Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1895-04-30
CONDUCTED BY

u6ssVuulusuu OOpul lIlIOIIll
CONDUCTED BY
NlELS GUAM, Norway Lake, MINI.
WHY WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN THIS
DEPARTMENT.
> In meeting our populist friends
we are very often confronted
with the question: Why we have
taken up the agricultural depart
ment in the Tribune? suggesting
at the same time that our ener-
giles would be better spent in
fighting for our political issues.
Well, now we have worked for
we'll nigh unto ten years in that
line, hoping with our other Ali
'ance and populist voters to be
able to bring those issues to our
Immediate solution; but after all
this we have come to the cOnclu-
sion that we have still a hard
and long struggle before us and
while we are not at all despond-
ent as to the ultimate result, vet
we can readily see that if we con-
duct our farming in the future as
in the past under present condi-
ditiOns most of us will ere long
lose our homes and after Wehave
lost possession of our homes it
will be uphill work to regain
them or even correct the evils we
are now complaining of. But
again comes the question: "What
is there in farming that we can
produce with any degree Of as
surance Of realizing a protit:''
We have been advised to 90 into
dairying and the bottom has
come out of the butter market
before we are fairly started and
so on. Well now don't talk
about profit, because with the
gold standard in operation there
is not nor can there be a profit
in any line of productive indus
try, generally speaking. The
only question before us at pres
emit is how we can best make a
living and possibly pay interest
on OUR debt until a great major
ity of our American people shall
have awakened and learned what
ails them, which may take some
time. Laboring as they do now
under the delusiOn that the only
trouble before them is the Demo
cratic party in power, they do
not see the necessity of studying
economic questions nor are they
likely to do so until the Republi-
can party has been tried again
and failed to return the hoped
for prosperity. So we might as
we'll get down to business trying
to make our living and retain
possession OF our homes for
another two or three years. And
the best way to do this in our
opinion is, first by producing
everything we can on the farm
for home consumption and thus
saving of whatever cash we get
for our products that we have to
sell wherewith to pay taxes and
interest. II we go at this right
and make up our mind to do SO
we can produce almost anything
weneed excepting coffee and some
sugar; the latter however can to
some extent be substituted by
sorghum. \ good-sized flock Of
sheep will go a great way in fur.
nishing a family with clothing
\ cheap shoe repairing outfit
will cut the shoe bill down to a
minimum and with a few tools
and some time we can make the
old machines run another yea1
or two, etc., etc. And further
more, we must try us far as pos
sible to sell off the farm only fin
ished products, such that repre-
sent labor and skill rather thar
the fertility of our soil. 1t il
generally considered poor polio,
to continue raising and selling
grain off the farm for any length
of time even when prices on sucl
products are high; but to do 81
after the prices are down to TIN
cost mark is ruihOus in a dOubl
sense, because the value of GU
farm lies in the fertility OF it
soil; take away that and tn
farm is worthless. With ever,
crop of grain, especially wheat
flax and oats, raised and sold Of
the farm a large per cent OF tina
fertility is thus taken away an
the real value of the farm is s.
much less every year that W
continue this system. Now O.
the other hand if we sell onl
such concentrated products a
beef, mutton, pork, butter, cheese
ETC., etc., we are disposing OF on
labor and skill mainly and tn
farm retains it's fertility an
value. OF course we will alway
produce more or less surplu
wheat in this section, but W
ought to grind it at home an
take back onto the farm all brar
shorts and middlings, sellin
only the flour. And if there wer
+ as much business sense and for
/ sight in our wheat raising
there ia in our dairy farmers "