Dodge City times., 1890-05-09
Then and Now.

Then and Now.
As supplement to the article print
ed in last weeks issue, entitled GA
New FIGURING Mill, we print the fol-
lowing, taken from the last report of
the Kansas State Board of Agricul-
ture:
l remember very distinctly how far
mers did in Pennsylvania forty years
ago. At that time the farmer grew a
small patch Of fax, and from its fiber
spun, wove and made summer clothing.
Sheep were kept, 80 to so head, and
from the wool winter clothing was made.
The calf and bullock hides we're man
ufactured into leather by the neigh
borhood tannery for winter shoes. The
neighborhood shoemaker came around
once year, in the fall, and manufact-
ured the leather into shoes for the fam
lily, and sometimes heavy frosts came
before the shoes. Hogs, always enough
and more, to furnish meat the year
round, were killed in the fall, and a
beef as well; the meat cured, smoked
and put away for safe keeping. The
sausage, bone-meat, pudding were
eaten through the winter. Never a
ham or shoulder was touched before
April. In the spring side meat was
exchanged for fish or groceries which
the farmer could not grow. These,
along with butter, eggs, and poultry
about paid the farmers grocery and
store bills. When he came to sell his
wheat, horse or two, and other sur
plus stuff, he had that money to ''sal'
down They economized-made ev
cry edge cut The garden, the fruit
orchard, the poultry, were religiously
cared for, and the cows as well. These
were sure and reliable sources of reve
nue., and it was no trick at all for /:
farmer to raise dozen boys and girls
as good specimens of humanity, in
deed, manhood, as you see in thes,
latter days.
The farmer avoided debt as he woult
a rock, and to 60 to the bank for mon
ey was a thing unknown. Farmer
were content to 60 slow and sure-t'
spend life time in building up
home.
1t is not so now. Farmers want t.
go fast and accomplish in comparative
ly few years what cost their father
the labor of a lifetime. They have de
parted from the landmarks of thei
fathers in economy-in systematic bus
iness-like ways; in horror Of debt; ant
in carefully looking after the minol
sources of reeenue on the farm, tn
garden, the dairy, the poultry, and th'
fruit orchard.
1t is, however, one of most encour
aging signs of the times that farmer
under the pressure of hard times ar
organizing and seriously considering
their situation. While they hope TO
much relief from legislation, they ais
recognize the fact that they themselve
by reason of their unbusiness-like an,
extravagant methods, are, in a measure
responsible for their present condition
As an illustration Of this fact, l Civ
a resolution passed by the Count,
Alliance of Harper County, Kansas
and the address On the resolution de
livered by the lecturer Of the Count,
Alliance. 1t is as follows:
RESOLVED, That the farmers OF Harper County
and especially the Alliance farmers, are not act
ing consistently, in censuring so severely ou
railroads for charging exhorbitant freight rates
so long as they neglect to supply our home mark
cts with the products they demand, in a inishe
or condensed form.
AS the above resolution was passe,
by unanimous vote at the last meet
ing of the County Alliance, you will
therefore, brother farmers, take no of
fense at my remarks, if l should speal
plain on this subject, as We farmer
sometimes do very stupid things. Yo'
are aware that not very long ago yo1
obtained, through cooperation, char
ter, with an authorized capital stock o
100000 to do certain things; and a
soon as $1,000 was paid in you though
best to open an exchange in the city o
Anthony where you could swap you
butter, eggs, etc., for things you dit
not raise on your farms. You placed
man at the head of this exchang,
with instructions to spend your none,
for such articles as were in the creates
demand; so as to keep your little capt.
al moving. Now it happened that ont
of the articles demanded was salt-b
con; it was accordingly bought anc 10
cal freight paid on it from Arkansa
City, where freight had been paid OF
it from Kansas City, Mo-, and one O.
the clerks of the exchange said mucl
of this bacon is bought by our farmers
and by some of the ones who furnished
the money to buy it with; and per
chance the same farmers paid freigh
op hops tn Kansas CITY from Whicl