The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1912-02-09

J
their actions on the ground Of self pro.
lection that otherwise they would bc
paying more than their share of tax.
alton. SO that II seems to me system
that promotes perjury and not what
it ought to be"
Why Men Leave Farm.
"rhe census of 1910 has awakened
the country to very serious prob
lem, that of rural depopulatiou and it's
attendant evils" declared l.. s. Her
ron of Lincoln, in his address Tues
day
Each succeeding census shows a
larger proportion of the population of
the country living in cities" continued
Mr. Heron.
1--WE have some of this decreasing
at our own front door" he said
Many Nebraska counties have lost
population in ten years twenty.onc
in the state, including such rich old
counties as Richardson. Ncmaha,
Pawnee, Johnson OtoC, Cass, Saund.
ors, Butler Polk Dodge, Washington
Burt, Cunning, Saline, Fillmore and
Clay, The towns and cities in these
counties did not lose population.
THE increase in the size of farms
need not occasion so much concern if
the land was being put to its fullest
use, but it is not In the states of
the corn belt, west of the MiSsisspp
river, in the decades from 1866 to
1879, the average yield of corn per
| n.,.pA
last ten year average is almost five
bushels lower than at that time.
For the United States as Il whole we
have dropped back in the deduction
OF corn per acre since 1866 to 1878.
Not only is the farm land of our
state and other states not being used
in the fullest capacity, but large areas
Of it, in the aggregate, are practically
idle. Thus we see idle land and idle
men in the same country
Il know that the use of large ma
chinery on farms has caused some,
thing of a readjustment of population.
When wheat was cut with Il cradle it
took good many men to run the
cradles, but not many to make era
dies. Now that we are using harvest
ers to cut wheat, it takes only few
men to carry on the harvest, but il
| requires more men to build the harves
f ter. | believe that the movement
, from the country to the city has al
, ready drawn beyond its economic de
mand and as proof of this, witness the
thousands of idle men in the cities.
r "All sorts of things have been ad
+ vocated to stay the flight from ouI
t farms, and some things have ever
5 been done with the aVowed pupose
! of starting Back to Land move
| ment but to no avail, thus far. We
: hear it preached to us almost every
> day that if we could have better
schools in the country or better roads
= or better churches or more clubs o.
more agricultural education, the boy!
1 and girls would not leave the farm
/ All things proposed are good, but tt
4 my mind, they are not fundamental
am here to say to you that the reason
T. for the exodus from the farms ma,
l. be found in the price of land. 1t is th
eternal land question that Moses deal
q with centuries ago. The speculative
d value of land is what is forcing it int
@ large holdings and crOwding youn
:. men out"
= Fourteen addresses We're schedules
l. to be delivered when the second da
d of the farmers congress opened in tn
v Auditorium at o'clock. While r. +
q Sturgess, editor of the Twentiet
e Century Farmer of Omaha, was dc
y livering a lengthy and interesting aC
d dress on German Agriculture" to
e fair crowd of early visitors in the AT
II ditorium, Miss Hartley talked o
If How to Make Friends" to the hig
} school students in the high school as
S sembly room.
" "Co-operation" was the subject c
e an interesting address delivered b
It c. Vincent of the Beal-Nincent Graf
?, company of Omaha, who appealed fo
a, cooperation among farmers. Secro
e tary Odell discussed Mr.. Vincent's aC
e dress, substituting for John X. Hay!
e. who was unable to be present.
The afternoon session presided owe
p by r. w. McGinns opened at 1;3
e. and continued until late in the afte
o. noon. Tonight's session will open q
Al 730. The evening session is purel
d educational and prominent universit
% men are scheduled to talk. DR.. Georg
S Condra's illustrated lecture on farI
o home sanitation is scheduled for t.
b, night, \ large crowd is expected fo
)f this section of the program.
10 Would Have Smaller Farms.
is Frank Tannehill started the discu
ar sion of the taxation of the land que
1t tiOn following the address of l.. S. He
)f ron.
Il "Whle ! cannot bring myself to b.
t, lieve in a single taxation system
lie said Mr.. Tannehill Il am fully awaI
Is that our present system is not just
more ways than one. Having bee
adopted when conditions were far di
d. ferent from the present time it is pc
is haps putting it a little strong to sa
that the present plan of gathering re
If enue is as much out of date as the c
n, team for church going purposes.
a "There is tendency in Nebrask
s. aCnaoiallv n tho pnrtbarn woo