The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1914-09-03

with . lott" said, 1T might b .
good place to bury you. You have
never had q lot left when you come
back the last eight or nine years, much
/ less any money, not even enough 70
get your own watch out Of the pawn
shop" He said, II thank you for the
suggestion, but it is too late for me.
/ have had the wanderlust SO long
there is no hope for me. ] expect to
die in the poor house." Now, II you
bankers can help, by your suggestion,
keep some Of these farm boys from
coming to q fate like that, you will
be doing fine missionary work, even Il
you don't make dollar at it. As !
get older in life think more Of such
things. haven't got any boys Of my
own, 10 have to depend wholly upon
my hired help in the farm work and
the management thereof and / have
learned to enjoy being helpful to them.
] don't believe | am any more OF a
philanthropist than the average sort
of man, but believe by kindness, con-
sideration and sort of merit system
in the line Of wages ! can get good
deal more Of work for a dollar than
the fellow who treats his help with
less consideration.
Since the farmers of the state are
becoming interested in the cattle BUSH
ness it is building up our state, we
are getting better work done, and bet
ter homes are being made, and you
members of the Association have done
| noble work in the state. and want
to compliment you. have heard
farmers say, ooh, yes, this banker
wants me to make loan on the farm,
then they want me to make another
loan on my farm to buy some stock,
and then they will have the farm,
stock and ALL" Some feel that way.
know the farming community rs .
class are worthy Of very little sympa-
thy, but there are some Of them, be-
meet you half way. You probably find
narrow mindedness in some bankers
as you will in any other profession.
We are not all perfect. The farming
community has got to be raised up.
It has sunken to very low stage. We
have been chasing the almighty dol
lar so hard that we have abandoned
everything else in the pursuit Of it.
Just stop and think, If you please, IL
each one Of the fellows who took
homesteads in our state had set out
row of trees a half mile long east
and west on each homestead what it
would have meant by this time. be-
lieve it would have increased the val
ue of our land sufficiently to have been
the best-paying proposition that the
homesteader ever undertook.
We have always meant to build up
the state, but we haven't done the
best we could. AS said, for great
many years I have run my farm Who'll
ly with hired help and in doing that
have been compelled to keep pretty
close track of things. Years ago when
/ used to raise wheat wholly always
felt good until I come to pay off in
the fall. Then after the threshing
crew was paid and the note at the
bank and other expenses that had to
be paid the pocket book looked pretty
fiat and there was not much left for
the wife and me- Consequently when
went into the cattle business l got
to keeping closer track of things,
and l have written off sheet here
! giving what it cost me to raise and
put ton Of alfalfa into the barn, and
what it cost to put ton of silage in
the silo. / am not going to bother
you by telling you which is the best
kind of silo; am simply telling you
that silo will add 80 per cent to the
feeding value of the corn crop. You
know whether you can afford to build
lit. It will depend on the circum-
stances Of the depositor, but if it will
add thirty per cent to the value Of the
corn crop, why not furnish it? That
lis the way run my farm.
4 / am going to show you the cost Of
raising . ton of alfalfa, first it costs
me 81 an acre to pillow an acre of land
l have to harrow that land four times
and it costs me fifty cents IN acre ia
harrow four times. Then it costs me
thirty cents an acre to seed it, and al
4 falfa seed to seed costs $1.20 an acre
when you buy it. Now, the oldest al.
Ifalfa / have is eleven years old and
have taken ten years as a basis. Il
I the meadow is going to last ten years
the first year you get nothing, so you
must figure the interest for ter
4 years and pay it with nine crops, as
your land lays idle the first year. Dur.
J, ing that nine years you have to disc
that land each spring, and patches
where ice banks laid through the win
ter to seed in little each spring, The
discing Of that nine times is worth
$2.70 an acre thirty cents an acre
to disc it each time, land during that
time expect to sow in sixty cents
worth of seed per acre. don't ex
pect to sow that much, but am max
ling this price a little strong all thu
, way through because it is the basi:
Of my ration. The land is worth $50
an acre. If had the money at inter
est it would bring me per cent. Nov
~ per cent on $50 is $3.50 a year al
acre, which equals for ten years
, $500, so we add in $500 for inter
est. The taxes on my farm last yea
were twenty five cents an acre, so
Z charge it with $3.50 taxes, and fin,
that the acre of land for nine year
! met mn 3A0 On g d;yiIn %ba% Nv, :, ipo