Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-03-17
WEDNESDAY-THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS-MARCH II, 1920.
HOGS AND DEMOCRACY.

because there is nobody to blame
except yourself; but if you are
working for some other fellow you
are sure to blame him, with more
or less reason. The labor problem
is simply this fact operating on a
large scale. In other words, as
other authorities have intimated be.
fore, the idea seems to be to get
back to a system which will give
every man some control over his
means of livelihood, thereby en-
couraging him to fight with him.
self intsead of with the rest Of US
We do not wish to hang any re-
sponsibility for the above wind
tanning on Mr.. Traer, but he
makes an eloquent argument that
the hog is one Of the leading meth
DDS of achieving that needed econ
omic independence. With a proper
eye for publicity, Mr.. Traer says to
take Florida for instance. Here il
Is possible to raise two or three
crops OF forage every year. 1t is
also possible to raise two filters
OF pigs in a year without the use
Of artificial heat. A man can buy
excellent land for SIS an acre, says
Mr.. Traer, provided he keeps away
from the sections where the real
estate operator is most abundant
In such sections, he says, the same
kind Of land sells for 500 an acre
With 10 acres of land and one
brood SOW, a man can make a living
With 100 acres of land and half
dozen brood sows, provided he has
executive ability and industry, he
can found a fortune.
The Florida climate and the 10.
credibly prolific hog magnificently
cooperate in this glorious achieve
ment. But main credits is due the
hog. Hogs breed at the age of IL
months, have two filters a year
and ten or twelve pigs at litter
Mr.. Traer figures out on piece Of
paper with a lead pencil that the
happy owner of this one old SOW
and 10 acres Of land. having pur,
chased the services of high
grade boar, may with luck at the
end of his second year have 81
sows, and may have sold in the
meantime 72 boars. This seems in
credible, but Mr.. Traer is an au-
thority and he did the arithmetic
The deserving settler will mean
time be toiling on his 10 acres, pro-
ducing enough turnips. peanuts
oats and other crops to keep his
growing porcine family alive. Now
and then he will pause to shoot q
dose of hog cholera serum into
each one of them. He will not lead
an easy life, but the limits of his
ultimate wealth are measured only
by his energy and generalship.
Mr.. Traer believes that a sur.
vey of the United States will show
that rural prosperity is directly in
proportion to the number of hogs
found in a given section. He points
out that Iowa, which is the richest
state per capita in the United
States, is also a great hog produc,
ing state. And Iowa is place
where the wealth is well distribut-
ed. 1t is said to be the one state
in the union where there are
enough motor cars so that every.
one can get his foot off the ground
at the same time. 1t is the direct
antithesis of the great eastern
manufacturing communities where
the per capita wealth is nearly as
great, but a few persons have go
the most of it.
And in Iowa there are 100000
hogs. In a word, nearly everybod,
has got few of these prolific pro
ducers, and therefore nearly every.
body has got at least little money
The hog, after he is dead, becomes
mainstay of corporate capital
but alive he is the little fellow:
friend. We have cattle barons ant
sheep kings, but no one has sue
ceeded in monopolizing the bust
ness of raising hogs over enormou.
areas. and in squeezing the littl'
fellow OUT; because it is too cas-,
to start hog farming. 1t is above
all business where it is easy fol
the little fellow to squeeze in.