Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-06-17
The Sources Of
Rural Discomfort

In our two years sojourn on tho
farm we gradually became acquainted
with the conditions surrounding US,
and learned much Of the inner strata
of life as viewed from the stand point
Of the farming community. Discon-
tent is so much Of an inevitable &C.
compartment to existence, wherever
human beings are situated, that the
problem of life IL simply to reduce
that characteristic of human nature
to its minimum, and call the result
happiness. So far as living on farm
was concerned, we were as much re-
moved from the din of the cities as
any of our neighbors; 80 far as 80
ciety was concerned, we had a very
few friends in the adjoining town
who occasionally drifted buggyward
In our direction; SO far as the sources
Of discomfort about us went, we grad
ually became conversant with many
new phases, and it was interesting to
Hote their ramifications.
To begin with, the more intelligent
among the farmers feel that the rail-
,oads and trusts are giving them the
worst of It. The farmer, by reason
Of his being able to raise his own
meat, make his own butter, have his
fresh vegetables, milk, fruit, etc., is
independent Of prices as far as that
goes. But when it comes to clothing,
groceries, tobacco, coal oil, farm ma
chinery, barb wire, nails, lumber,
hardware, Irvine. -four, and thousand
other articles, he finds that prices
have risen tremendously. He cannot
agure that the price for corn and oats,
for wheat, rye, broom.corn, hay, cat
tie. hogs and farm produce generally,
has kept pace with these increased
prices. Perhaps, as in broom-corn,
raised in favored localities, or alfalfa,
or Timothy, or clover seed, he may
make q killing" on some particular
year, but, year in and year out, the
farmer has seen prices for him re-
main very much the same. If crops
are good everywhere, the freight
rates have kept him under; If crops
are poor hs has so much less to
sell.
And so, deep in his heart, and pos
sibly with very much reason, the
farmer believes that he has the tar
red end of the stick to hold, and hence
the far-reaching and firmly-rooted dis
trust of the great cities among farm
ing communities; which seem to them
as the lairs of capitalists who con-
spire to get the best of all small
fry, and especially of the farmer. In
medieval days, the barons sailed out
from their castles and carried away
the cattle from the lowlands. In
modern days they sit in their Offices
in the large cities, and by means of
subtle combinations, accomplish the
same ends: at least, so it seems to
the farmers.
Another thing that makes the farm
er bemoan his lot is the average con-
dition of the roads of the country.
Generally speaking there is only a
small portion Of the time that most
country roads are passable, and that
is usually when crops are growing.
When crops are ready to harvest and
haul to town, the roads are often cut
up badly; if not so in the beginning,
little hauling will soon furrow them
with ruts, and make it a veritable
siege to get in with heavy loads. The
system of mending the roads with &C.
casional groups of men working out
their taxes is at best only a tempo
rary relief. Roads need to be built.
not mended, and one high and dry
turnpike, properly constructed, will
last out lifetime with little repair.
The remains of the roads built by the
Romans still exist in Great Britain,
and the roads on the continent gen.
orally are the wonder and despair of
American travellers.
Even if only a number of trunk
roads, good broad highways, were
built through the great agricultural
states, the farmers could come in
from the side roads through the mud
and get on these trunk roads and
make their market with a tremendous
saving of time and labor. The mud
they would bring in on their wheels
would not amount to much; it would
wash off solid-built highways the first
rain storm. But only to one who has
lived in the country can the utter
helplessness of an early spring or
mid-wfnter country road be imagined.
Think of cruising for four hours and
half in a buggy with two splendid
horses hitched to it, to travel four
miles. A mile an hour, with the
horses literally jumping their way to
town. Generally we preferred to
walk cross-cut through the fields
when conditions were like this. and
city-bred as was, the patent inquiry
Of these surroundings was something
to marvel at and absolutely condemn.
The government could at least e.
tablish good post roads, wherever
rural delivery was handled, thus help
ing the farmers out to some consider.
able extent; and then. along with its
donations to deep waterway and irri-
CATION projects, give to the different
states that need it most, substantial
aid in building rock-bottomed trunk
roads, or government pixies" without
toll-gates.
OF course the inevitable weather
came in for steady case of growing
on the part of the farmers. If it rain.
ed too much It was bad for some
thing or other; If it was dry SPELL"
something else went wrong. AS In