Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-02-09
REFUSES TO STAND FOR IN.
CREASED RENTALS OF NORTH
IOWA FARMS.
OTHERS STAND READY
TO TAKE THEIR PLACES
Men From East and South Come in,
While Departing Tenant Goes to
cheapee Land or to Town to Engage
in Teamins-c. E. Wilson's Rural
Observations.
,ecial to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Belnond, Feb. 9"Having decided to
quit farming or9"As am leaving the
state will sell at public auction" ETC..
this is the way the yellow or pink or
white handful starts out and the
questioner that asks why this is thus
often gets the answer. 20. the owner
him to 81 and he wouldn't pay it and
is selling out. what then?" He has
rented q cheaper farm a couple of hun
dred miles north" or He is moving to
town. says he can make better liv-
ing hauling gravel for the county than
he can paying such high rent" What
about the farm?" 20, it's already rent
ed. A man from farther south. or east
or somewhere else has rented it." This
is about the way the talk runs on the
subject. Often the informant throws
in the opinion that with grain and
everything so high, seems as If it
wouldn't require many bushels to make
up the additional amount on each
acre." that "the renter leaving here will
find out later that he isn't in Iowa by
any MEANS" and that the other man
: Va SOfiAAoA -
that he has now after he has hauled
gravel awhile" but nevertheless these
plans go on from year to year and this
spring they are just as much in evil
dence as ever.
AS an Illustration of the rise in rent
on farms here one place of PAT acres, a
good deal of it not adapted to cultiva-
cd
SITS per year. Finally the owner de-
cided that $3.50 was not too much rent
for that farm but the tenant thought
differently and moved away. The new
man has been there two years; has
made money but doesn't propose to
pay $1,000 for any such a place. Some
other man will and perhaps he in turn
will leave that farm when rent raise is
effected. 'Tve got enough together to
buy a farm if I have to- said one
renter the other day, but farmers need
capital to work with as well as other
people. have seen men sell off nearly
ly all their stuff, put every dollar Of 1t
into a farm on which they could make
but comparatively small payment
and then struggle along hampered for
lack of capital. The only redeeming
feature of such a plan has been the
rise in land values. What would be
thought Of merchant who would put
every dollar of his capital into a store
building?
Sometimes, however, this moving
business Is all different. One man with
a 19-year-old son retired from the
farm two years ago and bought place
in town. This time the town home Is
sold, the boy cant make anything in
town working by the day." and wants
to go back to the farm and manage 1t
ION the shares" and the "old folks" are
going out to keep house for him. The
other day the young fellow wanted to
take train for q station near the
old farm but snowstorm blocked the
road and the train was hours late.
Shovelers were wanted in the yards
and the waiting passenger hired out to
the company. BY the time the train
came along he had earned enough to
buy his toicket. He will probably make
q success on the farm later, wont he?
The comparatively few men in this
part of the country who make sheep
feeding a part Of the years business
appear able to give out figures that
prove the financial success Of the plan.
For instance. Mr.. A. J. Williams, a
local farmer. last August bought 357
sheep in a western market and after
leaving them in his pasture few days
turned the outfit into a twenty acre
cornfield. Weeds, grass and corn
blades vanished in the order named.
Then as soon as the ears of corn began
to harden the animals went after the
grain There were about seventy head
Of hogs big and little in the field along
with the sheep and by Dec. TO- about
all that was left in that cornfield was
a few butt ends Of what had been
stalks, thrifty bunch of hogs and 33s
sheep, nineteen of the latter having
died in the meantime. The sheep
were placed in a fresh cornfield for
a few days, then shipped to market.