Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-01-30
$4,000 IN SIXTEEN
YEARS Is RECORD OF
ONE IOWA FARMER

Special to Times-Republican.
Rockwell. Jan. 30.-About two weeks
ago l made a business call on Fred
Boehlje at his farm near Sheffield. 1t
is a good average farm as Franklin
county farms run, 200 acres in extent,
one forty bottom land covered with
timber, modern house and good OUT
buildings, good location on main road
and only a mile from town Just an
ordinary case, apparently. of thrifty
and industrious man Of hardly middle
age living on a farm paid for, or be-
ing paid for by good management and
| hard work. That instead OF an ordi-
nary instance it was a most extraordi-
nary one was apparent few days later
when former neighbor now living in
different farm community told a story
that illustrates later day possibilities
and opportunities. About sixteen years
ago Fred Boehlje, then young immi-
grant fresh from Germany, found en-
ployment in the railroad shops In Bur-
iington. In the short time that he re-
i'sAAhiSN shSAS HC ASdAhSu " lain Ib6
fish. saved money to send for his pa
rents in the ''old country and then de
cided to try farming because that occu-
patton seemed to promise more In the
long run than job in the shops He
began in the usual German way as a
farm hand, later rented and up to six
years ago had saved enough to make a
good payment on the farm mentioned
above which he bought for $40 per
acre. From the profits on this he built
a s1.490 barn and remodeled his house.
Spent in Improvements a total OF not
to exceed $4,000. Last week he sold the
place for $4,000 and according to the
statement of the informant the public
sale that probably will be forthcoming
will clear off all indebtedness on the
farm. Forty thousand dollars In six
teen years, family reared in comfort
and responsibility. no outside aid in
the shape OF legacy or inheritance.
That's the record of Mr.. and Mrs. Fred
Boehlje, of Sheffield, Iowa.
The other extreme: Two tenant
farmers were talking matters over.
I've lost Si.400 In two years." said one.
who is one of the best young farmers
of his community. And I am way
behind where / started two years ago
answered his companion. also a good
farmer and then one of them told OF
another young man who came to this
section two years ago with a little
nest egg of4.s5o0 and Who has just
hired ont as q farm hand for. the sea
To- ~ Lilo
many others he didn't get any corn
year before last and the farm he lived
on wasn't tiled SO that the wet months
last spring finished him.
s$s
In one Of the, banks at Rockwell
there are two ears OF corn, one white
the other yellow. They. are about ten
inches each in length and thoroughly
sound and ripe The band of paper that
holds them together says they were
grown by Ed Roeder, a young farmer
here. The field from which they were
brought was planted June 90 and the
corn Is declared TO have averaged near
iy fifty bushels per acre OF good mature
grain. In answer to the inquiry: How
was this accomplished. neighbor
aHsWeIeu' W SUN pAoWihS ""A
times OF IT,
Mr. Nielsen, northeast of town in q
neiShborhood that has seen good
many partial crop failures because OF
wet land. tiled out AZ tract, plowed 1t up
for the first time and planted 1t to corn
ami husked out good crop. One ear
taken from this field has twenty-eight
rows of grain, about twice that of the
average ear of corn.
This for the man who has some
thing TO trade for property in some
other part of the country. Some re-
gion where he is unacquainted with
quality or open market values, The
owner of town building exchanged IT
for forty acres of irrigated land, high
priced Of course. He received Cd in
the trade s3.4o0 for his building which
was noon afterward sold by the new
owner for $1,000 cash, a difference OF
only $4,000.
Said Cerro Gordo county official. u
hope the present legislature will not
put the state highway commission out
of existence" Then he told how one OF
the oft criticized engineers saved to
the county an amount sufficient to pay
for his maintenance for some time. 1t
was an emergency contract job A
panel OF bridge had gone down. Mr..
Contractor walked into the presence OF
the authorities, the only bidder on the
work. He must have been an expert
enced man in the business as after
events showed The bid looked rea-
sonavle enough but the engineer was
there and 1t was submitted to his in
spection. The object Of many kicks
figured awhile and came back with the
statement that the bid was several
hundred dollars too high. Then the
contractor drew forth from his pocket a
second bid which just about measured
up to the engineers estimate. III there
had been no engineer" remarked the
man who told the story, the first, bid
would doubtless have been accepted
for the contractor had done many such
jobs for the county and apparently was
working as cheaply as he could The
engineer trouble Is not the fault Of the
plan but injudicious selection" KS
80 SEg
1t Is estimated that within the next
FIVE years permanent cement culverts
and bridges will nave replaced entirely
the old fashioned wood and iron struc-
lures heretofore used. This would be
accomplished in even shorter time were
it not for the fact that several drain
age projects In different stages Of COM
.pletion will necessitate crossings. the