and enforcement of prohibition and warn the criminal who dares violate the law that he will be prosecuted to the bitter end. As a better protection against these evil doers it is suggested, that a meeting of our citizens be called in each voting precinct at an early day and a law and order league formed in whose hands any information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of these desperadoes be placed.

"X."

Horntown, May 17 '86.

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Farmers -- InnovationFarmers -- Farmers' organizationsFields -- Crops - Sweet potatoes : Prices

MR. EDITOR. -- I have read with much interest the articles in your paper by Mr. Elliott on "diversity of crops." I am not willing to accept all the views set forth in those letters -- still I recognize the fact that Mr. E. is doing good work, in his attempts to get the farmers to give more thought to their occupation, and his invitation to them to enter into the discussion of this or any other relating to farming, that will tend to their advancement -- should be accepted, not as a matter of dispute and contention, but that each and all may be benefitted by an exchange of honest ideas.

Diversifying our crops is to be desired but it should be done with much judgment, it will not do to plant a crop for the sole reason that some one made money out of it last year; for this is almost sure to be disastrous -- people thoughtlessly strive to make money, that some one else, has already made, and in this effort the market with that special crop is over-crowded, the price low, and disappointment the result. Nor will it do to plant indiscriminately the various vegetable and fruit crops that our soil and climate are so well suited to, for very many of them require richer land, more manure than we are accustomed to use, and any deficiency here will again result in a failure. On this point our people need advancing, for until they use manure of the same quality and amount as other truck growers, they will fail to produce the crops. -- Again the mere production is not all; it must be put on the market, at a time when it will bring the best price, or loss again will be entailed. In short, trucking requires both thought and action; and any one possessing them can surely make money on the Eastern Shore -- farming. We need to adopt a general system, by which the lean lands can be brought to a point of profit. More feed is needed for our stock -- thus enrich the manure pile, which will give better crops and again more money returns. That there is much labor wasted on our crops there is no question -- and its detail needs looking into. I will give an example of the sweet potato crop, which is within my knowledge, and is to the point in question. One of the large potato growers in this county, grew and sent to market last year 1215 barrels of sweet potatoes that averaged $1.46 per barrel clear. Of this amount 660 were shipped prior to October 1st, and brought the sum of $1,441.64 or $2.18 per barrel. 550 barrels were sold after October 1st and brought $343.14 or 62 cents a barrel. Here was a profit on the 660 barrels and a loss on the 550. The cost of raising the latter was perhaps equal to that of the former but no matter what the cause one of two propositions is evident -- the 550 barrels should have been raised and marketed at the same time the 660 were or they should not have been grown at all, and the time or labor should have been devoted to some other crop, which should have paid a profit, instead of entailing a loss on the 660 barrels of 72 cents per barrel, to go on the 550 to make up the average to $1.46.

I shall not now name crops that seem to me to be desired; will do so here after. I will close this article by making one suggestion -- that is, all farmers who have any desire to improve their condition, write an article on farming for your paper. No matter how short and if it is not in the best English (but few people use grammatical and pure language), give your views, some idea, the result of some experiment or thought. And when the crops are laid by, I suggest that the contributors form themselves in a Farmers Club, for discussing farm subjects and my word for it good results will follow.

Very Respectfully,

ORRIS A BROWNE.