The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1914-12-18
NORTH COUNTRY
FARMER TAKES
RANGE ON KNEE
John Owens Says Development
of Country Will Not Come
Until Farmers Have Market.
WHITE WAYS GRAND;
MARKET PLACE BETTER
Round Roast for Eveleth People
Who Objected to the Public
Market.

0oAtI O"StASS uOA I'll COu14t1y 1dIIucI
and St. Louis county pioneer took the
towns Of the Mesaba range across his
knee at last nights meeting at the
city hall to discuss legislative pro-
gram and county division, administer
ed not wholly unmerited castigation
and personally declined to enthuse
over county division from the stand
point of the Mesaba and Vermilion
range towns until he had more con-
vincing proof than at present that
the range towns and cities were actu-
ally interested in the development of
northern St. Louis county in an agri-
cultural way and gave more substan-
tial evidences of it than they have
up to the present time in the way Of
encouraging the farmers who are
bringing the fertile acres of northern
St. Louis county under cultivation.
Farming All Important.
Mr.. Owen said that as the only far
mer present at the meeting he wanted
to say few things out in meeting
that had been on his mind for some
time. eve have had a few brickbats
thrown at Duluth here tonight" said
Mr.. Owens, "and in all that has been
said there is much wisdom. feel
a good deal like that myself some
times. You people Of the range towns
are no doubt prompted largely by
personal interests and local pride, but
we who are hewing homes out Of the
forests of this county have other in
terests. We are interested in the ad-
vancement Of the whole county. 1t
makes little difference to US whether
or not it is divided, or where the coun-
ty seat is located. I am going to talk
plain to you and l am going to tell
you some facts. The range towns
have never taken the proper interest
in the farmers. We want a market
to sell the produce we are growing
on the fertile acres all about you. !
can come down to Virginia with
a load of chickens and produce and it
takes as long to unload it as it takes
to raise it. Your merchants offer me
store trade.
PEERLESS Not Legal Tender.
~ cannot pay the men working on my
farm with boots and shoes and Per-
less and soda and pickles of dill. They
want real money. Eveleth had q
market and it gave the farmers an op'
portunity to sell their produce fol-
cash. But that made it too much of a
benefit and encouragement to the
farmers. It hit few store keepers and
now all the good work it has done is
to 20 for nothing. In Virginia yor
have promised us public market fol-
the last three years. You have giver
US a skating rink. You bid fin'
schools and libraries and pave street:
and light your streets from end to enc
for your people, but you will not per
nit farmers to sell your people some
thing to eat.We have some doubt about
joining you in this county division
| movement. You are throwing money
away on the ranges. You are asking
charity now for your unemployed
Why don't you go out right betwee1
here and Eveleth and spend some 0.
the money you are using on white
ways and other things Of that nature
| in clearing up ground that will grow
things for people to eat. Agriculture
was the first business in the world
It is the root Of all permanent pros
perity. Give us good roads, give US
market. Hell, US to. do the things yo'
talk about so much and do so little for