Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1920-12-30
q Rappy 21em Year
MADE SIS, 900 IN IL YEARS
A. B. Wilcox Won With a Pair OF
Scales

III scales
a In Capper's Farmer, one of its e,
y itOrs writes this interesting stor
"a Of A. B. Wilcox who formerly live
's just east of town on the Enterpris
l. road:
- asked Joe Burrow: "How man
$5,OOO-a-year men in town accum
ulate $4,000 in IL years; mea
| men with salaries of $4,000
year," Mr.. Burrow is vetera
Middle\ West banker with a keel
sense Of values as to farm men an,
city men, farm property and cit.
property. That is why hunted hin
up to ask that question. H,
thought for several minutes. His re-
ply was brief and comprehensive.
None" he said.
"Do 10000 year men do it
Mr.. Burrow?"
Eyes. they do: most of them. But
the men on salary of $4,000 a year
in town or city do not do it, know
and have known quite a number,
and they simply don't do it,"
II know a farmer who's done it,"
I replied.
ooh, that's different" said Mr..
Burrow. "He's business man. The
farm boy on $50 a month will ac-
cumulate more than the city boy on
500, both living at home and pay
ing no board. It's the same with
their fathers. The town man, un-
less he has a business that forces
him to put his earnings back into
1t, is automatically educated as
spender. But what about your
farmer; how did he do it?"
with pair Of scales. Want the
story?"
He said he did and here it is, as
I gave it to my banker, knowing
that / must maintain a reputation
for truth with him:
Started Poor Boy
The man is A. B. Wilcox. He lives
in Shawnee county, Kansas. He
was born in Ontario, Canada, where
he worked as hired hand for IS
to $13 month and where he took
time to 60 to school after he was
81. He came to Cass county, Ne
braska, in 1888 and rented a farm
for three years. In 1886 he went
to Perkins county, Nebraska, then a
part Of Keith county, and home
steaded a claim. He had taken out
papers in the meantime.
He saw Western Nebraska egoI
through three pioneer booms and
two slumps. when land sold for so
cents an acre. In the third boom he
sold his homestead for SIS an acre
and moved to Abilene, Kansas. That
was in 1909. He had $500 for all
hose years of hard work on the
farm, and part of that belonged to
lis sons.
He bought II acres near Abilene
or $4,000, got 10 cows of mixed
breeding and began selling milk to c
he creamery. He believed he was
good Judge Of cows.
"But where do the scales come I
n," Mr.. Burrow interrupted, "the y
Gales you said he made $25,00O out q
f? I'd like to get pair, maybe
ar load"
Trust these bankers never to lose
light Of the point, whether they see a
he point or not. a
He Used the Scales A
Mr.. Wilcox took notion to test II
nose cows, to weigh the milk and 4
lie feed. He discovered then that IL
was not a good Judge of cows, z
e says, and he had been milking q
'ws all his life. Eight Of those 10 Il
,od scrubs weren't making a cent. e
e sold all of them. The creamery l
that time was paying him and of
other farmers 10 cents a gallon co
r milk. They agreed to pay is
nts If Mr.. Wilcox would bring in ou
herd Of Holsteins. He borrowed
e money to buy 16 good grade ra
,lsteins. He used the scales con- 70
lually, sold the increase at a good va
ice, for he had an exact record of nc
cry cow and 1t was known that mo-
ything Wilcox represented as true
s true. WI
He made money from the first
7 he began testing his herd. The Ne
lies were his turning point to-
rd success. He sold his grade
lsteins and bought five register :.
cows and calf. He told his a.
rod oov,s ord tbo ha,,,,or .o,a reg
ad, but he almost tainted when ~
Wilcox paid $1,000 for four M sm.
rs. Stf'
That banker was like I was"- wo'
quoting Mr.. Wilcox now-"He o'
I'D have thought nothing about p,al mal
those cows had been beef cat Del
For years nobody could tell me NV
the Shorthorn wasn't the best Lou
Z cow. But learned-and he C
ned. I like Shorthorns. For thro
eral purpose and for beef they new
{ be beat-but they are not Eng
y cattle" and
Nth his purebreds Mr.. Wilcox st.
doubling his returns. He had dren
a good cows and their calves, corr
a purebred sire that he and a repli
hbbr bought In partnership, Cros
ght good money. The receipts into
milk wae about the same for Anne
: cow, as with the grades, pos are
little larger. Mr.. wilcox 1t is
not push his breeding animals be oi
ard for milk production as he tiona
the grades. bring
Family An Educsfed path,
outgrew that 77.acre farm e0~"'