The mirror., 1915-04-08
Worldwide Progress Of the Farmer
Continued from Page y

soil, dairying enrichens the state by
supplying the soil with the products
necessary to the continuation of
plant life.
Cooperation means not only the
producing of more and better crops
and stock, the sale of them at profit
and the shipping Of them at the
right ii me and in the right condi-
ton. but is perhaps why the latest
step in progressivism is being ad-
vanced. l refer to the rural credit
system. Two bills are being intro
duced into Congress for the estab-
lishment of rural credit, while the
state OF Oklahoma has already
thrown open its revolving school fund
enabling the farmer to borrow mon
ey at a small rate of interest for
long period to buy land, stock, or to
pay off mortgages; and Minnesota
and other states will soon do the
same.
1t is a curious fact that 80 Y of the
merchantile adventures are said to be
failures, they have no trouble in
borrowing money at nominal rate
of interest while the farm which is
the soundest investment, must pay
from to 10 % interest and IN the
west as high as 12%.
The progress the farmer has made
In the quarter century has been me-
teoric, and as Mr.. A. D. Wilson of
the State Extention Department
said in talk before the Wash. Co.
Farmers Betterment ASSN, farm
machinery typifies the progress
made.
From the cradle to the self binder
is long step and the rapid improve
ments made, coupled with a large
decrease in price has enabled the
farmer to SOW and reap large crops
with but small investment. The
decrease in price of binder-twine is
comparatively even greater than in
machinery, it being 400 ol0 cheaper
than twenty wears aUO
The tractor engine will play an
important part in the future opera
tions of farms, until recently only
large tractors have been manufac-
tured, useful and economical, only
to the large grain growers of the
northwest, but now many sizes of
tractors are on the market, one so
small that 1t will take the place of
one team of horses, and altho the
tractor eugine has it's Objectionable
phases, any small farm as we'll as a
large farm will profit greatly by
their use. Stationary engines are
also becoming important not
only for the solving of the farm
hand problem, but for it's saving to
the house wife in running the churn,
washing machine, etc.
The automobile is perhaps en-
thusing more farmers than any 9TH
er farm machine. I call it farm
machine because it is just that
The farmer uses it to pump water.
drill wells, turn the grind stone, cut
ensilage, and haul products TO mar
ket as well as it's social service. and
he has found it invaluable in plant
ing, harvesting, and threshing time
to 60 for repairs at a critical mo-
ment One of every fourteen or fif-
teen farmers in the U. S. owns an
automobiles which means 50O,O00)
and the automobile salesman is very
keen at ferreting out possible in
solvency. Kansas statistics show an
average of one car to each farmer.
As to the good the automobile has
done and is doing for the farmers,
one farsighted enthusiast said au-
tomobiles have brought good roads,
and good roads mean state high
ways, and state highways mean an
ocean to- ocean boulevard, and that
means six-cyIinder, self-starting
prosperity
We often hear people say: 1T
must be fine to be a farmer, to
grow your own eatables, live in the
open and be Independent"
These peoples viewpoint is not un-
like that of the Irish woman, who,