Mower County transcript., 1903-01-21
FARMER BEN'S COLUMN.


Methuselah and the push away back in
pioneer days lived to be a thousand
years old when today the man who
livs to be hundred is a rare commod-
ity. I can't remember back,so far but
it looks to reason that they didn't llv
so fast in those days and use up
physical power and energy. I.calker-
late that Eve and her sisters didn't
dress like women do today with corsets
and tite shoes and trailin' skirts mop
PIN up spit gobs and filth. I calker-
late that Methuselah's wife Went4out
in the garden and helped him weed his
onyuns and turnups and letus and the
like. / don't reckon they lived in tite
houses in those days with everythin's
shut up to keep out the sweet air Of
heaven from gettin' into the lungs. [
don't spose they filled up with rotgut
Whiskey and coffee and terbacker and
such as folks do now and they never
knew the differ between oatmeal and
the latest breakfast food. They didn't
sift out all the wholesome part of their
flour before they made bread and they
didn't fill themselves with such con-
glomerations as salads and condiment-
ed stuff to block digestion. They just
lived in olden time as near to Mother
Natur's rules as possible and hence
had long life, and leetle sickness and
physical ills. They went to bed with
the chicks and got up with the sun.
Now comes St. Paul and asks for an
addit ional million and a half for
further expenditures on the new state
capitol steal and I don't believe that
this will end it. They got up big
"lunch' the other day and invited all
the legislators over to partake and
when they had 'em pretty we'll loaded
then they sprung the million and half
steal on 'em and you see if the gumps
don't vote it whole without whimper
or gulp. I tell you it's fright how
this thing is goin'. Here we hav the
push up to St. Paul organized against
VanSants patriotic suggestions and
seemingly owned body and britches by
the mergers and corporations so that
the won't do thing this winter that
.,will curb the combines and mill ionaires
and be for the peoples interests: That
five million dollar statehouse steal
sticks in Farmer Ben's crop and he
don't deny it. Other states hav built
better ones for two million, as 1 am
Informed. There'll be show of doin'
somethin' of course. The-E"l be bills
passed that when they come to the
supreme court will likely be knocked
out as unconstitutional like the in
heritance tax was few moons ago
It's dilly daily so far as strikin' at the
real root of evils with sure stroke and
all the time gang of shrewd St. Paul
and Minneapolis schemers appear to be
playin' the rest for suckers and gumps
and innOcentsr
I see that one of the railroads is
dolin' out passes to the legislators at
St. Paul good only durin' the session of
the legislator and the solons are kickin'
like steers because the passes amt for
the two full years. The railroad claims
that lot of the solons are in the habit
of lOanin' their passes to friends OF
sellin' 'em to canvassers and travelin
agents for good money. But what a
honorable and highminded and noble
and honest course it is for our law
makers to take passes and then take
fifteen cents mile mileage out of the
state treasury for travelin' that actually
they don't pay a cent for and at best
they wouldn' hav to pay but three cents
for at regular rate. This is one of the
contemplate steals by the legislator
and no man that is honest would ever
steal from the state money to pay fol
mileage that cost him nothin'. 1t looks
like when a man gets into the legislator
that he don't consider public interests
or honor or anythin' but the rankes
kind of personal interest. I see tina
the number Of unnecessary clerks up il
the legislaser is bigger than eve
known in history which means that i
is pull for maxim place for frien'
when there amt no need of it. AM
yet the farmers stayed at home las
i primary election and let the politician
and corporations decide who shoult
represent 'em. ~
25 o o o ~.as ...~l..
Now that congress has taken a hant
at the coal scarcity investigation hope
they will make a clean deal of it
There is no doubt that: there is tn,
worst set of robbers holdin' up the suf
ferin' consumers that was ever dis
covered since Columbus. Down a
Milwaukee there are 10000 tons Of Goa
stored more than would reliev th
sufferin' Of every shiyerin' individual
1