Morris tribune., 1914-09-11
TOWN MAKING VS..
TOWN BREAKING
PRICE OF FARM LAND IS
AFFECTED.
Iowa Farmer Tells Farm Paper
why 1t Pays to Trade at
Home.

IL was puDi1SuCu III GuG IulIaOGID0la
Farm Journal.
We farmers need awakening to the
fact that we have Enthusiastically reach
ed the period where we must think
and plan. am one of the slow Ger
man farmers that had to be shown, and
am now giving ny experience that
others may profit, for knowledge is
more expensive now than it was ten
years ago.
Twenty nine years ago began my
farm career, I had an old team and
$50 Our furniture was mostly home
made chairs. cupboard and lounge
made from dry-goods boxes neatly
covered with 10c cretonne my girl
wife made. We rented eighty acres.
Being a boy of good habits got all
the machinery and groceries of our
home merchants on credit, until fall
crops we're sold The first year was a
wet season and / did not make enough
to pay my creditors. went to each
on the date of promise and explained
conditions, paying as much as possi-
BILE, and they all carried the balance
over another year. They continued to
accommodate me until was able to
buy forty acre piece of my own. As
soon as / owned these few acres the
mail order houses began sending me
catalogs, and gradually began send
ing my loose change to them, letting
my accounts stand in my home town,
where | had gotten my accommoda-
tions when | needed them.
We then had one of the thriftiest
little villages in the state, good line
of business in all the branches. mer-
chants who we're willing to help few
over bad year, and a town full of
people who came twice a week to
trade and visit. Our little town
supported a library, high school, band,
ball team, and had big celebration
every year. A farm near i've town
soon doubles in value.
/ sold my forty acres at big ad-
vance and then bought eighty, grad
ually adding to it until | had 200
acres of the best land in Iowa. | then
felt no need of asking favors, and
found il easy to patronize the mail
order agents that came almost weekly
to our door. regret to say that
was the first to make up neighbor-
hood bill and send it to the mail order
houses. Though we got bit every
once in while, we got in the habit
of sending away for stuff.
Gradually our merchants lessened
their stock of goods for lack of
patronage, Finally we began to real
ize that when we needed bolt quick
Iy for machinery, or clothing for sick
ness or death. we had to wait and
send away for it, which wasn't sc
pleasant. One by one our merchants
moved to places where they were APP
preciated, and men of less energy
moved in Gradually our town has
gone, our business places are tacky
in appearance, a number are empty.
Our schools, churches and walks are
going down, we have no band, nj
library, no ball team. There is nj
business done in the town, and there
fore no taxes to keep it up; hetel il
closed for lack of travel. Go dowr
to the depot when the freight pull
in and see the sequel in the mail or
der packages.
Nine years ago my farm was wortl
$l95 an acre, today I'd have a hare
matter to sell it at $165 an acre. l
is ''too far from live town, s.
every farmer has said that wants t.
buy. He wants place near school
and churches. where his children cal
have advantages. | have awakene
to the fact that in helping to pull tn
town down, it has cost me $9,0 il
nine years; like the majority of farm
.ers, didn't figure far enough ahead
This sort of business means the do
ing away with country towns, wha
; will it mean to farmers to have onl
a few large cities at distance of so
to 1000 miles? What are we goin
to do with our children who are de
manding even better advantages tina
we had?
Those cities we help TO build re
turn no favors they take cur none
but offer no credit in time of need.
we want high schools, etc. we mus
raise the money and build near ou
farm homes or send our boys an
girls to the cities at great expense
amidst temptations of which the farr