The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1916-06-30
WORK
GETS RESULTS
This Farmer Tells How He
Made Good.

reached the period where we must
think and plan. | am one of the
slow German farmers that had to be
shown, and am now giving my ex-
perience that others may profit, for
knowledge is more expensive now
than ten years ago.
Twenty-nine years ago ! began my
farm career | had an old team and
$50 Our furniture was mostly home
made-chairs, cupboard ana lounge
made from dry goods boxes, neatly
covered with ten-cent cretone by my
girl wife. We rented eighty acres.
Being a boy of good habits. | got all
needed machinery and groceries OF
our home merchants on credit, until
fall crops were sold The first year
was wet season and l did not make
enough to pay creditors. l went to
each on date of promise and explain
ed conditions, paying as much to each
as possible, and they all carried the
balance over another year. They
continued to accommodate me until
was able to buy forty-acre piece
of my own.
AS soon as l owned these few acres
the mail order houses began sending
me catalogs, and gradually l began
sending my loose change to them, let
ting my accounts stand in my home
town, where | had gotten my accom-
modation when | needed it.
We had one of the thriftiest little
villages in the state-good line of
business in all branches. merchants
we're willing to help an honest fellow
over a bad year. and town full of
people who came twice week to
trade and visit. Our little country
town supported library, high school,
band, ball team, and we had big cele-
brations every year. A farm near
live town soon doubles in value. !
sold my 40 acres at big advance and
bought an 80, gradually adding to it
until / had 200 acres of the best land
in Iowa. | then felt no need of ask
ing favors, and found it easy to pat
ronize the mail order agents that
came almost weekly to our door
Though we got bit every once in a
while, we got in the habit of sending
away for stuff.
Gradually our merchants lessened
their stocks of goods-for lack of
patronage. Finally we began to
realize that when we needed a bolt
quickly for machinery. or clothing
for sickness or death, we had to
wait and send away for it, which
wasn't so pleasant One by one our
merchants moved to places where
they we're appreciated, and men of
less energy moved in. Gradually our
town has gone down; our business
houses are "tacky" in appearance, a
number are empty, our schools,
churches and walks are going down,
we have no band, no library or ball
team. There is no business done in
town, and therefore nc taxes to keep
things up. Hotel is closed for lack
of travel Go down to the depot when
the freight pulls in and you viii see
the sequel in mail order packages.
Nine years ago my farm was worth
$195 an acre; today I'd have a hard
matter to sell it at S65 an acre.
Is too far from a live town'-so
every farmer has said that wants to
buy. He wants place near schools
and churches, where his children can
have advantages / have awakened
to the fact that in helping to pull the
town down it has cost me $500 in
nine years Like majority of farm
ers, | didn't figure far enough ahead.
This sort of business means the do
ing away with country towns. What
will it mean to farmers to have only
a few large cities at distance of
500 or 1000 miles? What are we
going to do with our children. who
are demanding even better advant
ages than we had?
Those cities we help to build re-
turn no favors; they take our money
but offer no credit in time of need. If
we want high schools, etc, we must
raise the money and build near our
farm homes or send our boys and
girls to the cities at great expense,
amid temptations of which the farm
has no equal. Neither am | the only
awakening farmer. These mail order
agents that come to our house every
week are becoming nuisance and
making it unsafe to leave women or