Mower County transcript., 1905-10-04
FARMER BEN'S COLUMN.

1t don't make any differ whether
folks take any stock in what Farmer
Ben thinks or not, he can't help
havin' the thunks that he jots down.
What like 1 like and what I don't
think is square can't win my appreciate
anyhow. 1 never like to see public Of
fcers maxim out of their inside knowl
edge of things in their offs and I don't
like to see 'em runnin' in their relations
for fat posish. My paper says that
folks have no idee Of the extent down
at Washington to which congressman
and others run in their relation for
clerks and secretaries and special agents
and then use 'em for dummies for
drawin' side salaries. 1 never liked the
way they used to lease our state lands
to clerks and relations in the state audi
tors offs no matter what turn the legal
points may Civ it, l don't like to see
officials gettin' rich out of Investments
which they make from inside knowledge
of what is comm that givs advantage
over the outsiders. The only rite way
is for every officer to take his salary
and stay by the interests OF the people
for all the rest. It's gettin' so hardly a
public contract can be made in lots of
municipalities without their ben' a
graf pull on it by the gangs that are
lookin' for the stuff. don't like it and
why should |?
F~'"~ q <. @
jim Hill is fine punch bowl ahead,
the gift of lots of the solid business
men of Minneapolis at big feed they
give him few nights ago. There was
lots of nice talk swapped about what
Hill had done for the northwest and
lots Of it was true too. The man who
can't see only one side of mans pub
lie record might as we'll hav both eyes
punched out so fur as bein' fair and un-
prejudiced. Jim Hill had done lots of
developin' for the great northwest and
when he cut down grain rates on his
roads last month just said to myself
l wish they was some Jim Hills down
this way to cut down our big rates on
coal and wood that is eatin' the heart
out of this country. l read Hills
speech at the fairs and | can't discover
where he want givin' good advice to
the farmers about raisin' stock and
maxim an acre perduce more. Of
course, when it comes to the merger
question and to government regulatin'
rates and the like there is where we diff
fer and time will tell how near rite
Farmer Ben las been on these gigantic
problems. But believe that the north
west is Wakin' up to see that Jim Hill
has been benefitin' the country as we'll
as his own pocket book in openin' out
railroads and reducin' haulin' rates and
givin' better accommodations. Com
petition has been good spur on him
and he's had sense snuf to feel it and
act accordingly.
Speakin' of rates it makes me fghtin
mad every time think of the robbery
there is put up on the people in the
coal and wood and oil line by the rail.
roads and go-betweens so that the con.
sumers hav to pay extortionate and
robbin' rates for what they hav to hav
to keep 'em from freeZin' all winter
The idee that there can't be some way
pervided by which Natur's material pro
ducts can be furnished to folks at
reasonable and livin' rates is not hap
py one to entertain. The cost of ton
of hard or soft coal amt but little al
the mines and reasonable commission
for haulin' it and sellin' it would cut
prices one third easy and people would
hav some show for their lives and
would pronounce life worth livin' in
sted of bein' robbed and tramped on as
they are. l never could see why the
big fellows couldn't tackle the fuel
question and get it down to its proper
base and manipulate it for the people
instead of against 'em. If this fue
question was properly tiggered out and
we had coal to burn at reachable price
this would be the land of promise ahead
of any other region in this wide, wide
world. But with the robbery and op
preston and extortion of so many
between the coal in the mine and the
coal in your bin there's a proper kick
comm as high as sixteen story build
in.
O O g.
Iwonder what that New Y ork steam
ship president who was gettin' $20,00(
year thinks now since he has been lei
down. Six months ago he was holdin
fat offs and probably he was capable
of it too. He had nice home and {
wife and six children all fine and pros