Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-04-21
DRAWBACKS, AS EVERYWHERE
Former Resident Tells of Western
Disadvantage


In a recent communication to the
Cashton Record John s. Jenness, who
is passing the winter in Colorado. writes
some things of general interest to his
former friends in this section:
81 am at Montrose. where we have
had fine winter weather. Farmers are
hard hit this year, although they had
bumper crop, but their market facilities
are so bad they can realize very little
for their products, especially their fruit
Potatoes and onions are their principal
crops. | was in one of the warehouses
few days ago, the people had in stor-
age 10, 900 sacks of onions, which they
had bought in the fall on an average Of
40c per 100 pounds, and the farmers
have great many potatoes stored in
the warehouses, and there seems to be
no price for them that would pay for
transportation and commission. Apples
retail here for SOC a box of one bushel,
or so lbs. They are as fine q variety
as | ever saw and the second grades
are as low as l0c per box, so you see
there is not much in it for the farmers.
Grain sells for a good price, but there
is comparatively little raised; none to
ship. Corn sells at retail for 50 20 per
100 lbs. and other grains in proportion.
| All kinds of stock is very high. Good
breeding ewes sell as high as $40 per
head. Take bunch of range cattle,
cows, calves and yearlings, as they run,
will bring 555 to $65 per head; good
horses in good demand. The eastern
wool buyers are now looking over the
situation and are offering 25c per 10.
When they can get a bunch here it
lFnn 4u
some of them, have as many as II, 600
head and two to three thousand is con-
sidered little bunch. so you see the
stockmen are all o. K They may not
own an acre of land, They run the sheep
on the government ranges IN the sum-
mer and In the winter feed little hay,
which they buy cheap. saw bunch
of so tons of alfalfa hay sold at auction
for from So so to SO. 90 per ton. Every
thing the farmer has to buy sells very
high. An ordinary pair of bob. sleds
sell for $55; lumber wagons. sl10; double
harness. without collars, SOS; and ev-
erything in the same proportion. If
farmer buys something and gives his
note it costs him IL per cent from date.
Taxes are high; transportation high;
passenger rates Sc per mile; freight
IdtSb lIDUI mere W LfilNeE, OOO IQllEe,
on farm implements is 81 per 100 lbs;
so you see they have got Mr.. Farmer
good and hard. Very little dairying is
done here; very few silos. What few
dairy cows there are, are kept up and
fed the year round. Cannot pasture
the alfalfa on az count of bloat. think
time will change this, as they are be-
ginning to see that they have to make
oh H. 30
raise more cows and hogs and do more
diversified business. Raise fewer po-
tatoes and onions and not so much fru5t
and more stock. They have the climate
and soil and fine irrigating system.
OF course, the irrigating is expensive,
but they get results by large crops, so
to 60 bushels of wheat, so to 100 Of oats
and as high as 80 tons of sugar beets
per acre; alfalfa to s tons. 1t costs
81 per acre for one year for water;
but they must furnish their own bitches
and suhr heads, so by the time they
get the water and the land, after their
help is paid. it will probably cost 81
per acre, per year That with the reg
ular tax makes the taxes pretty high"
"A Spokane paper notes that Attor-
ney 'Nult" E. Nuzum, at the end of
shot gun, held off two burglars who at
tempted to enter his house, while his
wife called the police department. The
two fellows were captured.
Church and fraternity acquaint-
ances learn with much of sorrow that
Mrs. c. 0. Andrews, former Viroqua
woman, recently died at Escanaba, Mich
igan. During dozen years residence
here Mrs Andrews was identified with
many good works.