The midland journal., 1904-04-01
The Farmer Compared
FROM
Business Standpoint.

late for your good. Learn to EN-
ploy the mind as well as the hand.
As you guide the plow through the
burrows, think what to plant and
how to cultivate to get the best
return from that acre. Some peo-
pie get twice. as much from an acre
as others; which class do you be-
long toq As you milk that COW
think how you can feed her to get
the most out of the milk you have
gotten. Think !! it is the light OF
your salvation; act accordingly,
it will prove the reward you are
seeking. I know of nothing that
will expand so much with bene-i
fetal results, and without detriment
as the human mind-Think! then,
and expand it. What about the
man in the manufacturing business,
or the one who stands behind the
counter or at the deskq The very
secret of his success is that his bus
mess has compelled him to think.
The manufacturer wants some ma
terial for use. He does not invest
a few dollars in seeds and trust
nature to produce it. He sets
about to find where he can get that
best suited to his needs and at the
least cost; he gets carload to save
the freight; he pays cash to get a
discount; he starts his mill at seven
sharp and announces the fact by
blowing the whistle, and if any of
the employees are not there on the
minute, the fact is noted-and more
particularly noted on pay day. He
divides his business into depart
ments and puts a competent man at
the head of each department, and
holds him responsible for what goes
on in that department. He prac
tices the strictest economy and
wastes nothing-every scrap and
raveling and hair is saved and sold
or made into a by-product and real
ized on. He searches diligently
for the best market for his products,
where he can get the best prices
and quickest returns; he keeps the
strictest account of everything.
bought and sold and knows how he
stands when the day is done. He
consults and combines with others
in the same business for their
mutual benefit. He gives every
minute of his time. during business
hours, to business; he don't take a
half hour to say good morning to a
neighbor.
Fellow farmer, do you run your
business like that? Can you see
where it would pay better if you did!
But the storekeeper All he has
to do is to make a profit off we poor
farmers Is itf Indeed he has
many things to worry him. He
must study the markets of the
world to know when aud how to
buy; he must buy that which he
can sell-unsalable goods make no
profit but lock up capital and eat
up in interest; he must study to
please-it costs something to hold a
trade as well as get it; he must get
the money for what he does SELL
you have no idea unless yon have
been in the business how many
people forget to pay their bills for
a long time and some of them for
lever; this is a source of much an
noyance to him as he needs the
money to buy new goods for cash.
He must keep up delivery team,
so if he sells a yard of ribbon or a
pound of soap he can send it around
before dinner; he must keep. clean
ed and secured and attractive, as
people will tolerate at home what
they would not in a store; he must
keep late hours to have place for
farmers to spend their evenings
when in town, he must keep books
toO-indeed he must-and many
late hours will he ponder over
them while the hard worked farmer
has forgotten his toll in sweet and
peaceful sleep. This storekeeper
so much envied for his sure income
and easy time of it only knows his
wife by lamp light and his children
by Sunday acquaintance.
Say brother, do you stick to the
old farm like that's I don't, and l
hope the business will never get SO
hard that / will have to.
!, Now let us be honest with our
selves. We do not give the farm
credit with near all we get out of it.
4 We are too apt to compare the
farmer with the few thousands of
financially successful men-let us
compare him also with the many
millions of day laborers and see
4 how much brighter the picture
i looks: because we don't have the