Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-30
RURAL observations
The Farmers Make the Towns
What They Are-Work Is
Rushing
WHOLE FAMILIES IN THE FIELD
Scarcity of Farm Help Forces Women
and Children Into the Fields During
the Seeding Time-Neishborn Turn
About In Helping One Another-The
Supreme Faith of the Farmer.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
McCallsburg, April 30.-Travelers
journeying from town to town by rail
often wonder at the marked change in
the general makeup of one town from
another. We're they to drive thru the
rural districts adjoining each town they
would discover the cause. People make
a town and in Iowa the farmers make
the small town.
For instance; the Story City branch
of the Iowa Central railroad is sur
rounded almost to a man by Norweig-
ems, Gearing is almost all Americans.
and st. Anthony on the north is nearly
all Irish. The difference in the towns
is largely what the population in the
county makes 1t.
This season of the year brings out
all the goodfellowship which exists
between n%eighbors, because work at
this time of the year must be done
quickly, and with the scarcity of labor.
it becomes necessary for Brown to help
Jones, and Jones to help Brown. Jones
land is low and has been wet, in fact
to wet to pillow, but Browns is high and
dry, so Jones helps Brown and then
when it is dry Brown helps Jones and
everything moves along. The gang
pillow, which a few years ago was
scarcely used at all, is now found in
almost every field. l was in a field
yesterday when an implement dealer
drove In with a gang plow on n wagon
and asked the farmer to try it. So it
was unloaded and four horses hitched
to it, and at once four horses and a
man commenced to do twice the work
that a man and three horses had been
doing. Twice around the field, n few
minutes conversation and the imple-
ment man drove way with a note and
the farmer owned the plow.
In this swapping of work, which the
farmers do. there is often more than
just the common kind OF ~neighborly
feeling. Last spring in a town on this
line there was q farmer who had the
misfortune to lose a horse, which badly
crippled him from going on with his
work, so his kiridhearted neighbors
said. Well, Phil. there's old Charley
that I am not using now, you can take
him and use him, until you can get an
other horse" so he came and got him.
In about ten days the armer had oc-
casion to use "old Charley and went
after him, whereupon the farmer In
that he had been made a pres
ent Of Charley, much TO the aStcnish-
ment of the owner, as Charley was an
e "a ,,asJr, xNNc gTJN. vtrna fncictnH /
he had only loaned the horse, but
threats of being shot, he got off
the place. He told his neighbors about
it and Phil did his work alone after
that. His %neighbors ceased to call and
the next year Phil was forced off The
farm, and out of the community.
e
The scarcity of farm help has been
about to a considerable extent
and the why's and wherefores are many.
One writer says the young men have
gone to farming for themselves, another
says young men are too lazy. But
think from talking with farmers that
the chief reason is in the manne IN
which they now employ their help. Un-
der the old system a farmer would hire
4 man for a year and keep him, but now
4 hired man in the winter is al unusual
hing except on a large farm. They
when they need a little extra
lelp to go out n find a man, but in
When n wants help they all
want help, hence the scarcity. When
!. young man wants we'll he will in
take a steady place which will
him the year refund. So when
he farmer wants a nun for a few
months hi is compelled 10 take what
lie can get. which usually is a pretty
,oor choice. This scarcity has brought
tut whole families, men, women and