Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1918-04-05
CHANGE IN THE
FARMERS LIFE
making a Living" Idea Has De-
veIoped Into a money
Making Fact"

A few years ago-and not so many
at that-most farmers were satisfied
| if they saw ahead of them the oppor-
| tunity TO make a fair living, a reason
| able competence in their failing years,
| and an assurance OF an existence for
| their families. They worked hard,
| and titled their acres with this end in
view. Honest struggle, earnest eff
| fort and a true conception of upright
| manhood, together with the increas-
| ing knowledge that upon the fruits of
| their endeavor rested the structure of
| the world, whose people had to be fed
| and maintained. Economy in method,
| improved conditions of working, have
| added to the farmers possibilities. and
| today instead of being a plodder for
an existence, which his early training
had bred into him, he has become the
| bulwark of the nation, and, as such,
| has become elevated to q position
where his word and his work are rec
Ognized as the factors it was always
intended they should be. He is now
the man of business-of big business.
He has forced an appreciation of his
work, and the true value has been
placed upon it. The big men of the
country today are the farmers, who.
with business acumen and forensic
forethought are able to tell you-from
| their bOOks-what it costs to produce
a buShel of wheat or a pound of wool.
| All of which is intended to prove
| that farming is business, as much
as banking or selling a suit of clothes.
1t is an industrial business, with more
certain profits than accompany any
other line of trade. 1t is a manufac-
| turing enterprise, devoid of any of the
| dangers that the frillS of fashions
fOllies and desires force upon ordinary
| pursuits. Food is something that all
must have and the farmer produces it.
/ The cheaper it can be produced the less
Will be the cost TO the consumer. And
| this is one of the chief thoughts of the
| farmer. Within the memory of the
| ten-year-Old boy there have been i'm
prOvementS in machinery, changes in
| methods, scientific discoveries of chem
| icals as adapted to agriculture, all Of
which have lessened cost of production
| and made possible the cultivation of
| increased acres. In some parts these
things have brought about more inten-
sified agriculture, growing heavier
| crops on less acres. Improved machin-
cry and demand for greater production
| have led another class in search of
| larger areas, where their ability may
cope with the growing of a greater
number of bushels. That is one of the
| reasons why Western Canada lands
have recently come into such demand.
| These, at from twenty to thirty dol
| lars an acre, and producing the pro-
! digiOuS crops that are claimed for
| them, have attracted thousands of
| American settlers, while other thou
| sands have gone out into the lands In
| the Western states. But, as to the Can
| ada lands, there is this to say of them,
| today they are cheap, and if they will
| yield sufficient in one year to pay the
cost of the entire purchase, why should
not there be a demand. The country
| is well settled, and settlement is in
| creasing. AS evidence of the growth
of the three Western Provinces into
whose territories the Canadian Govern
ment invites settlers, recent reports
show the following increases from 1913
| to 1917 inclusive:
Value of Field Crops
1913 1917
Manitoba IS 64,557 900 $137, 470,55O
| Saskatchewan 129, $4,000 349, 4S8, 200
Alberta -. 46712,0OO 1896, 800