Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-09
As An Iowa Farmer Looks At II.

In the past few years farmers and
others have been hearing and reading
from men of great as well as small
minds much about progress and espe-
cially some of great minds are
advising all to become progressive or
progressives.
This is a fine suggestion II you are
still going to mill on horseback with
the grain in one end Of the sack and a
stone in the other and doing every
thing in the same manner as they
were done when you were boys. About
sixty years ago, ! being ten years old,
my father planted corn in the way it
was then done. The fastest walking
horse on the farm was usually hitched
to a shovel plow and the land fur
rowed out as 1t was called and this
was done by my older brother, Then I
came just behind with the seed. corn to
drop it and with instructions ITO put
just three grains in each hill and keep
up with the horse" Thus, in order to
do so I had to hustle along, and l
now look back to that time as the
place where got my first lessons IN
what g progressive" means. Since
that time many changes have taken
|place and instead Of the old way Just
mentioned the farmer now sits on his
planter and on his harvesting ma
chine and does his work more quickly
and with greater comfort. But with all
these changed conditions he still must
do the work or pay some one else
for it. Now look on you farmers who
have had these experiences common
to all of us as the real farmer. But
all along the years we have had an
other class of farmers. l mean the
man who sat in comfortable chair in
some nice shady place with pencil and
paper and farmed at so much per
word at telling US what and how to
do while he smiled and looked on.
Oh yes, this particular farmer think
even works overtime occasionally.
But progress is still progressing and
the farmers that love shady places
also seem to have new suggestion
and advice And come to think Of it
you and l can get all of this new ad-
vice without buying newspaper or
magazine. All that is asked of us is to
stand around the rear end Of rail-
road car attached to the tail end OF a
train and the colonel will fill us plumb
luii Will HlS SOVu duVICe anu uldyUc
his efforts at farming in the African
jungle. read he is doing all this
gratis. Absolutely a real free shsw as
advertised No pay whatever. He adj
vises the farmers to cooperate. Why,
yes think of it-not only with one
another, but with the chief of the ma
ton Think of Uncle Sam as a partner
yes. co-partner, getting up before
breakfast and going to the barn and
currying the mules and then taking
his turn at the pillow handles. Or this
lighter CD task of hauling manure. But
If partner why not ? Allow me to make
a suggestion to my brother farmer
that may have the wonderful privilege
of hearing this great man, especially
on progressive cooperation from the
rear end of Admitted States Steel Co.
car. Just ask him to come over and
take his turn at the fork handle as
an honest partner should and see how
quickly he will signal the engineer to
pull on to where he hopes to find some
fresh suckers. Now are not these great
days of opportunity Think of it, boys.
There would be Uncle Sam actually
taking his turn at currying the mules.
Co-sertAer and absolutely nothing for