Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-11-23
AMERICAS RICHEST FARMER.
How David Rankin Rose from Pnv.
crty to Great Wealth.

FROM extreme poverty TO the Dig
! gest and richest farmer in the world
| is the story of David Rankin, whose
lifework closed the other day on his
great Missori farm.
The story Of this plain, unassum-
ing mans rise from grinding want
to the ownership Of the largest cul-
tivated farm in the world and mil
lions in profits, Is one of the great
romances Of this country, and an in
spiration to every barefoot boy
dl canning his dreams in the burrows
as he follows the plow.
No more powerful sermon in in
dustry, application and possibilities
Of farming life in America could be
offered than the simple telling of
David Rankin's history. 1t is not
to be presumed that every man has
the genius for organization and
achieving that he possessed, but new
ertheless his rise shows that tre-
mendous opportunities lie at the
hands of every farmer boy and
youth in the land. Here is the plain
story Of his life:
He began his career in 1916 with
half yoke Of oXen-one bull. On
the 25,G40 broad acres he leaves $50
men employed. He planted 10000
acres to corn a year, yielding about
100000 bushels. One thousand
horses and mules are required to do
the work Of this vast farm, and Mr..
Rankin bought $50 carloads Of feed
ing cattle at time, his freight bills
running as high as $4,000 for one
shipment. In one field he had 5000
acres OF corn, the largest corn field
in the world
He gave 100000 to Tarkio Col
lcge and regarded it as one of the
best investments he ever made.
In speaking of this he was wont
| to dwell on the Importance OF an ed
ucation, saying he needed more than
| he had himself, and wished to make
1t easy for boys and girls Of the pres
"nt time TO acquire learning. This
millionaire farmer raised more corn
! each year than the nine States of
Utah, Oregon, Washington. Arizona,
Idaho, Montana, Rhode Island, wy
omng and Nevada combined.
He did not sell his corn, but fed
! !! 10 cattle ANA hogs, holding that
| the latter were nearly all profit.
"Thou shalt not sell corn" was one
OF his maXims. He did moi pay much
attention to nitrogen phosphatcs or
potash in The soils, holding that his
land was ineXhaustibly fertile, but
he Favored agricultural schools and
the new farming." He was worth
about $4,000,O00.
Mr. Rankin was born on a Sulli-
van county Undiana) farm in 1925.
Through farming since he was big
enough, first for his father and later
FOR himself, he became familiar with
the great changes that came in agri-
cultural methods and the manner of
rural life in thrce-quarters of cen
tury. His first home was log
cabin sixteen feet square. In that
nome the cooking was done in an
open fireplace, most of the simple
| fare b ing cooked in a kettle, set on
| the logs, which had to be watched
| lest it tip over. The bread was cook
cd in Dutch oven, with Goals over
1t and Goals under it. When young
David was nine years old the family
moved from Indiana to Illinois, To-
eating in Warren county.
The only schools they had in those
days were little subscription schools
held in log houses, with windows Of
creased paper. The principal studies
were reading, writing and arithme-
tic, and the embryo millionaire had
little opportunity to acquire these.
At the age OF eleven years he quit
school and went to work. The boy
was needed to help support the fam
lily. Money was so scarce that the
common people could afford shoes
only in cold weather. Mr.. Rankin
recalls that he went barcfOoted every
summer until he was 2S years old.
But 1t was the simple life, and, if it
had many disadvantages, Mr.. Ran
Kin believed it gave people stronger
constitutions than the strenuous life
OF to-day.
Prosperous young farmers OF to-
day, whose greatest worry is that
thc bank may fail, viii! note by the
prices prevalent in Mr.. Rankin's