River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-08-14


est manufacturing creameries in the
upper Wisconsin counties.
Why are so many pickle factories
and sailing works being located in the
upper Wisconsin counties?
These are but a few of the salient
points in which the vacant lands of
Wisconsin have advantages over other
regions of cheap lands, but they are
| enough 20 be convincing when fully
digested. They open the way to
more complete consideration of the
situation. In this more complete con-
sideration, we make full use of the
United States census, the record
made by Wisconsin in the National
Corn show, which is the only recog-
nized international contest; the
weather records and other unques-
tionable data. 1t is thus seen that
there is no buncombe in our cam
paigns for development-like
why we get scores of letters compli-
menting us upon our methods. The
state is to be congratulated that it is
unnecessary to do otherwise than
give the actual, unquestioned and I'M
questionable facts
I have spoken of everyone's inter-
est in development. l believe that
we have too long looked only to the
people who sell land for farms or
sites for factories, assuming that they
were the only ones receiving benefits
from the transactions. For illustra-
ton, we will take an ordinary Wis
consin town. A factory is located by
some enterprising real estate man. Is
that the end, or is it only the begin
ming of the benefits resulting from
the sale of the site? Or, taking the
farm land situation, we find that the
man who sells a tract of wild land
for farm merely starts a chain of
transactions that end, or rather never
end, with the merchant, banker,
printer, doctor, lawyer, and all 9TH
ers in profits, and to the community.
county and state in taxes. The land
man spent most of his profits getting
his customer and is through in the
single transaction, while the others
had no initial expense and are never
through. Who, then, as a matter of
fact, is the most interested in the
matter? 1t is so with new factories
and in practically every move calcu-
lated to bring about more complete
development of any section. To car
ry the matter a little farther, what
would be the effect upon the fac
tories, jobbers, banks and other in
stitutions of Milwaukee and other
Wisconsin cities, if 100000 new far
mers were located in upper Wiscon-
sin, if scores of water powers were
harnessed, if hundreds of cities and
towns were founded, if the popuIa-
ton of the state were doubled (for
this matter of development is a state
wide proposition in the ultimate it
is proposition of millions of people
and billions of wealth.
l believe that many, if not most,
of the cities and towns of this state
should enter the publicity field We
are in an advertising era. Every
where publicity is shaping largely the
destinies of people and communities.
The pessimis:ic will harangue against
it as a useless expense, the lethargic
will ignore it, but the fact remains
that the successful are awake to the
dynamic effect of publicity. / believe
that if the concerns that find their
way into the bankruptcy courts
could be catalogued it would be
found that few of them are advertis-
thoughtful, persistent advertis-
ers. casual survey discloses a hun
dred Wisconsin cities and towns that,
in the judgment of your humble ser
want, should be offering their advan-
tages to the public. The same may
be said of several counties.
Once this nation was termed the
worlds bread basket" Today we
are close to the border of an i'm
porter of foodstuffs. Soon, at the
present rate of progress, we will find
our lightly mentioned thigh cost of
living permanent social and eco
nomic problem, and attention must
be given to greater yields from the
lands now under cultivation.
1t is easy to say that we are maxi
ing marvellous strides in increased
| yields, and figures can be found up
on which to base the assertion-but
the fact remains that we are mere
| ly maintaining the level of produc-
ton. 1t is equally easy to point to
the much larger yields of certain
European countries, and discourse
| upon the fact that those lands have
been farmed for centuries, but the
fact remains that they were once de-
pleted and it has taken decades and
! tremendous expense to bring them
back to their present productiveness.
If we are to bank upon the progress
of these European people we should
! appreciate the pressure and distress
| that drove them to it-and the time
it required. l am sure that no one
here wishes such experiences in
America, We are in position to con-
tribute largely and profitably to the
food necessities of the future, and in
| doing so strengthen our position as
3 manufacturing state, for in The fu-
ture distribution in Industrial activi-
ties the cost of living will be a ma
terial element
Hard to Understand.