The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-06-27

spent tnelr time In laZineSS.
Three years had ELAPSED and a cold
night In November liver returned from
town with some store goods for the house.
hold and a few sticks of candy for the
children. He was in the very best of
spirits, and exclaimed triumphantly:
Now I have paid off $1,000 on our debt
and $1,000 interest so now, my dear wife,
we owe only $4,000
you bring good tidings, Iver but-teu
me, how was the wheat price today"
One dollar bushel; pretty good price.
tell you There is no cause for COM
plants and it is easy matter to raise
wheat, so long the price does not fall
below the 81 mark"
She took her pencil and piece of paper,
but did not make use of it; she only
stared vacantly out in the air for short
moment and repeated:
'One dollar bushel-we then still owe
1000 bushels of wheat if we use the wheat
price as a measure Of our debt. But you
see, prices may advance three years hence"
I'VE will hope So my dear"
Six years had passed There had been
drought the fourth year and hail-storm the
fifth, but the sixth year happily a
prolific one and liver harvested good crop,
so neither his wife nor himself became dis
couraged, but thanked the good God who
was near to them and blessed them with
bountiful harvest, whenever they were
in need
liver had been hauling wheat for nearly
d WnOle mOnCn, ana tnen one evening he re-
turned home with broad and happy smile
lighting up his face With cleaning eyes
he told his wife and children the follow
ing:
To-day I have paid off 81 900 on our debt
besides 1860 interest, now owe but
S3,000-only trif1e more than one-half of
the original debit
$50 it is-he who pays his debts, adds to
his fortune, as the old saying goes. But
what was the wheat price today?"
"Seventy-five cents for No. 1 hard, and
you can't complain of that. AS long as
the price does not fall below Is cents, there
is money in raisisg wheat"
The wife who, in the days of her girlhood,
was known to have rare talents for mathe-
matics'' took her lead pencil figured for
few minutes and repeated
Three thousand dollars are still due on
the mortgage-75 cents bushel-then we
still owe
1900 BUSHELS OF WHEAT"
II we are to measure our debt by bushels
Of wheat You see we raise wheat, not dol
lars and cents; but prices may advance
three years hence"
I'VE will hope So"
Nine years of incessant toll had passed.
Counting the three years of lease, the fam
lily now had been living II years on the
farm The yield per acre diminished steadi-
ly, and the neighbors and the newspapers
talked and wrote about mixed farming"
IHey pointed TO lVer farm ana showed
now exhausted the soil was there; the only
remedy was to have a part of it lie fallow
and seed the other part; rotation of crops
ought to be tried, too. But to poor liver there
was no time left for experimenting nor for
devising plans. He was all the time
bombarded by dunning letters, tax gather
ers, collectors. machine agents, sheriffs and
deputy sheriffs. He toled II to IS hours day
and in the remaining six hours he was
dreaming of mortgages and sheriffs, and in
III
little rest.
One day he again returned from town in a
little more cheerful mood than the wife and
children had seen him for a long time
Yes, l squared up with the agent this
year. too" he said. Il paid off the $1,000
on the debt, as usual, having wheat tickets
for that amount; but had to mortgage my
horses and the new self-binder to raise
money for the interest, which this time
amounted to s729. Now God be praised, we
only owe $1,000, so there is hope can get
out Of this some time, even if times are
hard and rough with US. I, for my part,
can stand it, but it almost breaks my heart
to see you toiling and struggling hard.
1t was not my intention when / brought
you here that you were to be a slave"
"Oh, never mind me, the heaviest burden
rests upon your own shoulders; but tell me.
what was the wheat price today?'
only 81 cents for No hard; but very
few have got that grade this year, SO there
is little use of talking about that. Most
farmers have to sell at As cents bushel,
as l have done myself"
Let me see; then we are still indebted
for our farm to the amount of
1000 BUSHELS OF WHEAT
If we are going to convert our debt into
bushels of wheat. which 1 believe is the
only fair thing, as long as we don't raise
money. but only wheat, wheat, wheat"
Things do not look eactly bright, to be
sure, liver answered. heaving a deep sigh;
fetch your book, that we may see how
much money we now have paid out for the
land since we started
She brought the book and commenced:
Third year paid off on principal. .slO 900
per cent interest on S., 900, three years 1920
Sixth year paid off on principal. ..... 1000
per cent interest on $4,000, three years $50
Today you have paid off on principal. 1000
per cent interest on S, 900, three years 72O
Then we have paid total sum of. So. $50
Or $3.50 more than the cost of the farm; and
still we owe as much as we did at the
start, measured by wheat; we still owe 1000
bushels of wheat at the mtrket price Of
today. But we must, of course, hope for
an advance of prices.
H m! yes l have been hoping and wait
ing and toiling till my back aches, and
hands, arms and legs have grown stiff as
sticks of wood" liver answered his voice
quivering. He looked into the deep sunken
eyes of his wife, and the strong. man burst
into tears"
The little boy who was standing between
them, moved the hand across his forehead:
mothers tear had burned it. Both hus-
band and wife thought that they individu-
ally might stand the struggle and go
through it, but the two small boys the
clever, gifted and sweet-natured boys, who
had to help their father and mother in the
daily work according to their ability help
them to keep out want and poverty-they
received but a scant school education, and
thus it was to be feared that servitude and
poverty would be the children's sad lot
too.
Some years afterward it was reported
that the farm on which liver lad spent his
health and the strength of his manhood.
and where the beauty and bloom of his
sold for old song at sheriff's sale, the
farm being knocked down to the rich New
York bankers agent the highest bidder
This was not, however, the only farm that
came under the auctoneers club through
out the West, but hundreds of farms had
to share in the same fate, and all of them
were bought directly or indirectly by the
same party the millionaire in the big me-
tropolis That fall it was next to impossi-
BILE to obtain cash money, resulting in a
general bankruptcy among the debt-ridden
and hundreds of them had to leave
hearths and homes
But after couple Of years. when all the
helpless debtors had lost their homes, the
country was again flooded with money and
prices Of farms, land and products rose
rapidly.
A few thinking, sympathetic men and
women at last commenced to shout words
Of warning throughout the land. They in