Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-10-28
A GREAT FARMER.
David Rankin Dug Millions From the
Ground.

A Missouri farmer, David Rankin
has just died leaving a fortune of $3,-
500, 900 which he had made out of agri-
culture honestly, without Shaving or
niggardliness: for he had always TAX
en- a great interest in civic affairs,
given in philanthropy as much per-
haps as he left, built up a poor Mis-
souri, town into a thriving municipal
ity and endowed it's college with a
quarter of a million.
His career is of more interest to the
country than that of many other men
who have made even greater fortunes,
in that he proved what brains applied
to the development of our greatest
natural industry will accomplish.
When men were pushing westward to
try their luck in the mines of the
Rockies or on ranches of the short
grass country" of Kansas, Mr.. Rankin
stopped in Missouri and took up the
more certain means of a livelihood on
the rich farming lands in the north
hills of corn grow where nore had
ever grown before, and acres grow in
value from SO or SIS to SIS and 500.
He had fifty poor acres when he start
ed he had $4,000 capable of the high
est cultivation when he died. In 1906
he planted $4,000 acres in corn and
raised nearly a million bushels. He
attained a world reputation as an au-
thority on corn raising, because he
made it a study, and agricultural eX-
perts came from Europe to learn his
methods. What Coburn of Kansas
said could be done Rankin of Missouri
proved.
The last census has shown that Mis-
souri, as we'll as many other states has
lost i'm rural population, and there are
those who complain that people leave
the farms to become poor stenograph-
ers, poor clerks. poor something or
other. The Isolation and loneliness
Of the country drives them to the ci-
ties, it is said. Perhaps that phase OF
his early life he was too busy to think
much about it: in his latter years this
isolation was spent in one of the finest
| country houses in the west. He had
more horses to drive than he needed
as many automobiles as he wanted; he
visited eastern cities when he felt like
| it: he went to Europe when he wished
He could afford it; his income grew
from nothing to $4,000 a year. 1t is
doubtful if many of those accused OF
this exodus to the city would ever have
become David Rankins. They would
have been about as much failures on
the farm as in the city. Besides, their
presence helps some struggling muni-
cipality to keep up appearances at CEN
sus taking time. Modern farming re-
quires brains and industry.
| To people thus equipped Mr.. Ran
kin's career must appeal strongly
Agriculture. though one of the oldest
is not the most highly developed OF
our industries. David Rankin did as
much as any man has ever done tC
prove that business methods applied tC
il meant profit. He studied soil and
products. and he learned the advan-
| tage of rotation of crops. He kept q
set of books as complete as banks;
he ran his farm as methOdically as
other men run packing houses, rail-
roads or manufactures. and he made
it pay. The opportunities are greater
today than when he began. There is a
lot of this big country of ours out OF
doors. and its development agriculture
ally is one industry that is not OYER
| d"n".-Ncw York sun.