Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-03-01
The Beacon Objects.

Inc beacon UpJeCtS'
In writing up the proceedings of the
Barton county irrigation meeting last
week the Beacon rather made light of
the movement and by posing as an
objecter left the impress sion that its
editor was not satisfied with the men
who are taking an active part in fur
thering the movement, and was inclin-
ed to force politics into it. Exception
was taken to the remarks of Mr.. E. r.
Moses because Mr.. Moses predicted
that one day this whole western
country would be densley populated
and the large farms cut into small
farms.
SupposiDg this should be the even
tuai results; who would be the most
benefited thereby if not the men who
today own the farm lands? If a
farmer found that he could make more
money on ten or twenty acres under
irrigation than he has been making on
a whole quarter section, what need
would he have for the entire quarter
section? And if it be demonstrated
beyond a doubt that a man could make
good money and easy living on ten to
twenty acres of ground throughout
this whole western part of the state.
is there any doubt in the minds OF
any but that the country would soon
be as thickly settled as Mr.. Moses pre-
1:nEalS xphora xrof,l6 tho
influx of people get their land If not
from the men who today own it?
Acre prices of farm lands would ad-
vance, and the man with 100 acres
would have no trouble disposing of all
his surplus land alta good round price
there need not then be SO many Of
our citizens ''land poor
AS to the Beacon's insinuation that.
if the country be thus densely popnlat-
ed, and community farming fbe the
order of the day, 1.-The ariStocracy
would own the communities, it is an
insult to the intelligence and indie
pendence of American freemen.
Americans. and especially Kansans,
may be trusted to preserve their social
and political rights, and the suggestion
of ''kings" and "aristocrats'' reigning
over our people is bugaboO too ridic-
ulous to talk about. In California
thousands of industrious farmers are
growing wealthy and independent on
only few acres of land under the in
fluence of irrigation; and the same is
true of every locality in this country
where the system has proven practic-
ally successful.
That practical farmers know more
about farming than city farmers do'' is
true enough; but is that any reason why
the town man who is willing and anXi-
GUS to devote his time and money to aid
and assist the practical farmer" to
better his condition should be ridlculed
and his motives questioned? We be-
lieve not, and we hope that there will
not be man in the whole state of Kan
sas who will persist in throwing cold
water on any movement which has for
its object the building up of our state,
the increasing of the productiveness of
our lands and the consequent indepen-
dence of our people. AS the farmer is
prosperous, so are all branches of bust
ness in farming state prosperous. Ii
there be those who are chemically con-
stituted kickers and objecters they will
possibly keep up their kick till the day
of judgment, no matter what the gen.
eral public may think of them; but
their objections should only be an in
centive to renewed effort and more de-
termlned energy on the part of pro-
gressive and philosophical men.
Kickers are necessary evils, possibly
like buffalo gnats and blow flies; but
they can easily be ignored by the even
tempered and higher minded citizen.