The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-08-04
The Farmers saving Nothing and Rum
ming In Debt.


road Extortion, ""Unjust Discrimination,
''Monopoly,D are general terms freely USED
by the farmers, but just what constituted
them was unable to fad out. One Of my
first questions, therefore, was whether The
farmers Of this state were not prosperous.
told him that the people of the East hear.
ing of the wonderful fertility of Illinois sol
supposed the farmers who had been here
for any length Of time must be well-to-do,
comfortably situated class Of people. Mr..
Smith replied that this was very CHROME.
Gus idea. "The majority Of the farmers
of this state" he said, shave hard work to
support their families. Year by year new
mortgages are given to pay new debts, and
it is the exception rather than the rule for
a farmer to be saving anything. At least
one-half Of the farms in this part of the
state are mortgaged for money borrowed at
ten per cent interest, and the majority OF
them will never be redeemed. You let it
be known that man in this village has O
thousand dollars to lend on tirst.class secu-
rity, aud he will have dozen applications
before night ~ t
'IIave the mortgages been given for
balances due on farms purchased, or for
money borrowed after the farms have been
paid for?" / asked.
sin some cases they represent part Of
the purchase money Of the farms, but in
most cases the farmers have been obliged to
borrow because they have been running
behind. Nobody can make anything farm.
ing here unless he has a large farm, and I'll
tell you by-and-by, why. with plenty Of
land, man can make little /; but even
then he can seldom realize ordinary inter-
est on his Investment. Now have here
good farm, and you can see what have
made of it. But never could have paid
for it in the sixteen years | have been here
from the profits Of farming. | was sue
cessful in little speculation, and made
enough to buy the land.o
1.-THE railroad men say chat you farmers
are extravagant in your living that dur
ing your years OF prosperity the silk dress
got into the family and that you have never
been able to get it out-in short, that you
are indulging in style of living wholly
unknown among you few years ago.
ut is not so, was the reply. ''If you
will notice the little boxes of houses in
which the most of our farmers live, with
almost nothing about them to make
them attractive, and then if you
could go into them and see how meanly
they are furni shed, and how the inmates
have to economic and count every cent
they expend, you would see that the asser-
ton is not true. Take the farmers who
live within ten miles west of me, and
don't believe the whole Of them spend $15
year in reading matter; and as for dress,
your mechanics who work by the day and
their families are much better clad. All
over these prairies you see magnificent
neus =, ooi, . pas !. eos.s 'ne ,atinol
,oI ~ .'';eo !. .:'..i nc ..n see ~, ~ !"
sooo o'op p NJ SER VI pi'spoi'y.
CORN SELLING FOR LESS THAN COST.
''ls it true that you have to sell your
corn for less than what it costs you to pro-
duce it ?'' l asked.
Certainly, and | can demonstrate it to
YOU" was the reply. 81 have given the
matter very careful study for years, and |
think can tell just about how much it
costs me to raise bushel of corn. You
may take first the labor. think any
farmer will tell you that it takes man and
team at least five days toE Flow, harrow,
mark out, plant, cultivate, harvest, and
house an acre OF corn. 1t can't be done in
less time. Two dollars a day is no more
than fair price for the work Of man and
and team. Then the first item of expense
is $lO The land in this county is assessed
S33.333 an acre it is worth, unless
the sale of the whole of it should
be forced, $40; | refused $GS
an acre for my farm last year. In-
terest at 10 per cent on $40 for one
year is 81. Fifty bushels of corn to an
acre is more than the average of this coun-
ty. To shell a bushel Of corn and haul it
two miles to Kewanee, with taxes, the
wear and tear on farming implements, &C.,
costs at least five cents q bnshel, or $3.50
for the crop on an acre. So you see my
acre OF corn has cost me $l6.50. Corn is
now worth in Kewance 20 cents a bush
Ell. Ny so bushels will, therefore, bring
me only $40. That is. barely get pay
for my labor, while lose the interest Of
the money inveS.eu IN my iafm, tne wear
aLu eeaI " LII nery, anu geI mourning ior
NV taTes cain tha h,, s T of cory ~ b pay
cost mo AZ cents I snnnasa VOC COS nan
raise corn at nrofit far RI cents
bnshe], Onr farmers ,dnn,t avnect 20
eet Ia nar cant ;ntarast On tbe;rp ;,vost,
mems thongh thew have as cool, r;rh,
To II no the, can;fal;st', or ,,e,ehaat TSor'.
there is one oiher THING which I d,d nnt
take into aceonnt. me stalks have M
cash value. but chew furnish fodder far our
stock. The only tbino that bao eeved tba
JU;nois farnor1 f.on, - -,