East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-05-20
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For the man with brains and lik-
] ing for hard work the best chance to
make money in America just now is
to become a faithful servant of a trust
] But there are those who from a re-
bellion of spirit against servitude or
moral resentment against the meth
ods and purposes of the great cofpor-
ations. do not fancy such employment.
! To such as these the greatest indus
trial opportunity-in fact practically
the only opportunity to increase ma
terially ones bank account without
decreasing the bank balance of some
one else-is in modern agriculture.
There are two prevailing WAYS in
which men may safely enter upon new
business enterprises-firstb by working
for some one else until one learns the
business and accumulates sufficient
capital to start operations; second,
by accommodating sufficient money in
another trade to enable one to start
full fledged in the new business.
Agriculture, because of the fact
that one may engage in it upon any
scale. from the keeping of a potted
geranium in the window to a ten thou
sand-acre wheat farm, offers a third
way of entering the business, and that
is by farming on the side until the
necessary expenses and cash are ac-
cumulated to warrant one risking it
as a means of livelihood.
In most trades the first method Civ
en- is the sensible one. So it is in case
| nf 60 IL. a.
not inherit land. and for men from
the city whose wages are less than
three dollars a day. In the case of
men whose city earning capacity is
greater than this, working for wages
on farm is likely to prove disap-
pointment and be given up in disgust.
The solution, in the case of young
men, is the agricultural college, a
course which will increase ones earn
ing capacity to a point where it will
compare favorably with city work
For the man with a family, one of
the latter methods must be consid-
| cred.
p In the case of a countryman who
comes to town, the buying of business
without having had previous expert
| ence in related occupations usually
ends disastrously. The city man going
| to the country frequently thinks he
can disprove this principle. Occasion
ally he succeeds in doing so, but such
cases are often to be explained by the
! fact that the city man keeps summer
boarders. finds superior market for
his product or in some other way turns
to good account his city training.
In strictly farm work lack of ex-
perence is a very real handicap. and
one that reading books, good though
that is. cannot be overcome. City
people usually expect too much of
modern agriculture; they figure prob
able yields by exceptional yields and
forget to consider the many little loss
es that cannot be accurately antici
pated The result is that expenses are
incurred upon a scale that the incom-
ing crop fails to justify.
Buying a farm outright is safe
enough for those who have sufficient
means to consider themselves on a
two or three years vacation, but for
the city worker of more modest
means the safer landward route is by
way OF the SuDuTDdl SdlutH anu DOul-
try yard.
The commuters farm. whether it
is twenty five foot lot or twenty-five
acres, should be made to yield prof
it. An accurate account of expenses,
including every hour of labor and the
value of the product, Should be kept.
But remember that horse power is
cheaper than man power. and do not
expect to make. profit when grow
ing by hand such products as are or
dinarily grown with horse labor.
When you have saved enough mon
ey from your suburban farming to
buy and equip five or ten acres of
good land you should. if the agricul-
tural bee is still buzZng in your bon
net feel pretty safe in settling per-
manently on the soi.-Milo Hastings.