Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1883-01-25
THE MISTAKES FARMERS MAKE.

An exchange, published in the interior of
the State, speaks of the departure of an old
settler for Dakota, where he will take up
quarter section of land and start in life again
at the age of seventy. The case of the man
is 50 near that of thousands of others that a
few comments may not be out OF place. The
man had nice farm near a splendid town,
where he had lived and brought up family.
He got tired OF farming, sold the tarm for
six thousand dollars. moved to town and
went into the livery business. and in three
years went through everything except a
team and a lumber wagon. and now he has
packed up and gone to Dakota, with heart
heavier than his pOcketbook, and he will die
out there. The number of farmers that de-
eide to 90 to town to live every year, and
60 into business is appalling. Every town
has theml and nine cut of ten become poor.
are the happiest people on the earth, and
have an easy time, and they get to brooding
over their hard life, and they think anybody
can run store, grocery, or livery stable,
and they sell out the farm and go into busi
ness, because it seems SO easy to weigh out
sugar and tea. They can alway find gro
Gerry man who will sell out the remains of a
sick stock of groceries for ready cash, and
when the farmer first sees his name over
the door of grocery, he feels as though he
was made and puts his thumbs in the arm
holes of his vest. He used his money to
stock up, pays cash. and his credit is good,
and he buys everything that is shown him.
The commercial traveller who first strikes
the farmer-grocer has everything his own
way, and pretty soon the grocery is full.
1t generally takes farmer two years to go
through a 500-acre farm in the grocery busi-
ness. Instead of the business being an easy,
run-itself sort of lay out, it requires the best
management of any branch OF trade. The
profits are small, and the waste is terrible.
A grocer has got to be as sharp as tacks.
The farmers girls and boys soon realize
that they are merchants SONS and daughters,
Instead of farmers, and they have to keep
up with the procession. There has to be
lots of things bought as merchants that
would never be thought OF as farmers. The
farm house furniture is not good enough,
the democrat wagon gives place to car
riage, the old mares give place to high step
pers, and the girls dress better and do not
work The family lives out of the grocery,
the boys play base ball, and the girls go to
big parties. The farm is good fellow and
trusts many other good fellows who can't
paw, and in some cases he gets to drinking.
Bills begin to come in, and he can't collect
enough to pay rent. Friends that would
help him out with money when he had
farm, will now tell him money is mighty
scarce, and he will have to give chattel
mortgage on the stock.
The stock runs down until there is moth
ino left bat red tin can OF mustard with
BULBS head on it, some canned peaches and
cove oysters on the shelves, a few boxes of
wooden clothes-pinf, six wagon loads OF
barrels with little sugar in the bottom, a
couple of dozen wash boards, a box of cod
fish of the vintage of 1860, which smells
like a glue factory, show case full OF three
cent wooden pocket combs, blueing, halr
pins, and shaving soap, some empty cigar
boxes that the boys have smoked the cigars
out of. and few such things that do not
bring enough at an auction to pay for print
ing the auction bills. Then the farmer
breaks up and goes west, leaving lot OF
bills in the hands of a lawyer for collection,
who manages to collect enough to pay his