The Mena weekly star., 1909-11-18
Bnild Good Fence s.
be Editor of The Star.

LQ iHC E<1lAQi VA I nt DAAAs
 Dear Sir:---l notice in recent is- sues of The Star mush interest taken on the subject of hog law for Polk county and as 1t is a subject in which every farmer is interested, l desire briefly to notice few state ments and submit few facts as they are known here.
 note the estimate made by T. r. Fulton of the amount expended in southwest Polk county for packing house meat and lard. all of which should be raised in Polk county. but he neither gives proof or reason to show that a hog law would remedy the evil and it IS a hundred to one that there would be less meat raised if we had a hog law.
 Now let us look further into the matter of home production. It is safe to assume that the people of Polk county pay $l00,000 annually for feed of different kinds, all of which could be produced at home.
 Now will anyone claim that hog law or any law will bring us plenty of feed? will state without boast ing that have been farming in Polk county on my own account for 34 years and in all that time have not bought 50 pounds of packing house meat and lard but have sold many hundreds of dollars worth and have not bought single bale of hay or a sack of chop or bran. but usually have feed to sell. own an upland farm and am of those who used to eat bear meat and venison and DOS sum. and can remember eating sor- ghum molasses and corn bread. know many ( f those old-rimers who are doing as well and better and they are not of the rusted out mossback sort either, but are men of grit and energy and number largely among the vely best citizens of Polk county.
 notice another article from T. r. headed Have You Raised Your Meat for l9l0?" Yes, thank you, with possibly little to spare. " How are you fixed about yours?
 Then he goes on with some good advice and quotes some excellent remarks from Mir. Taft's speech where he said Move the smoke houses of Iowa to your back yards. !" We'll, know more than a score of those old-timers and their children right here in the small township of Big Fork who have had the smoke houses in the back yard all the time and go on from year to year raising and curing their own meat, raising their feed and paying their bills but never thought of organizing a Boos- ter Club. We believe that the real boosters of any farming community are the people who always have something to sell. The people care little for fine spun theories or pet hobbies; they want results.
 What the country needs is more men who do things. It may be that Polk county will sometime need a hog law, but not while 80 or 90 per cent of the land is outside.
 have no desire to enter into a debate with MT. Fulton, but have just written this plain statement of facts and have been wondering if all the California Boosters have smoke houses in their back yards and raise and cure their own meat and raise their own feed ?
 THE REMEDY.
 As a remedy, will suggest that those of us who own farms begin NOW to clear away briars and re- pair fences and see to it that by the first of March next there is not piece of bad fence. Keep the best stock and poultry they can procure, then diversity the crops and culti- vate clean until July 4 Then use the next four months to gather, store and market the crops, and there will be few indeed who will either have the time or occasion to kick about other peoples hogs. So here goes for good fences and clean crops for 1910. Very respectfully,
 Stephen Bates.