The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1920-01-22
That $48 Wood Again.

|
$4S Wood l used to wonder why
any one should write an article and
send 1t to an editor for publication
signed "A Subscriber" ETC., but after
reading that article l have made up
my mind that l would not want my
named signed to such stuff as that
ashamed of it. Mr.. "A Farmer"
tells us that he has fine patch of
timber five miles from home in
which he worked II days and his Is
year old boy worked days cutting
WOOD, and piling brush and in that
Length of time they only chopped
224O cubic feet of wood, and he
wants The Reporter readers to be
lieve that he knows how much wood
a man should cut in a day. Let US
see il he does. He accused me of
just guessing at it. He allows him
self $500 per day and the boy $500
per day. Then we have the right to
assume that the boy did just half as
much work as the man in day. The
boy working 8 days would do the
same work as the man working 4
days. Or, if Mr.. A. Farmer had
worked Is days alone he would have
chopped 224O cubic feet of wood.
Now 2240 cubic feet of wood is Just
TN cords. If it takes Is days to
cut liz cords he would only cut
one and one-sixth cords in one day.
Some days work, when you find
that the wood was cut into. Il foot
lengths. Now one and One-sixth of a
cord of wood is all that anyone
would expect an anarchist, a boil
shevist or red to cut in a day, but
an honest days work for man is
lot nearer five cords than it is@one
and one-sixth. Mr.. A. Farmer was
handicapped little by his fine
patch Of timber" being so steep that
a "fine patch of timber it sure is
superfine goat pasture Anyway,
cutting one and one-sixth cords of
IA foot pole wood, even in goat
pasture, is not an honest days work,
no matter what all the farmers from
A Farmer to X Farmer might say
about it. Mr.. A. Farmer should have
credit for for !, one t thing thing He did haul
mistake in his addition. He figured
that the total cost of getting his
II u cords of wood cut and hauled
to town is $211.10 when it was but
$2O1.10, and that would make his
profit $14.9O instead of .$4.90. His
figures show that after he had paid
out $23.10 he had $17S.00 to pay
himself and boy as wages and $14:9O
:
cent of it, so that made Mr.. A. Farm
er $192:9O for 33 Il days work. If
he had been as honest with himself
as he was with his customers in
Davis City he would have cut great
deal more wood out of that goat
pasture than he did in the length OF
time he worked. Mr.. A. Farmer got |
that own 40 acres of timber and
am in debt 100000 on it, and want
it cleared. He also assumes that |
have to hire the work done. He |
wants to know if would allow him
$1,000 per day and his boy $500 per
day. Not on your life l would not.
That $1,000 per day is for men who |
hours and hunting rabbits the rest of |
the day in a goat pasture, then tell |
about too many men wanting shorter |
days, shorter weeks, bigger pay. con-
sequently less production. If all the |
wood haulers had corded the wood |
in their wagons straight and charged |
even $500 per load nothing would |
ever have been said about it, but |
such was not the case. About 75%
Leon just threw it in the wagon
loose, SO loose that when it was piled
up and measured, a sO-called load of
wood only measured one-sixth of a
cord. And they had the gall to
charge $500 to $11.OO for such a
load of wood, making it cost from
$4,000 to $4,000 per cord. Now
come "a Subscriber" and says it is
all right, the high cost of labor and
the supply and demand did it. Then
come "A Farmer" who only makes
$192.90 in q month selling 17M
cords of wood at $1,000 per cord.
He thinks nobody made anything
hauling wood. Those who sold their
wood at $4,000 and $4,000 per cord
made quite bit more than Mr. "a
Farmer" did, but that was his fault
He ought to have done his chopping
in timber instead of goat pasture.
Now, Mr. "a. Farmer" just to be
frank about it, don't you think, talk
ing into consideration the fact that
you made 1890 in month selling
17H cords of wood at $1,000 per
cord, don't you honestly believe that
if you had worked little faster and
sold your wood as high as some
other fellows did your profit would
have been a little larger than it was?
I guess you would have enough to go
on that sight seeing trip to Blockley
all right. Think 1t over.
E. w. FarQuhar.
For sick headache, backache,
h - rfhurn norvOuS weakness and