Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-11-30
oe9ERvER IN FRANKLIN COUNTY
WOULD oAMsLE ON HIS GUESS
WERE He 80 INCLINED.
POINTS TO CONDITIONS
TO PROVE CONTENTION
No Good Corn in North.rn Iowa. Mir.
nssota or Dakota-Tsnants Borrow.
ing to Tide Them ovsr-RentaI Of
Lands in North Iowa Advancing in
Price Despite Conditions.

something of a traveller, man of keen
observation and wide general expert
ence, was on a train the other day and
said: "If were a gambler I'd certainly
take a chance on May corn. Where was
any marketable corn grown this year"
The continued, certainly not in north
fern Iowa, Minnesota, or Dakota. The
southern part Of this state will need
the greater part of it's crop, only a
small part Of Missouri grows corn for
outside market, central and northern
Illinois has no good corn. The only
places where the crop is better than
usual are those in the southwest coun-
try where most anything is better
than usual How far does the surplus
corn of Oklahoma go toward making
up the deficiency in our part of the
world?"
| zone Of my relatives shipped in a
carload of old corn he went on, "at
a cost of Sc cents per bushel. A few
| days later another bought a car at an
advance of cents, and last week a
| third, who has a lot Of stock to finish,
purchased a carload at 20 cents. It
will be much higher hereafter. There
are two kinds of people when it comes
to crop reporting, the Kind that always
see bumper crops whatever real con-
ditions may be. and the kind that ever
insist that there is no considerable
crop except in the minds of the other
fellows. The pessimistic class certain
ly has made the better estimate this
year"
Here in the vicinity of Bows the
corn field conditions are far from en-
couraging. East of town where arc
some Of the BEST farms of Franklin
county and some OF the best farmers,
too, men are working to and fro thru
, their fields with their wagon boxes di-
vided into two compartments, trying to
divide what they think might keep thru
part of the summer from the mushy
stuff that must be fed up at once. and
they are finding ten ears Of the latter
kind to one of the former. Southwest
of town conditions are still worse, for
here a large percentage of the farmers
are renters and larger acreage is i'm
perfectly drained. If there is a renter
in this locality who Is paying his rent
with this years work he failed to men
ton the fact and plenty Of them told
about borrowing for this purpose.
North Of town conditions appear to be
a little better but there were as many
cold wet days and as few warm nights
here as in other communities last sum-
mer and the corn husking hired man
finds himself out Of q job here as well
as in other communities where he gen.
orally gets five or six weeks of profit
able employment Most men are pick
ing their own corn this year.
A few miles from town in q Nor
wegian settlement an aged couple lives
in the old farm home. They take the
daily because the children like to read
it." Pretty hard times this year." said
the old lady as she paid the usual sub
scription and the man explained in
broken English that he was paying
$500 ditch tax on his quarter sec
ton farm. While this is an extreme
case 1t Is not the only one in which
there is a ditch tax as an introduction
to q big bill for thing that is to come
later.
And despite all this expense and dis
couragement farm land continues to
rise in value faster than would have
peeH uTes1Lueu posSlpIe IN tne peSt crop
years Of ten to fifteen years ago. One
farm south of town sold awhile ago at
$165 per acre. The purchaser made
minor improvements on it, kept it
about four months and resold it for
$1,000 more than he paid, or an ad-
vance OF $22.50 per acre. Rent is be-
ing advanced everywhere and many
changes will result in this section next
spring in consequence among the ten
ant farmers. Contemplation of an in
crease in rent il not the most agree
able occupation for q man who ran
behind on the same farm this year.
While the average farmer buys his