The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1911-06-29
The RousrARour.


Enroute to the political portcullis
of Iowa the other day, the Roustabout
shared seat with ]. w. LIE Grande,
president of the Monroe Savings
bank, a farmer and man of affairs
Mr.. LIE Grande is nothing if not an
Iowa booster, and his love for the
state was augmented by residence
in California. When he retired from
active farm life few years ago, he
caught the California fever and went
west with an idea of establishing a
| winter residence on the coast. But
| it did not take him long to change his
mind and hike back to Iowa to spend
the rest of his days in Gods country"
as he expressed it.
| ..as. .. - - -
| After he had been in California a
few weeks he began to investigate
| investments, and he was taken to see
one of the finest and best improved
prune ranches in the state. He
struck the ranch just as the harvest
| was on, and at first blush, he thought
like the small boy reaching for the
cake of soap, that he would never
be happy until he got it,. But Mr..
LIE Grande is too practical to be hood
winked and he enquired of the pick
ers how much fruit per acre they were
getting, how the crop compared with
other years, and a lot of other things
that the ordinary eastern capitalist
seldom thinks about. Then he hunt
ed up the owner, who happened to be
Chicago woman, who had come into
possession of the ranch by inherit
ance and was anxious to convert it
into cash.
She offered the ranch at remark
ably low price per acre and insisted
that the present crop was just an
ordinary one, while the pickers told
somewhat different story. But TAX
ing the most favorable conditions into
account, and figuring that the ranch
would produce as well each year, he
could only estimate return on the
investment of little over two per-
cent. He afterwards found out that
the taxes would take half of this, and
the money that he might borrow TO
pay the difference between his cash
in hand and the price of The ranch,
would cost HON 10 per cent. II did
not take Mr. LIE Grande very long
to conclude that the stuff was Off
- - -
Then he investigated the orange
and chicken business; and while the
orange inquiry was on fellow came
driving by his rooms one evening
with a wagon load of fine oranges.
At first the driver wanted 15c per
peck for the fruit, but rather than
miss a sale he turned the measure
full of fine naval oranges over to the
purchaser for sc, admitting that he
often could not sell the fruit at any
price. Mr.. LIE Grande counted out
his puchase and found he had secur-
ed forty-eight oranges. He then COM
menced to figure how he might get
returns from an orange grove at
$1,000 per acre, and sell the fruit at
&c per peck. No orange grove for
him.
| - - -
| About this time the sand and fees
began to work on Mr.. LIE Grande and
mis- better half, and they came back
to the old home place at Monroe,
happy and contented. California is
all right" said Mr. LIE Grande, and it
will undoubtedly prosper as long as
the great army of tourists make the
western coast their rendezvous each
year. But as to living and engaging
in business there, | cannot help but
think of California as a ten cent cOun-
try compared to Iowa as a thousand
dollar land. My land, do you suppose
could be satisfied on five or ten
acre tract peddliHg the product
around in a basket and selling it out
10 to % cents worth at a time, when
here in Iowa a bunch of hogs or cat
tie or a crop of corn or oats of
forty acre tract, is hauled over to the
depot, and a sight draft for a $1,000
or more Is placed to my credit at the
bank. Not for me. Besides | like
to rest once in while, but out there
the ranchers work every day in the
year, Sundays included. Here We
can lay OFF half the time and beat
EN- hands down"
THE ROUSTABOUT.
|
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