Norwich bulletin., 1920-04-30


 darkest city-dorn. Let us be duly thankful therefor. Let us also hope that |, the thus far feebly twinkling rays may develop. and persist till they shall ilumi- nate minds yet, wandering bIindfold in l. the deserts of ignorance and class pre- judice | Within the last six weeks have seen | displayed at the local village store the posters of six farm auctions, all within less than ten miles of me- Farms and equipments, stock, teams, tools, machin- cry, hay, grair, food supplies, etc, aii offered for sale to the highest Bidder One of these six was due to the far mer's age and the death of his wife, which two nisfortunes had combined to E drive him from his home to a refuge | with a married son. Two others were l brought about by the farmers decision, to ! move to town and work at big. wages in | a shop. The other three came simply l and solely from the fact that the farm CTS concerned could get no help to carry on their dairy plants and were without 1 capital to sink in maintaining them at a l loss. These six farms have been in the habit of producing somewhere about S0.e00 quarts of milk and 1000 bushels of potatoes a year for market, besides \ what was consumed on the farms and besides the numerous other products grown. Not one of them is to continue milk or potato production hereafter. You who have to buy milk and pota- l toes. rlease figure up a rough estimate of the loss in these two articles alone for 1 the whole country based on this known loss from one-half of one county. You are getting big wages in town. The dol | lars just roll in to you and they look : afer14l4 af-ao. s, TO,.G eat them or wear them or burn them in your stoves. And if your refusal to help | grow potatoes results in such a scarcity I that they retail for s1t25 a neck, where in is your s5 day worth any more. to | you. potato-wise, than would be $1 a day with potatoes at 25 cents a peek?
 One of the largest farmers in my | neighborhood. whose holdings cover SO i. large an acreage that. he. can't sell it, at auction or any other way. and who has 1 usually heretofore employed from ten to a dozen men the year round, with ex- tra help in having and harvest had, at ! my last information, contracted with | just two men to work for him the com | ing season This, because he couldn't get more at any wages which their labor would earn for him.
 Another, with several hundred acres of l arabic, pasture and orchard land. hasn't re-hired single one of his old men. When they made known to him what 1 wages they would expect, he turned i squarely on them and said: You're ask 1 ing more in wages than the entire farm 1 brought in, last year. Take my teams 1 and tools at a fair valuation pay me just trifie in rent for the farm, |erough 1 to take care of taxes and insurance and repairs, and I'll turn it all over to you. r, oll .~, ] 1t" Did they accept the offer? Not by a long shot! They knew perfectly well that the farm couldn't possibly bring in the wages they were demanding. But that they sagely reasoned. was not their lookout They could get such | wages in the city and, if the country couldn't pay them, to the city they'd go.
 Both these farms have also produced some milk and some potatoes for market Now they will not Add something more to the shortage you've already figured out, on their account. If the gross re- suits in decreased production and in- creased consumption look good to your l eyes, then gloat over them If they do not look promising or profitable, then kindly think about something else-- about what you'll live on next winter, say when the shortage becomes acute ane | IItSI6 5 c1 1I0Sn TdiIIOdQ ana Qeal CTS bins are empty and they are jump. ing their prices every fifteen minutes!
 The Blade writer isn't talking foolishl1 1 when he foresees the day when city dwellers, though rich and prosperous will in vain bid fabulous sums for food which cannot be had at any price," be, cause it wasn't produced.
 There is another farm, near me, whicf has usually produced some 500 gallons O maple syrup each spring. It has a mod ern evaporating plant and it's output ha, been taken greedily at remunerativ prices. This spring, the owner tanned hi trees as usual and started work. Ths sap flowed unusually well everything be 1 tokened a prosperous season. The secont day his one hired man left him, yithei five minutes warning to take job ii a big electric works, and he coslld no | find another capable of S4oirs the worl
 at any price. Himself getting on i, years and with considerable stock to car for three times a day. he was physiraH,
 unable to continue the syrup making
 He pulled his sap-spouts, plugged
 his trees stored the buckets, etc, away
 What sap was already in. the pans h
 finished up. making grand total of st
 gallons of syrup-jast about enough. h
 reckoned. for his own use
 In which single instance the thought
 full mind may see suggestion of one O
 the causes why maple syrup which use
 to retail at a dollar a gallon, is nos
 hardly obtainable at s4 and s5 gal1or
 For there is no reason to suppose tha
 this instance was the only one of 1t
 kind in the country.
 Of course we've all read about tn
 toveralls" clubs which people are join
 ing all over the continent in a crusad
 to cut down the exorbitant cost of cloth
 ing. Not only in this country is tn
 movement spreading, it has obtained
 foethold in London, where city mel
 chants who used to appear, de rigeur. i
 morning coats, top hats, broadcloth trcr
 sers, and spats, are now going to bus
 mess in denim overalls
 The very first result of which move
 ment in my immediate vicinity has bee
 the prompt addition of S19 a dozen t the wholesale price for overails Tn trrofiteer doesn't care Wf1efl1er vo,i ,xao