Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-13
FARMERS NEAL TRUST
In One Neighborhood They Have
Combined to Maintain Prices
on Meals.
Woven Wire Displacing Danger.
Gus Barbs and Boards for
Farm Fencing.
Solicitors Becoming a Nuisance
and Threatening Signs APP
pear-Thayer's Gossip.

trust noise l fail to find the farmers
very much scared over IT, Most of them
would like to see beef go higher, for
they have beef to sell and very few buy
any. In the last two months of rural
travelling 1 have seen fresh meat only
Kill and dress their own meat and salt
il down in season whether the price OF
live beef is 3 cents or Z.
Speaking of trusts, | drove last week
III neighborhood that boasts of
Farmers Alliance. The members get
together every two weeks to discuss
important events. Among other sub
.iects that have occupied their attention
WAS the people who drive thru the
country soliciting business. Under the
cid system it was considered usual on
ly to charge enough to about cover the
actual cost, but these gentlemen have
come to recognize feeding people as
business and figure to make something
cut of 1t. In the county where l was
the scale adopted was as follows:
Man and single horse ..............35 c
Man and team NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 50c
Two men and team .75c
These prices are not high, but the
very fact that they have an agreed
price constitutes trust the same as
the men who run the meat trust. Ii
you would tell him that ne had a trust
and was fostering it you would have an
argument on your hands that would
last you all the afternoon.
The farmers in this state are using
nd Of
many farms being entirely fenced with
it. This fence has so many advantages
over the barbed wire that the addi-
tonal expense is overcome. AS one
farmer said to me, 1 used to have
barbed wire everywhere. but lost one
good horse every year for three years
in succession and / concluded that l
could afford to use the woven fence.
Now l not only have a good hog-ught
fence which looks well, but a lot in
which l can turn my horses without
danger. Many a horse that is worth
$3.50 Is being sold at SIS to $50 simply
because he has a wire cut which hurts
his sale more than his working ability.
Men travelling thru the country sell
dom see a we'll matched team. Farm
ers will drive gray and bay, mule
and a colt, or some such queer COM
biration. They seem to lack a sense of
the artistic in matching horses, but as
q rule sell singly and get only a small
part of what they would were
teams well matched in size and
color. When you do see 4 well-matched
team it is very noticeable. I saw the
ether day four horses hitched to a disc.
Three of them were full sisters and the
other half sister. The owner said he
had many chances to sell them at fancy
prices, but he likes to drive good horses
as we'll as any one.
Prosperity has sent many salesman
into the country after the trade of the
farmer. Some of the latter fail to APP
preciate their opportunities. The fol-
lowing sign met my gaze as 1 APP
preached farmers gate to open it:
agents and solicitors keep out. I
have no time for you.
FIRED BANGS"
OF course the sign aroused my Curl
osity and I opened the gate and drove
in to see why the man didn't want to
see me. I found him young man of
good appearance and asked him why
he put such sign up. He replied that
a day in which some one had not come
to sell him something, mostly things
he did not want, and they consumed
time that he should put in on the farm.
Does it keep any of them out?" was
the next inquiry. Yes, most of them;
but newspaper men and insurance
agents feel themselves privileged char
acters and come right in" There are
signs and signs. 1 saw one Friday
which read: mo trespassing allowed;
has been killed on this |
farm even my cattle; keep out
However the day of the rural sign
board is passing. Roads on which trav-
elers were entertained for hours and
hours of driving by the advertisements
on board fences are now lined with
woven wire fences. The day Of the To-
cal druggists sign, "Try Alleys Paints
changed to "Try Alleys Pints" has
gone. AT times attempts are made to
MT IN some tin figure or whirly-giS
q IRA ngement whose only effectiveness
seems to be to brighten horses. and for
come reason these signs never last
long Sarsaparilla, which can occupy
the entire side and roof of poor mans
horn ;s the only sign that remains, and
even these signs are moving TO Dakota
o,one with the poor farmers
GEORGE L. THAYER.
Will RECLAIM 10000 ACRES.