Mower County transcript., 1904-08-17
BEN'S COLUMN

~ oCCIuH; ~ HuCCA W uO"u CdoIOA
out here that every farmer amt got
wood lot of his own. When I was
lad, it was just as much a part of
winters work to go to the woods and
get out the supply of chestnut and oak
and hickory wood as it was to feed the
stock. It was one of the regular chores
to cut it and haul it to the house and
work it up for stove wood and pack it
in the great shed. l tell you we never
were skimped for fuel for the big fire.
place and the brick oven and the
capaci0us set kettle and the kitchen
stove: I've thought lots of times that
it would hav paid every farmer in this
county to hav started grove when he
first settled and kept it up all these
years just for fuel. Some hav done this
and are gettin' all their summer wood
anyhow off their own farms. 1t looks
like it was as good an investment for
usin' land as wheat or turnips. There
amt quarter section in Mower county
that wouldn't be increased in value
thousand dollars if it had ten acres of
timber lot grown on it. The coal de-
posits will run out before this century
is over and we've got to get somethin
else or else freeze. I'm glad that the
question of restorin' the forests is get
tin'*so much attention. They say that
over in Germany man amt allowed
to cut tree on his own premises with
out permission from the authorities.
Down in Kansas they are tryin' to
solve the flood problem by settin' out
trees. Up here we ought to solve the
fuel problem largely in the same wise
manner. =
Ain't the farmers in this locality had
enough of thrashin' out of the shock
yet? There's been more lost in damaged
grain rottin' in shock than would hav
stacked it ten times over. The weather
for the past two or three falls has been
nifty treacherous and tricky hereabouts
and grain amt safe until it's put up
tight in ain-sheddin' stacks to settle
and go thro the sweat. It looks like a
fascinatin' projeck to sit round and
loaf Waitin' for q threshin' machine
I and then clean up out OF the shock but
it amt good farmin' and I know it.
1t don't take such an awful differ of
work to stack and you hav the straw
where you want it for next winter. My
renter is just hustlin' and a week will
see every thing up safe and then he
will just pitch into the fall plowin'.
An acre plowed in August is worth
two in November. It's been good
harvest take it all round and the only
trouble we hav is the backward corn
but few weeks like Sunday will fetch
it rite out. 1 just put in more than
half the time nowadays down on the old
farm. I've plowed and reaped over
every foot of it when l used to work it
and love|to roam and see the harvest
and the fruit and the stock. [ wouldn't
trade our farm for Jim Hills palace on
Summit avenue. 1 get more comfort
out of it than he does out of his man.
sion. And 1 don't care whether rail-
road stocks fuctuate or not, the old
farm goes rite on earnin' us good
livin' in our old age.
Amt there no way of cuttin' out this
graft business and relieve the taxpay-
ers? My paper calkerlates that there
is profit of about $250OO a year
private fees that the state don't get any
slice at all in the state insurance COM
missioner business and it is talked that
in the grain inspection, oil inspector
and other fat otfises there is lot more
of like graft all robbin' the people and
stutfin' the pockets of the favored ones.
1 never see what job lot of these
public officials hav barnacled their
selves on to the state of Minnesota and
Minneapolis plantations. We've got
oil inspectors and boiler inspectors and
drainage commission and printing
commission and state board of health
and commissioner of statistics and a
live stock commission and forest
wardens and game and fish commits
sion and railroad commissioners and a
bureau of labor and dairy and food
commission and public examiner and
insurance commissioner and grain in
spectors and the Lord knows what not
and all of this provides of1ises with
salaries or fees for lot Of barnacles
that most of 'em ought to be out work
in for ivin' insted of sittin' round and
draWin' fat salaries and fees. There's
a commission for about everythin' now
even to send round to see what kind of
milk the old cow givs and it all means
a fat livln' for the barnacles that hold
the ottises and just so much out of the
pockets Of the people directly and in