Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-02

are drawing plans and specifications
for ell manner of concrete construc-
ton now, unless they were consistent
and retired from their business or pro-
fession rather than to do work In
which they had no faith. There may
have been such men. but II there were.
they have never been heard Of, and
their modesty must have been as great
and as firm as their belief in the good
old ways of building. and their hatred
of any innovation Everybody realizes
today that we have simply entered In
to the uses of concrete in a small way
and that the development OF the con-
crete industry Is going to be as mag
niticent in the future, as 1t has been In
the very recent past. And it has been
quite while. since the last OF the
architects. who were opposed to con-
crete smiled in a supercilious fashion
and gave out the solemn dictum. that
many of their friends and competitors
were going concrete mad"
BRINGING BELGIANS TO IOWA.
&c. L. Dahlberg in Des Moines Register
and Leader.l
Much is being said these days about
the suffering Belgians and doubtless
much more could be said Il the facts
were all known The we'll organized
relief commission here is doing a good
and commendable work in Des Moines
and turnout the entire state. This work,
SO prompt. energetic and effective, Is
enough to make all 1owans proud Of
our state. and too much can not be
said In praise of those who are push
ing this philantfropic measure so
much needed. However. the prompt
ness with which this call for help
from across the water is answered,
makes one wonder why the associated
charities of Des Moires should come
so near to the closing of its doors. end
also II we have forg gotten that charity
begins at home"
Now il our fam author 4 MY
Views" will pardon the theft, I an
going to appropriate one Of his express
sions rather tnan originate enc OF my
own, and remark that was not just
what was going to say when started
out" Mr. Ding's cartoon in Sundays
issue is more expressive than words of
the thought that seems to be In the
mind OF very many Expressions of
sentiment along thar line have been
many and frequent in street car. on the
street or in places of business. So
strong is this sentiment that la would
seem part of wisdom To carefully and
we'll consider before launching a move
ment to bring a lot of non American
people here, whom 1t will take years to
train before they are Americanized, /.
they ever are. for we have too many
foreigners who show no signs II be-
coming real Americans.
Out OF the devastation, wreck and
ruin resulting from the desire OF TWEEN
tieth century barbarians TO murder
each other in cold blood the movement
10 bring 100000 Belgians to Iowa Is on
foot and I am wondering where the
word philanthropy should appear in
referring TO this proposition to dump
dump this mass Of foreigners on Iowa
farm lands. II this threatened move is
pushed to a conclusion what will be
the result? AS the bone and sinew on
their native soil are still engaged in
contest likely 10 last for years which
will either bury them beside their COM
rades or return them cripples and ply
steal wrecks you can only expect to
get az immigrants, women, children
and old men. Not one OF them will
have enough wealth to grub stake"
them to the land OF promise. no mat
ter how great the promise Of the land
agent will be. What will be done with
them II they are to be farmers? How
are they going to buy land without
money, but not without price? For
this Iowa land sells now in sections
ard quarter sections for one to two
hundred dollars and more per acre In
town lots Of one to ten acres. the price
will in most cases reach $500 an acre
and more. Having no money they
must OF necessity buy on time and to
the principal. interest will be added
from s to per cent. may be very
obtuse but have been unable TO figure
out how Intensive" the farming must
be to enable them to ever be the own
ers Of homes.
However, much good may result to
owners OF landed estates"-I believe
that is what they call them over the
water-for these landowners will have
to take the land back and resell and
the number OF payments and resales
will determine the measure OF profit
OF the land owner, and will be much of
the nature Of the "lapses'' in insurance
on which insurance companies rely for
q
After having tried the Intensive
farming" stunt for awhile and failed
to extract the milk and honey" from
the land of promise (s) they will drift
to the cities and towns to compete
with the laborers already engaged
there, and thus great good will come
to manufacturers and other lines Of
business in the reduction Of cost of
construction, the consumer, Of course.
paying the usual price for the finished
product.
Too many undesirable foreigners
have already been brought here to
| cheaper the labor and increase crime.
Altho our immigration laws have been
OF late years made a little more strin-
gent they are yet insufficient to pre-
| vent Europe from making this dump
ing ground for criminals, reducing
their criminal records and increasing
ours. ] believe am right in stating
| that all the assassins and attempted
assassins of our presidents were pro-
ducts OF central Europe save one, and
| in his case some of his accompliccs
! were from the same part of the world
! Would 1t not be well. therefore, to
give this matter more thought and let
the people be heard from before going
into a land deal on SO huge a scale,
but much on the line Of fruit lands and
| irrigation projects, which have caugh,
lots OF suckers leaving them penniless