Evening star., 1899-03-14
INDIANA FARMERS
Their Condition Told by Mr.. Aaron
Jones,
MASTER Of fHE NATIONAL GRANGE
His Testimony Before the Indus
trial Commission Today.
TRANSPORTATION QUESTION

Mr.. Aaron Jones of South Bend, Ind,
master of the National Grange of Patrons
OF Husbandry, appeared before the indus
trial commission today and gave interest
ing testimony concerning the grange in
this country. He explained the business
and social features of the grange. The
social feature had been to bring people of
all religions together in a single organiza-
ton and to give them opportunities for
social intercourse and intellectual advance
ment, which the farmers families did not
enjoy in the past.
Transportation the Question.
Mr.. Jones said the grange believed the
transportation question was to be- the great
question of interest to the farmer in the
future. He said he believed the rates
charged for railway transportation should
be fixed by an independent commission and
not arbitrarily by the railroads. The
grange, he SAID believed that the trusts
should be controlled, and that the liberty OF
the people depended upon such control. He
beneved that the value of the farmers
capital and labor had both been injured by
the trusts, and he hoped the commission
would take action pointing the way for
legis. alton for the purpose of properly
checking and controlling the trusts.
What COnsuls Should Do.
MT. Jones SalQ the grange WdHteu W AdNe
consuls abroad look after the extension OF
trade for agricultural products as carefully
as they attend to the extension of trade
for manufactured goods. They also thought
the burden of government could be light
ened very greatly if the salaries of gov
ernment employees were lowered. He said
he remembered when uhe salaries of repre-
sentatives were raised from 5000 to 5000.
The argument was then used that the pur-
chasing power of the dollar had decreased,
but now that the power of the dollar had
increased there was no suggestion to apply
the same rule in regulating the salary. In
Indiana, he said, it required from one-quar-
ter to one-third of the income from a farm
to pay it's taxes, and this he thought was
too much.
AS master of the national grange Mr..
Jones had visited many parts of the United
States, and he said he had found that the
tendency today was for farmers to employ
help the whole year around instead of dur
ing eight months, which was the period
they formerly sought to make contracts
for. The demand, he said, is for skilled
help on the farm. The condition of the
farm hand. he said, had greatly improved
during the last forty years, and he thought
the only reason men avoided the farm
was the fact that there has been less means
for soctability on the farm than in the
city, and this want was being supplied by
the grange He believed the farm today
offered more attractions to the workman
than does the factory.
The CO-OperatiOn Plan Growing.
The witness said there is growing ten
dency for cooperation among farmers.
The plan for dividing crops is in use in the
west to a large extent, and there are other
forms for dividing the profits of a farm
which prevail between landlord and tenant
Mr. Jones said there are good many
foreigners settled in Indiana and that
these German and Swedish emigrants are
better educated than the natives of the
state among whom they settle. They all
become citizens. and wherever they settle
the values of property in such places are
enhanced. The PO!anders in Ohio formed a
close colony and sent their children to pa
rochial schoos, where they are taught only
their own language and where their religion
is taught. OF 1,5O1 children among The
Polanders, he said, not single one can be
found i'll the public schools
Mr.. Jones said the farmers of the grange
were in sympat thy with those senators who
had defeated the proposed legislation for
irrigattng the arid lands of the west They
didn't want such competition thrust upon
them in the raising Of agricultural pro-
ducts.
Not Certain to Expansion.
He said the farmers of the country have
not made their minds up on the subject of
national expansion. They are thinking that
matter over and they would be heard from
soon. He said the question of good roads
D,
good roads would allow the farmer to
keep his grain until he could get a favor
able market. Now he has to store his
grain in elevators and speculators have
full opportunity to trade on it. Mr. Jones
concluded his testimony.
The commission has authorized the ap-
pointment of an expert agent to prepare a
digest of the mining laws of the United
States and of the several states with refer
ence to the hours of labor, child labor, etc
N. ]. BatcheIder Testi6es
At the afternoon session the commits
sion heard Mr.. N. J. Batchelder of Concord
N. H., master of the state grange of New
Hampshire seven years and secretary of
that grange for twelve years and a prac-
tical farmer
Mr. Batchelder spoke particularly of the
abandoned farm movement in New Eng
land. He said there had been a general
and erroneous impression that these aban-
doned farms had gone back to the states
That was not the case. These farms were
simply abandoned because young people
gone west or had preferred to go to the
cities because they have found more
pleasant life there. In New Hampshire
they had at one time 1000 abandoned
farms, while there are 81 900 farms in the
state.
These 1000 farms had suitable buildings
for farming purposes In addition to that
there were number of other tracts of
abandoned land which now have no suita-
BILE buildings on them. Instead of being
an indication of retrogression, the aban-
donrnent of these farms he considered to
be a step in advance. These farms were
not proper for the use of machinery They
had served their purpose and now are util-
lied for grazing. During the past ten years
10 per cent Of these farms have been taken
up and they are now occupied.
Many of these farms now taken I'D
for summer homes and have been nicely
improved, and instead of coming in com
petition with the farmers, a market for
market for their products. This movement
had materially advanced the assessed val
ue of the property.