Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-04
4 GLORIOUS PROSPECT
The T..R.'s Rural Agent Sees
Some Promising Crop Pros.
poets in Sight.
New Houses and Barns Building
Everywhere Sc. Some Pala.
tial Residences.
Systematic Road Work Being
Done...Rural Mail Delivery
Forces 1t.
,cial to Times-Republican.

Hartwick, June A days drive thru
outlook of crops that has occurred for
years. The weather has been almost
ideal, rains coming at just the right
time, the corn is all in and most of it
up and nearly all has been gone over
with cutivators and is remarkable for
its freedom from weeds That good
big crop is NEEDED is evident from the
empty cribs to be seen everywhere. AT
no time has there been as little corn IN
cribs in Iowa as today. Glover is in
blossom and is very heavy promising
big crop. Pastures are knee high and
plenty of water in the streams.
Surely the farmer is being blessed
and if any one can take prosperity
without saying anything about it 1T is
the farmers.
Perhaps the average farmer handles
money less than any other person. When
he gets his money from his sales of cat
tie, hogs or grain he gets it all in one
check and takes 1t to the bank, where
he either takes up note or takes
certificate for it and he won't use that
money except for another live stock
purchase.
In great many instances largely
in the smaller towns they only settled
UP at the store once year. In talking
with various merchants am told that
god farmers who own their land with
money in the bank will owe from $2o0
to $500 at the store and when settling
day comes give a check for 1T. This is
merely a habit not a crime.
A farmer has use for money only to
spend it again. On nearly every farm
there is going up new barn, granary
house or something in the way OF i'm
provement. The high price OF lumber
does not stop him when he gets ready.
In one days drive from this town the
writer counted six new houses and
twelve new barns in course OF con-
struction and not the little 2X4 house
either, great, big houses with furnaces,
bathrooms, etc. One house along the
line is to cost $4,000 and have every
thing that money can buy to make 1T
up to date. The empty corn cribs, oat
bins and hog lots are being put back
on the place again and where it goes to
make the land more valuable.
This mania for improvement rife in
the rural districts has reached the
To-, l,;,,; f1,nr 1S.
in Poweshiek county this week I find
that they have all been worked, and
worked right, with road grader, the
dirt being carried to the center and
bitches left at the sides for the water
to run off. 1t certainly is pleasing to
man who uses roads every day in the
year to see an effort being made to i'm
prove them.
Before we ever have real good roads
law must be enacted requiring the
use of wide tires. The greatest curse to
good roads is the milk hauler who will
put on load of 5000 to 5000 pounds
with four horses and cut into the roads
clear to the hubs. AS he goes every day
he is about the only one to cut it up.
are worse than the mud.
1t would seem more than natural that
the farmers would take some interest
in the roads outside of working out
their taxes, but they don't. In some
places they will drive mile around
bad road rather than get together to
fix it up. The r. F. d. inspectors are
now paying great deal of attention to
good roads and are demanding that be-
fore they will run a route over them
that they agree to fix them up, and fur
there that they will agree to see that
they stay in good condition. Recently
l saw fifteen men working on one mile
of road fixing it up as the whole route
depended on that one strip. Some
came six miles to help that they might
get their mail brought to them. If we
get mail routes enough we may event.
ually have some good roads.
GEORGE f. THAYER.