The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-02-18
Uhen DO Ue Eat?
Also Hon. and Where?
And How Long ViH the Farmer be the Goat2
BY DANA SLEETH
BY DANA SLEETH

lam rirttni
AS 1T SEEMS TO Me you have
boon painting too dark picture Of
the farmers life. write TO ask II
IL In only the unsuccessful and hard.
luck farmers who write letters to
The Star.
According to internal revenue re-.
ports the farmers OF this country are
paying over n billion dollars income
tax. Then why get us all wrought
up and feeling sorry for tho poor
farmcry
a letter you published tho other
evening from n Big Bend dry farmer
stated that he had had three crop
failures or partial failures. No won
der his letter was not very optimistic.
NOW let us hear from several OF the
airy wheat farmers OF Eastern Wash.
lnston who are ut present living In
Tine houses In Seattle, educating
their children at the university. driv.
inx the latest thing in gas-chariots.
All paid for from their wheat farms
Some OF them may work "is hours q
day" few weeks during harvest
yes. and IL takes them 10 hours .
day tho res, OF tho year TO spend
their money before tho next crop Ia
ready for market.
can name you n wheat farmer
living In the University district who
last year gave 1000 to missionary
work In Thibct. How many eight.
hour-aday city workers had g.. 200 20
spare for missions last Year,
Let us hear also from some OF the
Wena'ehee and Yakima farmers who
last fall sold their apple crops on
tho treca TO Eastern buyers for any.
where from $4,000 to sac. 900 cash.
How about the Skagit farmer who
raised i,o tons OF potatoes last sea.
son. worth now at least $50 a ton In
the pitt Would letter from him
contain any of shls PITY the Poor
Farmer" stuff
Ono correspondent Wishes 20 know
where the farmer In getting off at
The present price. OF butter and eggs
when h. has to pay s. a sack for
wheat and three something n hun.
drcd for shorts and three times as
much for hay as he used TO pay.
What kind of farming Ia this. Mr..
slee,h-what kind OF farming il
hlsf Why doesn't this farmer move
TO Seattle and put his pigs and cows
and chickens on n vacant lot Then
he could pull down etxh, hours pay
for a city job and run his farm morn.
ings and evenings and save tn. cost
OF hauling his feed out OF town.
!. too. Mr.. sic~sh. was once q
farmer. and made more than q liv-
Ing Mt H. But did we boiler about
tho high cost OF feed for our COWS
and hens and pigs1 We dsd not We
raised our corn and oats and hay
and wheat X We fed H. We sAt-
tened cattle for market The hogs
lived on what the cattle wassed. The
chickens lived on what the cattle
and hogs and horscs and everybody
else wasted. except during snowy
weather. The stock furnished the
fertilizer for NEXT years crops OF
corn and oats and hay. etc. which
were turned into more cattle and
hogs and eggs for the market, That's
real farming.
AoHf tntHiuk SApFrISut~. iunA.
dear. caused us many tears. You
started In tho hog business when
they were ga per cwt. 10 help make
the world safe for democracy. And
when the good old chip Of State was
safe and the price Of hogs had tum.
bled to i2n cents you sold out. You
deserve n Ioscphus Daniels medal
for your noble services. But sup
posing. Mr.. Sleeth. you had started IN
the pig business some 20 years ago.
when hogs were 20 cheap II didn't
pay TO buy hog cholera serum for
them. and corn was burned instead
OF coal all over the Middle West7
Supposing you had five or ten dollars
those good old times and had started
In tho hog business and that you
stuck 10 II all those yearr until our
country went TO war and hogs
jumped 10 ga. And supposing you !
had sold out then instead of waiting
for them TO tumblc-rold tho thoua- /
ands Of porkers you should have ac- |
cumulated during those thrifty years, |
and the half n dozen farms you had
bought cheap-would you now be
writing a column for AN Obscure !