St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-12-25
ARE LAND MoNoPoLIEs TO FOLLOW?

ARE LAND MONOPOLlES TO FOLLOW7
Are we drifting into the troubles of older
countries unaWares ? Much is being said
and written about increasing population and
dlsproportiOnate increase in food products.
All eyes are being turned upon the producer
Of these products. He is being patted on
the back and told what big man he is and
how the nation would go to the 'demnition
bow vows without him. This is all very
encouraging to the farmer who owns land;
but are we not slipping into the shoes of
England with her landed aristocracy?
The barons of America do not need to be
gently bred. They become barons by power
of money-lords of all they can get. ANY,
body and everybody who has the genius of
money-making or who inherits it can be al
American duke or baron
Water-poWer sites and valuable coal and
mineral lands have already passed into the
hands of money powers. When the lands
which provide our food supplies become val
liable enough they will also be acquired by
shrewd monied men, who are watching fu-
ture developments. Furthermore, the great
movement for the conservation of our re-
sources have caused more economical man
agement in the cutting of timber on the vast
tracts of land held by big lumber companies.
This will prevent these lands being placed
on the market for farming purposes for some
time to come, when they shall have become
valuable in excess of their timber value and
be held for cultivation 1t is to be pre-
sumed that then lessees and tenant farmers,
with high taxes and increased cost of labor,
will not be much better off than at present.
England to-day is disturbed by just such a
condition as we may come to- AS long as.
land was plentiful and not valuable there
was no temptation to monopolize it; but like
the mineral and coal lands and the oil fields
1t will fall into the net when the time is
ripe.
One of the best means of DESTROYING the
opportunities for large land holdings is the
agricultural college, which will lead not only
to intelligent farming and intelligent bust
ness management of the farm, but will in
troduce system of intensive farming that
Will make the small farm both desirable and
and will cause the establishment
81 large number of them throughout the !
country to be owned by men who will make |
money out OF them and will not part with
them.
AS to the doubt of securing farm labor |
we are inclined to the belief that it will not
De able to resist the temptation to make
money. There is no Well-paid occupation.
never has and never will be, free from danger
% life and by which an honest living can be
made, for which there were not plenty of
applicants. The trouble with farm life has
been the drudgery and the small remuner-
atom. We agree with Emerson Hough.
Who remarks as follows on the subject in
Golfers of December IS:
Much tWaddle has been written about the
ieI!ghts OF country life. There is no real
lIehght IN hard work on the farm any more
nan anywhere else. But if it can be shown
nat nara work on the farm pays better than
Ill1losc any other kind ST hard work, we will
ave talieh upon an argument of some prac-
lcal force This argument will have more
weight than any amount of sentiment, The
money to be made on the farm is what will
Jet us more farmers - '-''' -
", Fifteen years ago l used to meet up in
Wisconsin, at one Of the summer resorts, a
nan from Texas who had little to do but 90
lshlng' He said he made his money in buy-
ng land at six cents an acre and selling it
I 9zO an acre. Some Of his $40 land has
NICE then sold for 5000 an acre. But that
vas not making money, and it is transac-
l1n VI no interest to you and me- The man
WIG 10 really VIII make money out of that land
the coming college graduate who knows
low to farm and who will 90 down there
very year. "0''''A
The future looks bright for the farmer
Who owns his land. He will probably bell