Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-08-05
Let Us Deal ia Facts. .

Deen SupplanteQ Dy tne luXuf1eS OF
life among the farmers. Their labor
and their land have brought comforts
undreamed of thirty years ago-san-
itary improvements. labor saving de-
vices. up-to-date' literature, pianos
and automobiles, and collegiate train
ing for their youth. Kansas tax gath
erers have counted 10000 motor cars
in the state and half these are owned
by farmers. In Maine. farmers have
not taken so much to automobiles,
but who of the middle aged cannot
draw sharp contrast between pres
ent conditions and those of thirty-five
or even twenty years ago?
The writer was born since the Civil
War. in Central Maine, yet he can dis.
tinctly remember the struggle of his
parents and of their neighbors to
meet taxes and the store bills. Wool
in the spring and lambs in fall sold
for money, everything else-eggs and
butter. grain and hay, potatoes and
.cordwood-were exchanged with the
dealers for store goods. Occasionally
a fish peddler came around in winter
with a load of tomcod and a half
bushel or so at % cents a peck was
put in stock. There were no meat
carts in summer but when a farmer
killed pig or steer generous cuts
were passed about the neighborhood.
The weekly paper constituted the fam
lily touch with the world, and these
were exchanged about the neighbor-
hood. Occasionally several families
dubbed together and subscribed for
story paper for the sake of the con-
tinued stories in the long winter even
ings. There were no magazines then
and the very idea of daily paper!
In those days a fortunate farmer or
two in town could turn in a few
cords of cord wood. at s175 or $500
cord. on the store bill-perhaps ir
payment for farming tools. But the
prevailing custom was for the head of
the family and elder sons to spend
from four to seven months in the
logging swamp each winter, while
the housekeeper became barn keeper
and. with the aid of younger chill
dren, did the Chores and helped
"break roads" Good woodsrlen in
those days received from s1a to $40
per month. Occasionally a, head
chopper cook or teamster received
dollar day-s26 a month A farmer
would leave his family all winter to
the hardships entailed and come out
in the spring with s1OO in cash for the
debts and stocking leg full of gum
for the wife and children.
Now the farmer can sell anything
with which he is willing to part, from
stump fence up, at good cash
price at his own door. In the same
locality this very year children are do
ing thriving business in earthworms
thirty cents pint to the clubhouse
vegetables are at premium Labor
is scarce and wages high. Boys go
to college instead of into the woods;
girls are away at school or taking
music lessons rather than shoveling
snow and driving the cattle to water
in winter blizzard.
Columns and pages might be given
of the unbounded prosperity of forty
years. There have been periods of
arrest due to lack of confidence in
the government, but no other nation
in any other age has made the mar
velous strides of this country since
the election of William Mckinley.
Do you. Republican or Democrat,
dare gamble on the results of change
of policy?
Can you stand prosperity?
Will you let better than we'll enough
alone?
Do you believe the hazy. jumbled
problems of those'~who are opposing
| the administrations?
If you think you understand their
columns of figures as charge against
the government. can you see that they
| have anything better to offer?
Have you looked at the records of
| the business acumen of these men who
are promising to handle affairs of
| state so much better than they have
| their own
Can you make head or tail out of the
| figures the Maine Democratic editors
are firing at you?
They say they do not expect Repub-
lican editors to 'understand' their
claims. Frankly we cannot make
sense out of the stuff. but we can
| understand" what they are trying to
make the people believe.
Do you understand it?
Then vote as you understand and
we predict a large Republican ma
jority.