Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-01-20
A Lesson from the West.

| utpdi tlil'iIt iNN'ifNo anu s'bs' '"NiN''
1.-The past year. more than 10000 letters,
largely from Western agricultursts,
making inquiry as to the chances OF
securing good farms in the Empire
state and a number of families are
coming East TO try their fortunes
there.
II the movement affects New York
to the extent claimed We see no reason
to prevent its spreading to New Eng
land and particularly to Maine, as we
| have predicted. Here the opportuni-
ties are equally attractive and land
cheaper. Ii We in New England were
as enterprising as they are in the
Northwest (the Great Inland En-
pire"D, in the southwest. or the
Pacific coast. we would boom our sec
| ton. We would form organizations
whose chief purpose it should be 10
advertise the advantages of Main" ~
the city man who wishes to take up
farming at the same time he is re-
moving his children from the unwhole-
some atmosphere of the city; who de-
sires to see his children well edu
Gated and reared under the influences
of honest. God-fearing people and as
sociations.
Names newspaper offices are food
ed every week. yes. every day. with
the literature sent out by so-ealled
publicity bureaus. booming the land
from which they emanate. Good,
breezy items and interesting stories by
bright writer's are offered free, but
boost for its especial field. Every
box of fruit carries it's advertising
and every letter keeps before the eye
of the reader the name and the fame
|of the region whence it starts.
Suppose we joined hands to boom
the old Pine Tree State after that
fashion, who will deny that our popu-
lation would increase and our valua-
tion advance? Well, why do we not
do it? Here is New York getting into
the game of advertising its unoccupied
farm lands and claiming results so
soon. In New England cities are hun
dreds, perhaps thousands, of families
whose noses are held to the grind of
mill or shop existence, and in whose
hearts and minds are yearnings for
the life on the farm which they learned
in childhood, or have tasted in vaca-
tions and visits to country relatives.
They have a vague notion that some
where in the vast territory are COM
Portable farm homes that could be
purchased at very reasonable figures
by the right party. But they know
not where the farms are located, TO
whom to apply. or the terms that
might be expected.
The entire business which is mat
ter of public interest and Importance
is allowed to go by default to the
farm agencies. These are distrusted
largely by would-be city buyers be-
cause of many disastrous experiences.
Honest but inexperienced buyers have
paid several times the assessed value
of farms only to find they had been
buncoed by alluring advertising and
a n n nu-ln 6cyn nf -tt,fr
tate values in different locations. One
New York man purchased a Maine
farm in the winter. He inquired of
the smooth tongued land agent con-
cerning series of mounds in "a large
and overlooking field. "Oh, that"
replied the agent. rs where the owner
has hauled out dressing in preparation
for next years crop. Ought to raise
great corn and potatoes there" The
mounds of dressing proved to be rock
heaps.
How would it work for the Oranges
to take hold of this? Let the patrons
make up lists of farms for sale. where
located, and approximate price per
acre as fixed by the owner. If listed
in an agency at an exorbitant price let
1T alone. but see to it that your par
ticular location is not made notorious
by the number of city suckers" who
are victimized by mercenary owners
and agents.
OF course a land owner has the right
to sell his property for all he can get,
but he has no right to adopt fraudu-
lent means to make the sale; and such
sale is bad advertising for adjacent
property
| What we want is permanent and
Icontented settlers and the only way to
get our share in these days is to go
latter them. With every farm sup
porting a family real estate would be
worth more and labor would be avail
able to increase the product of some
farmers who are now land poor.
We should like to hear from some Of
the practical farmers on this suhiect