The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1920-03-18


llggggA!A tilling of the soil is not only an in
dustry that means great wealth and prosper
ity to any country, but is the foundation up
on which many other great and successful
industries are established, which contribute in
no small degree to the wealth, power, and
prosperity of nation; where, if it was not
for agriculture, those same industries could
not exist; for if they did attempt to exist in
dependently of agriculture, the ones estab-
fishing the business, could only expect one
thing, and that is, financial ruin or bank
ruptcy.
For instance, we will take the twine in
dustry, one of the greatest industries that
has been established in modern times, and is
no small item in the financial world, and as
an enterprise, is leading factor in the pros
perity and power of nation.
What is the cause of so great demand
for this product? Is it universal necessity !?
Is it in such demand that its success does not
depend upon any other enterprise or industry
for financial support? No, the main artery
through which flows the success of the twine
industry is agriculture, for if it was not for
agriculture, the twine industry would only
result in failure, for any one engaging in it,
so it is, with many other great and powerful
industries that have been established within
the last twenty-five years. Industries that
give employment to hundreds of thousands of
people, and is the means of putting into cir
culation millions of dollars every day, which
adds in no small measure to the power and
prosperity of country. And if it was not
for agriculture there would be very little de-
mand if any, for these products, such as bin
der twine, tractors, seeders, binders, mowers,
rakes, plows, drags, cultivators, and many
other implements too numerous to mention,
that finds ready sale in any farming COM
munity, and are used exclusively in the culti-
vation of the soil and in putting in and tax
ing off of the crops.
Up to the beginning of the nineteenth
century the Agriculture industry in most
cases resulted in failure to most all who en-
gagged in it owing chiefly to the unorganized
condition of the ones who took up the tilling
of the soil for living. In most instances,
persons taking up agriculture as livelihood
knew little if anything about the successful
cultivation of the SOIL In most cases they
were compelled by lack of means to mort
gage their farms for every dollar they could
get on them in order to purchase stock and
machinery. They were compelled to pay a
very high rate of interest on the borrowed
money. They sold their surplus products
to middlemen for what they could get for
them, which without any exception was very
little, and anything they had to purchase
was bought from those same middlemen who
charged them an exorbitant price for it,
and the result was the ones engaged in farm
ing were unable to pay their bills When
they came due, and in course of time, the
mortgage was foreclosed, and the ancestors
of the successful farmers today were forced
to leave their homes and take up land in a
more remote and uncivilized territory. But
during the last century agriculture has
forged ahead and is today one Of the most
successful enterprises that a person can en-
gage in.
Everything possible is being done to
educate the people in the successful cultiva-
ton of the soil. The farmers find ready
market for their products, and are paid a
high price for any and everything that they
raise. Their credit is good for any reason
able amount with firms that have for sale
anything that the farmer may need, for they
know that they are not only safe in doing so
but they have the foresight to know that in
most instances the success of their own busi-
ness depends to large extent upon the ones
engaged in agriculture, and today agricul-
ture enters into the lives of the people today
more than any other known industry, for if
it was not for the products of the soil, peo-
pie could not sustain life for any length of
time.
will take the late war as an example
of the Importance agriculture plays in the