Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-26
BACK TO The FARM IN TRUTH
Automobiles Influential in Making
Movement Much Greater.
J. J. HILL IS TAKEN TO TASK
Hayden Eames Maintains that the
Automobile IL Playing Its Part
In Making Farm Life
More attractive.

James J. Hill. the railroad maguate. made
some sensational statements a week ago
before the Bankers association in Chicago.
to which some have taken exceptions.
Hayden Eames, manager OF the Studebaker
Automobile company. says he is Of the
opinion that MIR. Hin was treating rather
Of conditions that prevailed in the past
than those which now exist. lie said that
the last two years had seen the Inaugural
ton of a back to the farm movement
which would delight the heart of Mr.. Hin
snd every other man interested in the wcl-
fare Of this class Of people. Mr.. Eames
thinks that the automobile is largely re-
sponsible for improved conditions in farm
life.
y. J. HtlI's address before the meeting
Of the Bankers associe ton OF Chicago is
most refreshing and gives the ordinary
business man considerably more confidence
in the mental grasp OF those who control
our financial affairs than is usually de-
rived from contact with that class said
Mr.. Eames.
There is one point N regard to which
Mr.. Hill seems to be misinformed, namely,
the favorable influence of the automobile
upon the very conditions which he would
like to bring about, lamely. an increase
OF agricultural as compared with urban
population.
Automobile Influence Felt.
IT looks as though the vast affairs with
which he is concerned has compelled rim
TO view the farmer collectively. rather than
individually. and he seems to be CORE
spondingly unfamiliar with the chsnge the
last six or seven years and the advent
Of the automombile has made in the de-
tails Of the farmers life. Nor does he
seem to recognize the large part which the
automobile has and can be made to play
In iustifying the extension Of his own
rsihoads and in the preliminary work OF
opening up new territory with that Ulti-
mate object in view.
wonder il he recognizes the extent
to which the individual farmer Is begin
ming to specialize in the apparatus which
he employees on his farm. No small number
of agricultural implements now used by
the farmer have their functions 80 com
bined with those of other implements which
have heretofore been of general applica-
ton as to supersede the latter, and. conse-
quentIy, materially specialize the type Of
apparatus and vehicles which he uses for
other purposes.
The advent Of the automobile, while
not directly responsible for it has tended
20 facilitate this process. At one time there
We're a dozen uses for a certain kind of
wagon which might be described today as
an uuspecialized type. Today a humble
Of agricultural implements accomplish in
themselves a part OF the service which
were heretofore accomplished by such
wagons. and. with one exception. the re-
mainder Of the services performed by that
wagon is now found TO he better performed
by a more specialized type; that exception
is the transportation Of the farmer and his
people from one point TO another. The
new specialized type is not convenient for
this purpose and the farmer resorts 70 the
automobile. He goes to town every day,
perhaps, and spends very little time in
doing so, instead Of every week at the
expense OF an entire day and service Of
"a team
Makes Neighbour Nearer.
The automobile makes the uuarter-sec-
ton farmers near neighbors and develops
a sense Of community in agricultural dis
tricts which was utterly impossible with the
FORMER methods Of transportation. It
makes the farmers life and surrounding
much more liberal, and, under many con-
dltlons, far more attractive even TO the
young people than the life Of the city.
A an example Of the part the auto
mobile is playing and can be made to
play in the affairs with which ne is con-
cerned, ii may be interesting for NJ. Hin
TO know that al the time the Belgian
steel operators were migrating to the Bal
tic provinces Of Russia in great numbers.
the resulting reduction in the population