Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-05-31

at Bingham ID : ;m\uhtain Of copper
where the steam slso3 ted take out daily
$4,000 tons OF ore: and that her $50
irrigation canals represent a capitaliza-
| ton Of thirty millions and make possi-
Bile a great agricultural state at an av-
erage yearly cost Of only 80 cents per
acre. A state day on home recourses
would do everybody good. whether in
little Delaware or mighty Texas. How
many school children IN Massachusetts,
have definite data. on the Cape Cod
canal or the possibility Of raising bet
tar apples in New England than in
oregon? How many in Louisiana know
that they have over 500 miles Of in
land navigable waterways in their
state. and that they should have the
cheapest freight rates in the union?
iowa school children will do well to
think twice before they let their par
ents trek with them to the Canadian
northwest.
The above from last weeks Golfers
brings out a point which is suggested
in the last sentence During the past
ten years. it is safe TO assert Iowa has
done more. this in the way of men and
money. to build up other states. and
less TO induce outsiders to come to
Iowa. than any state in the union.
Towns with 5000 population have in
vested in Canadian lands to the amount
Of 100000. this not altogether by the
rich men OF the town. A banker Of
the town is authority for the state
ment. And this writer has been told
of million dollars invested in Cali
furnia by we'll lido citizens OF another
Iowa town. this covering period OF
fifteen to twenty years. We have done
a lot of "treking"
And this suggests the tremendous
advance in the price of farm products
since the Writer "treked" into Iowa,
along III the sixties. Corn cribs were
filed in Grinnel for many years at 10
to 20 cents per bushel. At Gait inside
OF twenty years this writer saw soft"
corn sold at 121s cents per bushel. At
Buffalo Center soon after the railroad
was built, this not twenty years ago,
oats weighing thir,y-e igh, to forty
pounds, We're sold at cents per busheL
and this scribe saw hundreds Of bush
els unIoaded at the elevators, with
only boards on the ground to protect
them The elevators We're full, and
cars Tot 10 be had. At Conrad not
twenty years ago potatoes were sold
at 10 cents per bushel for shipping
purposes. At New Hampton not TWEEN
" Years ago, ten carloads Of yearlinSs
ana some year old heifers and steers
were hnadeo into cars at IS per head
OWING 10 scarcity Of feed At Temple
Ton inside of twenty five years. flour
was shipped in. in bulk, sold for SIS
a ton and much OF it fed to hogs. and
TINS Hour would make good bread, only
was Mite dark. Inside of thirty-fye
years the writer saw a wagonload Of
trapped prairie chickens sold for So a
dozen. and quail az 30 cents to 81 a
coZen was the price for many years
dressed chickens about this time were
pedc!eo on the streets OF Grinnell.
TO cents per pound. Eggs TO cents
per dozen and butter 10 to 121e cents
per pound. Now this isn't ancient
history, It's personal knowledge Of
farm products twenty to thirty years
ago. And here's the peculiar part Of
this treking' TO other places Some
OF these farmers within the past ten
years have sold out in Iowa and gone
to where land IS cheap TO go thru
a duplicate experience. in hardship and
comparative low prices, when they
settle many miles from a railroad
Travelling men with ".ghoulish glee"
are telling the following story: 1t
seems in one Of our iowa towns a man
walked into hardware seore. and
asked the price OF cav. The dealer
told him sI65. Why he could. send to
the cataiog house Of Ward. Roebuck &
Co. and get a saw -for-s1.ee5. Why
don't you sell as cheap as they do?" Il
will OF the same plan" said the hard
ware man. Give me s125 for the saw
% cents for express. ) cents for postge
and money order. That's 1856. Now
II! put the saw in a drawer and you
come in IN two weeks and get II for
you can't get It any sooner from
Chicago Perhaps the hardware man
had some fun with this customer. but
it didn't make a customer. said one
one Of the boys. That man don't want
that kind Of customers said another
knight Of the grip.
mn.AI