Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-11-30
SMALL FARMS IN IOWA.

uses" . ss5 M 4.
SMALL FARMS IN IOWA.
Sioux City Journal: The Iowa
farm renter, hired man or farmers
son is to have a chance to work his
own land if he is willing to try in
ltensive cultivation of small tract.
The chance is to come to him with
out graft or catch in It, Disclosure
lof what he will do with it, assum-
ling that he accepts it, will offer one
Of the most interesting agricultural
demonstrations ever essayed in this
country. The experiment will be
watched with interest in every state
| in the union. Out Of it may come
1.-THE answer to the question of how
the natural hunger for land is to be
[appeased after cheap lands have dis
appeared from the. market, and how
the supply Of agricultural products
can keep pace with the demand Of an
increasing population without an in
crease in the number Of acres culti-
waited. +, N
The new Iowa idea is advanced by
Leigh Hunt, q former Iowan, who
has made a worldwide reputation as
q developer of big ideas. Getting
his start as superintendent of
schools in Des. Moines, Mr.. Hunts
most conspicuous record in this
country was made as publisher of
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Such
business success as. he scored went
with the bursting sof the Seattle
boom. Mr.. Hunt then crossed the
Pacific to Korea and quickly carved
q new fortune out of mining con-
cession in which he is still interest
ed. Then he turned his attention toa
Egypt, where he drew the plans and
built the foundations for a huge cot
ton growing enterprise in the upper
Nile. Now he is back in Des Moines
a little tired by his strenuous striv-
ing, amply supplied with capital for
leisure but disposed to keep his
money and himself working in the
interest. Of those about him. In the
near future he proposes to lend both
his money and his genius for deYel-
opment to impecuni0us Iowans who
would like to work a bit of land Of
their own If given chance.
There is nothing original about
Mr.. Hunts idea, except the applica-
tion Of it, 1t amounts to transplant
ing to American soil the intensive
farming methods compelled in the
old world by the scarcity Of product.
i've land. Mr.. Hunt plans to pro-
mote in Iowa a series OF small farm
colonies, partly cooperative and part
ly individual in their effect. The
system starts with the purchase Of
say 400 acres of the best land avail
able in one of the best counties in
the state. This land is to be divid-
ed into tracts Of, say, twelve acres
each. In the center is to be a viii
lage Of cozy homes, to be. occupied
by owners of the tracts. The homes
are to be modern in all conveniences.
The village is to offer all the social
and other advantages Of community
life. ON, these little tracts. which
are more than twice as large as the
average farm in Europe, Mr.. Hunt
is sure that an industrious farmer
can make q. better living, while en-
joying more comfort and less worri-
ment, than the man who is working
a farm eight or ten times as large.
At the outset Mr.. Hunt wants the
cooperation Of groups OF sober, In
telligent and Industrious young men
in four or Ave counties, to demon
strate the practicability Of his plan.
The young men need not have any
money. They must. however, prove
their mettle by taking the Initiative
in promoting the colony. To this
end it would be necessary for the in
terested individuals, boys or hired
men from the farm preferred, to
form club and select q tract Of
land. II the preliminaries have been
we'll arranged Mr.. Hunt will then
stand ready to step in, buy the land,
subdivide and improve it, build the
village. and supply such capital as
may be needed to put the commun-'
ity on its feet. The cost is to be
charged in proper proportion against
each tract, to be paid for by its 'oc-
cupant on long time at a low rate
of interest.
This is only brief glance at q
project about which much will be
printed as the experiment develops,
for undoubtedly Iowa will not be
slow to produce young men who are
willing to bet their time against Mr..
Hunts money. One fact to be kept
in mind is that Mr.. Hunt is not maxi
ing the offer in a purely philanthro-