Morris tribune., 1894-04-25
A Communication.

| Editor NORRIS TRIBUNE,
An article appeared in the st. Pau
Pioneer Press March, 18th, that
think is misleading in its statements
The article is prosperous Iowa" by
Horace Austin. In a recent tnE
through Iowa Mr. Austin's attention
was constantly attracted to the I'M
mistakable signs OF prosperity on
every hand, and especially upon the
farms and among the farmers. We
do not doubt the above statement
but we ask if any man can judge OF
Of the prosperity of state by trip
| through it without examining the re
cords and ascertaining the mortgage
Indebtedness? We often see good
farms under a good state Of of cult
walton, with good buildings thereon
and everything bespeaking thrift
and prosperity, but when we examine
the records we find mortgage on the
| farm in amount as much as the farm
would sell for at sheriff's sale. In
| confirmation Of his statement Mr.. A.
says he met and conyersed with a
number of prominent men Of intelli-
gence from all parts Of the state and
slmost without an exception they re-
presented their respective sections as
fairly prosperous and no class more
so than the farmers, he quotes from
the report Of the State Agricultural
Society as proof of his statement.
The secretary's report read thus:
Corn per acre 35.7 value $35, 70l, 189,
oats per acre "a value So, 1853, 427,
barley per acre 22.6 value $3,G69,049.
Now the above is the value Of these
products raised in the state for which
the farmer receives credit. Then the
report futher spys that the value of
horses, cattle, swine, poultry and
butter was respectfully $78,830,l64,
$68.427, $50, $24,464, 944 100000.
500, 597 1888, now the value hay was
$23, 850,959, now the query is how
were the horse, cattle, swine and
poultry kept, were they not fed from
these very products raised in the
state and if so do we not get their
value in a two-fold ratio, if the farm
ers feed these products to their stock
and swine before receiving any cash
for them ought they to receive credit
for them as productive and also as
stock and swine? | think not, | will
illustrate this by saying, own
farm; one year ago had horses val
ued at $475; cattle valued at $3.50,
hog valued at Sc, total S671, I cut
60 ton Of hay $3.50; I raised $50
of oats 500, so bushels barley SIS, so
bushels corn $40, total value of farm
products 1891, total value of stock
and grain 1852, 500 pounds Of butter
value 500. Nov can [ be anything
but prosperous with a showing Of
S1O53, certainly these figures can't lie
and I ought not to complain Of hard
times. This illustrates the prosperity
Of the Iowa farmers, but there is an
other standpoint from which to view
this subject; I fed all Of my hay and
grain to my stock and hogs and sheir
value now is S735, add to this what
[ have realized from them in butter
and pork $125 and [ have total of
$3.50; how much richer am I than [
was one year age? And if we ded uct
what hay and grain the Iowa farmers
fed to their stock their prosperity
would look some smaller than it does
from Mr. Austin's figures. [ do not
doubt but the farmers in Iowa are
prospecting but I do not believe in re-
presenting the people Of any section
as being more prosperous than they
really are.