The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-07-07
Prosperity Reward
of the Faithful
Two Southern Minnesota Farm
ers Tell How They Met Con-
ditiOns and Made Money

Fred Sherman, commissioner
of immigration, has compiled
statistics showing what has &C
tually been done by settlers in
Minnesota. These statistics and
statements have been published
in booklet which may be OBJ
tanned from the Bureau of I'm
migration. The two instances
of farm-building in southern
Minnesota, given below, are TAX
en- from the booklet.
Some thirty years ago John
Pallson came to Southern Min
nesota, just STAT in debt for the
money he had borrowed to pay
for his passage over from the
"old country" The Sioux City
& st. Paul railroad was then in
process of construction, and he
was lucky enough to get a job
at $1.1O a day. He located at
Window, in Cottonwood county.
In the winter he chopped wood
around town to keep things go
ing. Three years after he came,
he rented farm from a man in
town. Two years later he
bought that farm for a little
over ST per acre. He had man.
aged to save 5000 and this made
up his first payment. There
were 100 acres in the farm, and
to work these John Paulson
again went into debt for stock,
implements and tools.
John Paulson had faith in the
country. He stayed with it:
There were good times and bad
times, but mostly good times,
and they grew better right
along. Today John Paulson has
something over 800 acres OF
land. all under cultivation. He
raises registered Short Horn
cattle, Poland China hogs and
Shropshire sheep. He grows
corn. he has raised 1902 bushels
per acre: his barley has aver
aged as high as 40 bushels. He
has raised As bushels of wheat
to the acre and Is bushels OF
oats.
What can John Paulson show
for his 80 years in Southern
Minnesota? Let him tell it:
"My home place I can sell
24O acres of it, at $3.50 per acre,
total of $4,000. The balance
of my land, $50 acres, have
refused an offer of SIS per acre,
for total Of $4,000. In the
thirty years, starting with a
debt of STAT, I have cleared al
most $4,000. To me this is the
most productive place on earth.
Through all these years | have
had good neighbors, good schools
and churches. Markets are plen-
tiful now, and I find a ready
market for everything | raise. ;"
Manv who read John Paul
sons story will doubtlessly say:
"That may be true enough. A
fellow can do that in those days.
But it's different now"
Diferent-yes. Read what
John Paulson has to say about it:
"The money I hired in those
days cost me almost II per cent.
Seven dollars per acre looks
cheap, but in those days we
were paid only 4 cents per dozen
for eggs, 5 cents per ID. for but
ter, So per ton for hay, 9 cents
per bushel for oats and II cents
per bushel for barley. There
were no markets, no corn for
stock, and the first settlers
roughed it in the rawest, crud-
est way. 1t is cheaper today to
buy land at 500 per acre, than
it was in those days at 81 per
acre. No man in search of a
IlOI1l0 CdIl IIldhC q lilo Ny
coming to Southern Minnesota"
John Paulson's experience is
not an isolated incident in the
) wealth of country comprising
Southern Minnesota. A thou
sand similar successes, big and
little, might be cited from one
J end of this fertile empire to the
other. But we need not go out
side John Paulson's own neigh
borhood to find others who have
done, and are doing as we'll in
their own way.
There is Charles E. Ware,
who came to Southern Minneso-
!, ia thirteen years ago, with $500
! in his pocket. He bought a
quarter section, made small
oocb noxypoopt ond ,oid IN nor