Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1915-01-29
FARMER TALKS
FROM SHOULDER
GIVES NEIGHBORS BENEFIT
OF EXPERIENCES
He Don't Believe Local Mer-
chants are Robbers but Says
He Enthused Once and Got
a Mortgage and a Newspaper

The letter below is taken from the
Pine River Sentinel and is reproduced
here because it gives the actual ex-
perience of one man who thought he
was going to set the world atire.
but finished with only a mortgage
and newspaper, both questionable
assets. The letter follows and should
be read by everyone:
Editor Dahl:
/ read in your paper last week
about the doings of the Riverside
Farmers club and their resolutions.
I take one other county paper and
one daily and l saw the same thing
in those papers. so it looks as though
the Riverside Farmers club are GER
tainly going to raise the dickens all
around. They want to knock out the
country storekeeper. get the govern
ment to take the railroads. use the
parcel post direct from the producer
to the consumer and then ask sou
poor newspaper men to print it all
free of charge.
Now l am pretty old man and /
remember how crazy people got way
back in the days of the Populist
party. / was just as crazy and foolish
as any of them, but found out that
we were barking up the wrong tree.
1t cost me $4,000 to find out how
crazy l was. too You see. was con-
sidered one of the leaders in the move
ment in our county and / had to be
one of the Popplist party county office
seekers. Well, to make it sure that
we Populists would get elected and
that the government would take the
railroads away from the robbing
railroad companies. We had to have
a newspaper of our own. We formed
a stock company and bought an
outfit that cost US about $4,000 and
hired one of our own men to run it.
He was running for county Office too.
Well, We all got licked good and pro-
per and when election was over there
was a foot of snow on the ground.
Half, of nv cornfeld was still to
be picked, half of the plowing was
yet to be dune, had accumulated
q Sd, 600 mortgage of my farm ir
four months and all | had to show fol
it was newspaper that wouldn't pay
the rent. But we had planned to d.
great things. You older ones know
all about it so / won't bother got
with particulars.
! 1t took me about two years t.
! figure it all out and see how we ha.
made perfect fools of ourselves, ant
/ am surprised to see by the pape
that this same thing is being stirre'
up again by people who ought t
know better. ] am still scratching
along as farmer and have made
Z few dollars since I came to Gas
: county, but did not make it howl
ing about who owns the railroads no
about how much profit the merchan
in the small town makes on his goods
Sure ! use the parcel post sometime
from Pine niver to my farm becaus
it is cheaper than for me to 60 t
town when am busy. When / cam
to- Pine River about eight years ago
remember pretty we'll how Webber
Hill and II. S. Gilbert accommodate
me with credit when needed it. an
notice another thing too that thes
fellows who are whooping her up th
loudest for government ownership O
railroads and everything else an
sending to Chicago for their good
when they can get them in Pine Rive
don't often amount to much. A
least their credit isn't worth muc
where people know them. Anybod
can get goods in Chicago if they hav
: the money.
8 Now ! am getting pretty long -winG
t ed and will have to quit pretty 500
or / will be using your whole papel
It Now want to say this-and it is th
best advice ! know off farmers {
q the clubs in Cass county will tai
about how to get the stumps out {
the ground and TO raise better stoc
e and such things and let the railroad
and storekeepers run their own bus
Iness. farmers will have more none
i and be lots happier. And if tt
It farmers clubs will agree to do th,