The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-11-27
LETS WAKE UP

drifting aimlecsly with the current
to take long evening off and hold a
heart-to-heart conference with him
self and with every acre Of land on
the farm and with every pig, cow and
horse on the place--to get right down
to brass tacks and find out why it is
that he hasn't more to show for his
arduous toll at the end Of the average
year.
We may talk as much as we please
about better public roads, consolidat-
ed rural high schools, better country
churches, etc.--all things Of which ru-
raj communities stand in dire need
but we will never have them in gen
eral sense until farmers are willing TO
pay for them and they will neither
be willing nor able to do so until the
average farm earns more money.
The other day farmer who owns
an average l20-acre Boone county
farm dropped into our Office and |
asked him how he was getting along.
"Oh, fairly well, guess" he replied.
Last year ! sold $4,000 worth of
stuff of one kind and another off the
place-mostly hogs and sheep. This
year ! expect to raise it to $4,000"
"How much of that was net profit"
| asked. "Well," he said, "l'd have to
balance up my books to see. put
down all the money pay out and all
! take in and what each item is for !;
! think can safely say that | made
81 500 above all expenses last year,
and | expect to do that well this year.
! mean, Of course, that ! had that
much clear money for the years
work" The farm this man owns
would sell for perhaps SIS an acre
or it has total market value Of &c.
600. 1t can therefore be seen that he
is getting a good interest on his in
vcstment and quite a little besides.
That any average farmer under like
circumstances can do as well as this
man is doing there isn't any question
but are you doing it, my friend?
is your farm paying interest On your
investment? II it is you are the eX-
ception and not the rule.
But that you can do it if you will
nut thought rs well as muscle into
your farming operations, there is lit
tie question. Nobody knows better
than myself, the hardships and trials
connected with farm life, io. | was
raised on one. There is no royal road
to success in the farm game. There
/ is no magic or necromanccrf art which
will perform the wonder Of an Al,
ladin's Lamp out in the nolds or il
the feed lot. It's n long pull and {
hard fight at best, but Il you will mi,
brains, enthusiasm, energy, fertili
zers, pigs, sheep and other live stock
up to gether in the right proportions
you will win.
For instance, he farmer referred e
above made S726.26 out of the hand
ling Of ll2 western ewes last year
that is, that is what he had left at thu
end of the year for his labor, interest
i etc. When lambing time came, h,
~layed with his sheep day and nigh
and then shut them up in CORA
where prowling dogs couldn't get a
them. The result was he had prac
tically no losses. So, too. he is a yer.
successful hog raiser. He keeps then
away from running streams wher
they might come in contact with hoi
cholera germs from neighborini
! farms. He has pure water for then
and q clean hog shed and keeps thcr
free from worms and other thing
that might weaken them physically
and hence he has little loss from di
sease. In other words, he loves tn
farm game. His whole being is o
fire with it--and did you ever see
man like that who didn't win out j
the long run,
{ 81 believe in feeding every ear O
corn and every ton OF hay | raise" h
+ said to me. THAT way get NOR
money for il and the live stock keep
up the fertility of my land" Golde
words are thosc-thc farm philosoph
that winsl
And so my appeal to you is to tai;
an inventory Of yourself and the oil
farm and see where you stand. Let
find out what's wrong. Lets see
we can't get away from the menti
frame of mind Of the fellow who sal,
~ don't know where I'm going, hu
I'm on my way" The successfl
farmer has just as much need of
thinking machine as the successfl
banker, merchant, lawyer or docto
, When these men use hit or miss meti
DDS they fail and so does the farme
So. during the long, quiet winter e'