Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-09-27

Our people were gratiied to have
Congressman JohnJ. Eseh Of La Crosse,
with them for a address during the
fair. He spoke from the band stand
Thursday afternoon and had the best
of attention from a very large crowd.
Wisely Mr.. Esch confined himself to a
topic eminently proper for the occasion
the greatness of Wisconsin as a
state, and the dignity and benefits to
be derived from intelligent farming.
The substance and delivery were well
received and the speaker vas repeatedly
applauded.
The CENSOR is gratified to give the
following synopsis OF what the speaker
said with such eloquenee and force.
We should be proud of our state be-
cause of her situation and natural re-
sources. On three sides she is sur
rounded by n5sigable waters, giving
her the best of transportation facilities.
Every character of soil is TO be found.
Prairie lands in the south and east; the
nil country along the Mississippi in the
west and in the north the lake and
timber country. Lead and zinc abound
in the southwest section, copper and
iron in the north section, with building
stone common throughout every Sec
ton. The state is well watered. Few
If any state in the uaicn having more
lakes or better water powers.
As proof of the states fertility, this
fair with its agricultural exhibits is a
great demonstration. Here can be
found products of pen and yard, of
orchard and garden. The county fair
is primarily designed to exploit agri-
culture, but the output of the factory,
the shop and the store are here exhi-
bited, so that the fair is co-mingling
of the interests of country and town
and affords a splendid opportunity for
the blending of their different popula-
tons and the interdependence of the two
is lesson here clearly taught.
Looking at the subject of agriculture
| in its broadcast scope, its basic purpose
is the upbuilding of our national pros
perity. We are today q nation of over
90, 900, 900 people. During t e last decade
our population has increased p per cent,
while our improved farm acreage has
increased 1872 per cent and the total
farm acreage only 4 2 per cent. Our
population during the last decade has
! increased more rapidly than our pro-
ductive farm acreage. This is one of
I the reasons for the enormous increase
in the value of farm lands. The ii.-
crease during the last decade being
from SIS to SS5 per acre, or over l08
per cent. Another reason for this in
creased value x farms lands is due to
the relative increase of urban over
rural population, this increase during
the last decade being from 40 to as per
cent. If our urban population continues
to increase over our rural population,
and our total population continues to
increase faster than the acreage of our
improved farms, the value of improved
farm lands will of necessity continue to
increase. 1t is also worthy of notice
in this connection that two-thirds of
the farmers of the United States not
only own their farms, but operate them
themselves, and two thirds of the farms
are free from all debts. But during the
last decade, the number of farms titled
by tenants increased two per cent, and
the number of farm mortgaged in
creased about three per cent. These
latter facts show tendency in the
wrong direction. An increase of tenan-
try farming m ans deterioration in land
as well as products. No farm. as a
rule, car be so well titled as the owner
Of it can till it. Benjamin FRANKLIN
stateda truth when he said: The foot
of the owner is the bess manure the
soil. An increase of tenantry farmll ,
and CT farm mortgages would seem "a
prove that our formers are rot securi y
excessive prices for their products
Our farmers are not sole.' resp0asi5'e
for the high cost of living. a.. exams
nation made by the department =. egri
culture last year as to the share which
the farmer or producer received OF the
price paid by the consumer showed the
following;
AS to milk, the farmer received but
80 per cent of the price paid for it by
the consumer; butter, the farmer re-