Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-09-16

weeds, biennial weeds, perennial
weeds. His corn field may be as
clean as ribbon today, and if a
shower comes in the night, it is COW
cred with weeds the next day.
| Phen comes rusts and smuts to at
tack his growing grain Chinch bugs
suck its juices; and no sooner is the
grain ripe than they migrate to the
corn field. Grasshoppers and leaf
hoppers attack his meadows and his
pastures.
In the winter time vermin attack
his stock. Diseases like hog cholera
come, he knows not whence, to rem
der his labors abortive.
Naturally. therefore, the farmer is
fighter. He must either fight this
horde of enemies or go-under. Grad
ually he knows how to fight success
fully, providing a rotation of crops
which will decrease the number of
his insect pests. He studies their
habits and their ways: learns how to
attack them successfully. He gets
improved machinery, with which at
the right time he can kill more cock
leburs in day than he could other
wise in week. He studies the weak
points of his insect pests; learns how
to ally with himself the forces of
winter, the birds that fly over; and
learns how to protect these from their
foes, whether the boy with the gun
in his own household or the hunter
who comes from the neighboring
town. He takes account of his
friends and fights his foes.
When the crop is grown he must
learn how to market it to the best
fight his fellowman, who rob him of
the results of his labors. And just
here is where the farmer falls down.
His fights on the farm have been in
dividual fights, in which his neigh
bors could give him little help, hav-
ing enough problems of their own.
He has not yet learned to any extent
to organize and do team work
Hence he is liable to become kicker
rather than an efficient fighter.
He is learning, however. He has
learned by organized creameries that
it is not necessary for his wife to
spend the hot days in churning, and
trade butter and eggs to the mer-
chant at the same old price," with
out regard to quality, and take pay
in goods on which the merchant has
a large profit. He has learned in
many sections to organize elevator
companies, and purchasing compan-
les, and thus get even with the large
fs(r IL
heretofore have claimed the right to
control the marketing of the farmers
products and fix the price.
He has not vet learned to organize
in clubs and associations for his own
benefit. He has not yet learned to do
team work; but must learn it so he is
to get the full reward of his labors.
The farmers interests are, generally
speaking, the same. There is one
great weakness of country life. The
farmer has been so essentially in
dividualistic of necessity, that it is
difficult for him to modify this neces-
sary and valuable trait and learn how
to cooperate with his fellow farmers
for his own benefit.
There is great lack in all our coun-
try of community ideas, and necessar-
lily lack of efficient leadership. This
will be remedied by and by. The
higher education which many of our
farmers are receiving is developing
leaders, and by and by we shall have
men in our state legislatures who will
really and efficiently represent the
farming interests; men of broad
views; men who can not be led away
by partisanship in politics or bribed
indirectly by promises of position or
place, but who will stand squarely
and firmly by the interests of that
great profession, which embraces 40
percent of the people of the United
States and without whose intelligent
leadership our Republican iDstitu-
tionS can not Wallace's
Farmer, Des Moines, Iowa.
Chance in Statutes