The Delta independent., 1909-09-03
Those Who Think.

Horace Greeley. To neglect adver-
tising is like resolving never to travel
by steam or communicate by telegraph.
1t is to close ones eyes to light and
persist upon living IN perpe ual dark
ness.
T. o. Munson. farming popula-
ton is an unwieldy, chaotic mass at
present apparentlyincapable of larger
cooperation. A lack of system and of
a fundamental knowledge of practical
business principles permeats the whole
class. Not only this, the farmer is
woefully wanting when it comes to a
knowledge of the scientific principles at
the base of his occupation.
John P. Dolliver. The population of
the country is rushing to the cities..
The next census will show that fully
sixty-five per cent of our population is
now urban. This leaves only thirty
five per cent to till the soil. In my
state of Iowa, the greatest agricultural
state in the Union. the conditions are
a little better than in other parts of
the country, but even we are feeling
the result of the drift to the rural GEN.
ters. l do not see how we can hope
for much relief from the present high
prices of the things we eat. Not
enough men are working upon the farms
to feed the nation at reasonable price.
]. w. Offield. We hear much about
bettering farm life. Men who have
been advising seem to know little of
the real situation. All can see that
when farm produce brings good prices
farmers prosper and conditions i'm
prove. Then surely what is needed is
conditions that will enable the farmer
to get the best possible prices for his
produce. To get his supplies cheapest,
he wants freight rates split in the mid
die; he wants express cut to about one
fourth what they are now; he wants
parcel post rates very low. so it will be
possible to deliver produce to the con-
sumer in large or small lots at low
rates. bringing producer and consumer
together and thus largely cutting out
the middle man.
| Charles Gurney. and alfalfa
are going to make the western farmers
the most independent people on earth.
The time is coming when cement will
be the universal building material on
the farm. A concrete floor and wall
eliminates rodents and most vermin,
and in few years we'll constructed
building with bin attachments will save
enough grain to pay for the cost of con-
struction. In extreme cold weather
such building affords an even temper
ature for live stock. never have to
worry about my young stock on a cold
night. Another advantage is cleanli-
ness. have no tuberculosis among my
cattle, no cholera hogs and no roup in
the chickens. And alfalfa is making it
possible for the western farmers to live
in luxury.
James ]. Hill. We are fiddling while
Rome burns! Why is there scarcity
of wheat. The valley Of the Euphrates
was once the garden of the earth. Why
did that scepter Of greatness pass
away? When Greece was master of
the known world why were laws en-
acted pronouncing sentence Of death on
anyone shipping grain beyond Crete?
Why did Rome build her wonderful
roads but to bring food from foreign
countries? Why did Spain launch out
on policy of foreign conquest but to
bring from abroad the wealth which
her own soil could no longer yield?
Why did Greece and Rome and Spain
fall back from the leadership of the
nations just as soon as produce ceased
to pour in from abroad? We are grow
ing more wheat than ever before in the
history of this country. but the demand
is growing faster than the supply.
Europeon countries that formerly used
scarcely any white bread now use from
a pound to pound and half of flour
per capita week and our own popula-
tion is growing faster than the food
supply. This is where conservation
touches us practically.