The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-09-28

farm is regarded more in the light
OF a speculation or venture. The
dry farms last year raised from 10
to 80 bushels of wheat to the acre
and the irrigated farms paid as high
as 5000 an acre for hay and 5000
an acre returns on potatoes. The
price of irrigated lands has risen
from the government price of $40
an acre to the actual value of from
500 an acre up, according to the
profits the individual is making from
land by farming it. The land that
yielded $500 an acre last year, and
practically all of our lands are equal
ly good, is worth big price SO long
as potatoes command the prices they
did last year, so of every other crop.
THE dry farmers will succeed in
solar as they work on dry-farm and
on business principles. The man
who buys carefully and in a way not
to waste his capital is doing a prud-
ent thing. can tell who they are
by the discretion and care they ex-
ercise in buying. There are some
who consider carefully just how
much they need of certain materials
and they buy enough but no more.
There are others who buy recklessly
and I take it that they manage
loosely in many ways, and when they
have short crop they are bound to
be embarrassed financially. | can
name half a dozen dry farmers who
spend all their money readily. They
do not seem to consider that when
they secure loan on the farm and
use that money to get the farm into
condition to produce more or to bet
ter their condition in any way, they
miss their mark when they expend
it carelessly or for things that do not
increase their income or save some
thing of expense. Those men will
fail as dry farmers and they would
fail If they went at something else
with the same kind of management.
The easy-going man who buys care
lessly is not only wasting some of
his means, but he is hurting his |
business reputation by giving people |
the idea that some day he is going |
to be in hard circumstances. The
man who has reputation for being |
a careful buyer of the things he
needs is the man who will be able |
to get credit at the stores when the
pinch comes and he needs credit.
In school matters the people of
this locality have been very much J
alive and active. We did not all seei
things from the same angle, and |
while some wanted consolidated
schools, others favored the/ otheS7
plan. The graded school epecta6Sfe-
Gently is a monument tolAIefdeen,
and the proof of it's usefhlhess lies
in the fact that it is alreadyV filled |
to it's capacity and by andthelk year
it will be necessary to build>the> an
mex. The first big burden of taxes
fell upon the irrigated farms and |
not on the dry farms, but in decid-
ing how to manage school matters,
each locality shouldered it's ,oMQ
legitimate burdens of taxation \for
schools and worked accordingly.
"The index of the future of our
locality is found in the past. All
the farms will produce wealth, but
the irrigated farms will produce the
most. The dry farmers will reap
crops, but some years will witness
greater returns than others. The
dry farmer is adding a great amount
of wealth to our locality, and he is
a valuable factor in the commercial
life of the town. His purchasing
power is limited only by the amount
Of his income and the whole com
munity is indebted to the dry farmer
for adding his bit to the volume of
trade. Every merchant carries a
larger and more complete stock by
reason of the purchasing power of
The dry farmers, and every irrigated
farm has a better market for it's
products by reason of the dry farms.
Aberdeen is bigger and better
own by reason of it's varied agri-
activities"