Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-05-07
with good railroad facilities, good water by dig


three to five dollars per ton, and wood accor'
DINGHY, with lumber at reasonable prices
f Again he SAYS, g when we speak OF gong
! West, we get the idea that we are gong INTO
: land flowing with milk and honey, and for the
= low price of SIPS per acre, or seemingly
better STILL to get homestead for nothing. This
is played out There is not homestead nor any
land that can be bought for Sl.25 per acre, that
a Western man who has lived here long enough
TO - know the ropes as the saying here Is, but
that would consider any man sane to avail MIN
self of these terms" What he means by the
= last sentence, do not exactly know. | think,
however, that he wanted to say that any man
who would avail himself Of homestead or enter
z government land would be regarded as insane
but he did not say it.
{ Now, Mr. Editor, the above statements have
no foundation in truth. They are false. Home
steads are not played out" Neither IS good
Government land at SIPS per acre. have
talked with men to-day, who have just taken
hOmesteads in this State-Iowa-and they had
every appearance of being &" sane" Their
homesteads were within four miles of a railroad.
| would refer the author Of that article to the
Fort Dodge District and also the Sioux City Dis
trict, where thousands have taken homesteads
or entered Government land at Sl.25 per acre,
and where many are settling every week. Once
within the pale of civilization, have been gobbled
up by Spectators and are now held at prices
from Sc to so per acre Let me ask the gen.
tleman if he is ignorant of the fact that there is
plenty Of land that spectators " cannot buy.
For instance, the United States Government has
reserved every other section along the line Of the
Dubuque and Sioux City railroad for actual
settlers. No man, as | understand it, can buy
more than 100 acres from Government. A man
may take a homestead or enter Government land
at Il % per acre Just as he chooses.
And now, behold, there is another woe pro-
nounced upon the West. 1t is not all a garden
after all. Besides the Platte Valley there are
/ several "pond holes - in Iowa. He says one
/ quarter Of the State is swamp land and be-
sides hardly a - section-or square mile-can
be found without more or less of this slough
land Now any one at all acquainted with
Iowa knows that the writer Of that article
either intends to fllsify or else he knows nothing
at all concerning it. 1t sounds ,reil for an East
crH man TO come West and talk Of ioqsfe land,
and attempt to run down the soil Western
men would hardly regard him " sane Sup
pose his statement was true, that one-fourh Of
Iowa Is waste land. We still have left in our
State more than tlrice as much as all New Hamp-
shire and Vermont together, with all Of their
mountains thrown in
Now as to the price Of land, il varies accord |
ing 10 quality, the amount OF improvements and /
the location. If a man buys a farm all improved, |
we'll fenced, with fruit, good sized and well fin /
ished buildings, on the railroad and close 20 a |
good sized village with churches and a good 1
school, and where it is mostly settled up for
miles around, be will have TO pay from $40 to
500 per acre. Ii he goes FIVE or six miles from
the railroad he must pay from 50 TO SIS. and
for prairie from - TO -. But if he prefers to
60 further West where it Is newer, where towns
are just starting up, on railroads that are lust
being built he can get land much cheaper
one thing should not be forgotten in con-
siiering this subject namely that a Western
farm will pay for itself in half the time that is
necessary for farm Of the same size East. Let
me experiment little in figures. I will take
the genteman's 100 acres at s. per acre
The breaking would DO myself during the
summer, and at the same time rent 80 or so acres
which would give ne a living the first year. for
a man paying that price would not have 70 20
where there would be no improved andl
would make my ncighhors build half the fence.
'st 0t land. 81 ,12p 900
euce on two sides. $40 Ou
Buildings. Gn-teai Of $1,000. 7 would
make It @2,pO0D 1000 90 +
llr-es. 5000 wagon. : l.l plough,
So; common hand. planter, so. $3.50 90 I
harness, so; harrow, So; twohor-e
clluUtor, SO, s. 90 y
Total. Sa.sS7 90 D
man can SOW by hand for the first two or
bree years, and q sulsy plaw he don't want On
is farm Z
Now for the first crop \
acres of wheat, - bushels to the
acre, at Sl0J per bushel. $3.50 OO
4 o. r. Of . . .f. ~.