The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-09-26

! 2--s-s.s-s1 -s,~-5-s4 v--.-v 81 S7 ~
oonfront the American farmer of to
day, am impressed with the fac
that. nowhere in the world can yor
! ind 4 class Of men who are NOR
independent than the America,
| farmers. mean by independent
that they are free from the dictates
OF a boss, free to go and come
when they choose, and free to sell
their goods in the market where, to
d limited extent, and when they will.
am impressed with the fact that
the farmers and their families have
pure food, pure air and sunshine or
the farm the year round. Here in
the free life of the farm is produce
the brain and Drawn of the world.
"But the trend of the day is to-
ward team play. They tell us that
the independence of pioneer days
must go; ! mean of each man for
himself, In pioneer days the indi-
vidual, the man, was put constantly
on his own resources, was constantly
thrown back on himself, he alone
stood between his family and
danger; or. at least, only small
groups stood together for a common
purpose.
Now society, they tell US. has
changed; that great problems cannot
be met with and solved by indt
viduals and small groups. but they
must be solved by large groups of
men working together for common
! purpose.
THE farm develops men who are in
dividualistic in manners and ways of
thinking. Much of their time is
spent alone They meet and contend
with forces single handed; conse.
quently, as class, the farmers are
hardy and self-reliant.
"The city teaches the lesson of
large groups working together. The
individual is more or less lost sight
of in many large movements. But
yet these groups are made up of in
dividuals, each unity, each having
brain and q purpose in life. These
large groups OF individuals must
have leaders, there must be men
who think, who reason and who see
the outcome of events in a proper
light The city produces a few of
such men: but the surroundings are
not conducive to such development.
"We need then men who have self
reliance and courage, men who have
faith in themselves, and who can
look beyond the interest of their
own small selves and can think in
terms of the interest of their neigh
bprs as well as their own.
The American farmer must first
of all in order to be successful
farmer, and success on the farm
generally must, be thought of in
terms OF money, be one who rises
early and works late, he must work
carefully and well every foot of his
land, he must keep the weeds down,
and he must put his brain into his
work. The poets Man with the
Hoe" is good example of a man
who puts only muscle into his work.
When the successful farmer buys
goods or services he must not have
in mind only cheapness. In the long
run you get in this world just what
you pay for. If you are after some
thing cheap, you will get a cheap
article or cheap services, cheap in
the sense of being inferior. Men
are coming who know the value of
good goods and good services and
who are willing to pay what they
are reasonably worth in order to
get them. r
"The successful farmers mind
must be open to learning; he should
be able to distinguish between the
sense and the nonsense as found in
farm papers and publications for the
farmers He should have an eye on
the market and sell if possible, at
an opportune time. He should be a
broadminded man, so as to win the
respect of his family and neighbors.
II the boy loves and respects his
father, he will have more respect
for the occupation of his father,
farming. ] have known of boys for
whom 1t would have been worse
than a crime to have forced them
to stay on the farm. Their minds
turned In other directions, they cared
nothing for farming. We cannot say
offhand to all boys, stick to the
farm" But it Is a good life, an at
tractive life, and life that can be
made more and more attractive. We
have farmhouses that are entirely
modern. The automobile takes the
farmer and his family to town in a
few minutes, SO that they may at.
tend entertainments of various kinds
The farmers mind is thus broaden,
ed from the purely selfish, indiyidu.
alistic type to type which thinks
In terms of the interest of neighbor
state and country.
THE improved machinery on the
farm makes it possible for the
farmer to do his labor without sheer
exhaustion 1t keeps him from pre-