The Vashon Island record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1916-1919, 1917-12-06
THE PEOPLES FORUM |
PESSIMISTIC LASSITUDE

IT'S been long while since any.
body had the pleasure co OF seeing
some of my "stun' In print. Ny
"Acusc7 Well, pretty busy all sum
mer and fall-doo tired to think in
the evening, and, unlike lawyers. edi
tors and politicians, | can, talk or
write all the time without stopping to
think little.
Hut. back To the subject. Whats
the Matter with Vaahon?' After some
years of observation and study OF
methods of procedure on Vashon IL.
land, and recent incident which
rather sums up the evidence, | would
pronounce the matter as "pessi
mistic lasstudc.r Everybody knows
n pessimist In one who sees only the
hole In the dounghnut. You can 20
TO Wcbsters unabridged for the other
word and figure on; ils application for
yourself, when get through The
incident referred TO Is as follows:
A real estate man OF Seattle tells
the following story OF would.be buy.
er; The w, II. u. wanted to buy a
piece OF improved land The II. II.
NJ. sent him to vashon to look at u
place or two, On his return the fol.
lowing conversation took place:
r. Il. M.--"well. how'd you like
that country"
W. u. B.--"That's n pretty nice look
ing place over there, but guess won't
buy
II. u. M.--"Why what's the matter?"
W. u. B.-"Well. III tell you. met
several old fellows over there and
talked with them. They all said Wash
on was n fine place TO live, but you
couldn't make living off the land.
Too rocky, stumpy, dry, wet etc"
n. d. M.-"What were those fellows
doing?'
w d. B.~-"Nothing,
And there you are.
II seems to me there has been In the
past too much misdirected effort; too
little system; too little intensive cult.
Walton, to say nothing of actual cash
and labor expended to little advan.
tage.
Orchards have been planted among
the stumps. roots and rocks. without
regard to variety suitable TO climate or
market; the leading idea seemingly
was TO get as large a variety as pos
sibe. Fences built crooked. and in
every direction; buildings set awry:
crops planted hurriedly in ground too
wet or too dry, plowed in careless
manner with stub pillow and one
weak horse; and as TO use of the disc
or harrow, to make good seed bed
| read not long ago of small rancher
who narrowed certain field eleven
times before he thought II In shape
TO put in his seed. Did he not live on
vashon? Yes. he did not.
II seems to me that with more in
telligent application of the same time,
labor. and money that has been ex-
pended in spasmodic and Intermittent
efforts, applied to perhaps smaller
area. in more concentrated man.
ner. would have produced more salts
factory results and left this Island
with much better front to present
than it does now, TO prospective set
tier Look up the average cleared"
ten-acre tract and you will find most
of the clearing is between the stumps.
there is not single acre in body
without some stumps, roots or bould-
ers sticking out, or so near the sur
face that one-horse pillow finds them.
Now, Mr.. Editor. know this is an
awful story, but don't you think it's
true? Pillow and scrape day or two
"H'hS 'h' otumpSs pidht solHS SOOu,
expensive seed at the wrong time; for
get 1t. At harvest time wonder why
we have such bad luck No planning
nor preparation, no cultivation, no fer
tilization, no system, no nothing, but
''pessimistic lassitude.n
Now. don't pretend to say these
conditions are common to Vashon Is
land only. Far from it. They apply
elsewhere. But, that's no excuse for
us. believe We can and ought to do
better. Why not?
want to say. too. that there are
few notable exceptions to the general
condition as | see IL could name