Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-04-08
FARM TENANTS WHO STICK "a
ONE PLACE THE MEN WHO
MAKE GOOD
BECOME FARM OWNERS
WITHIN TEN YEARS
-
Both Owner and Tenant Gamers by
Staying PIan-ons Strong Argument
Against Township School consoIida-
tion-c. e. Wilson's Rural observa-
tons.

Special to Times Republican.
Eldora, April s.-One of the early
settlers Of Hardin county, who still
lives on farm near here, said the
other day, Il have another farm that
l have owned and rented for the last
twenty three years. IN that time have
had just three tenants. The first one
stayed ten years, then bought a farm
of his. own and moved on it. The next
one duplicated his predece ssor's per-
Torrance both as to the length Of time
he stayed and what he did with the
results of his years savings. The
third man will probably do about the
same thing the Others did. Renting
farms for one year never appealed to
me. 1t is poor policy both for the
owner Of the land and for the man who
cultivates it. Think, if you can, Of half
"a dozen men who ever saved enough to
buy farms by renting and moving
every year. 1t can't be done, and it is
bad for the owner, too, for the transit
ent renter has no incentive to take care
of the land nor the Improvements
either If my first tenant had left my
farm in poor condition the second one
would not have been able to earn
place of his own farming it, would he?
Last year I paid out $50 for fertilizers
on that farm and the money was we'll
spent. The farm rent question is be-
coming a serious one for good many
people and there is no need at all for
it's doing so. There ought to be re-
bate Of rent to the tenant in case
farm is sold before his lease expires.
This. would help to put an end to the
difficulty of renting farms held for
speculation. They could then be leased
for term of years and kept from run
ming down as they are doing all over
the country"
A local farmer who has sold his place
and bought another within the last year
explained the situation. The other farm
was good one and in good neighbor-
hood. 1t was question of schools.
There are three adjoining school dis
tricts in that community, he said, with
a total attendance of about twenty. Of
course there could be such thing as
good school with half dozen boys and
girls attending it. but the chances are
all the other way. Township CONSOLE
dation is generally opposed. and with
good reason, by those living on the
outer edges of the district because OF
the long time required in transporta-
ton. The only kind of consolidation
that would be generally favored at this
time, thinks this man, is the grouping
Of three or four where conditions are
similar to those above noted 1t is USE
less to make light of the argument that
the larger boys are needed at home
before end after school hours to help
with the chores. Men can't live on
farms and rear families without help
and only those who have had expert
ence hiring help on the farm in these
later days fully realize what that
means.
A few COWS. an old shed. a team and
wagon and two or three milk cans may
have constituted the essentials of
dairy business in other days but there
are others in a modern plant. Mr.. j. o:
Reece, local dairyman, is establishing
an up-to- date equipment on a small
farm near Eldora. This consists of
$4,000 hollow brick barn 34x70 feet in
size, an engine house, water system,
etc. The forty odd acres of land is
worth $3.50 or $500 per acre. cows cost
from SO apiece up, buildings and
equipment cost money and altogether
the modern dairyman thinks he has
some capital invested by the time he
is ready for business.
Last week was a good time to OBJ
serve the difference in good graveled
road and one Of the old fashioned kind.
To the west of Eldora there are many
miles of highway that have been treat
ed to a coat of sand and gravel and
these were passable while those unim-
proved in this manner were things to
be avoided" One meets with unexpect
ed ideas on the good roc DIS question
A farmer told how, when
an official automobile route was about
to be established, a certain stretch of
road was purposely neglected and al
lowed to become something fierce" so
that the route would take another road
and afterward was kept in the best of
condition. I'VE didn't want the route
passing u.s." he explained. Some
times a pig. calf, colt or q kid gets out
in the road and we figured that we
could get along better without the route
than we could without the stock or the
children"
c. E. WILSON.