Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-10-06


army trucks % automobiles of varied vntages
and makes a score or more Of bungalow trailers,
men and women in khaki, children Of all ages,
family washing Tapping on lines, fires going, the
smell of bacon and Coffee family breakfast groups,
and big sign that set forth that the Chicago
Motor club was entertaining "Gen." w. d. Scotts
modern caravan, route from Brooklyn, N y,
TO Buhl, Idaho.
"Times change and we with them,' sagey re-
marked ancient philosopher. They do. indeed,
though probably we change less than do the times.
For Chicago, young as it is-t was not lncor-
porated as a city until 1837-has many
caravan headed west in the old days. But they
were caravans of prairie schooners," drawn by
oxen or mules. And the men and women were go
ing forth to face the unknown, fight Indians. turn
up the prairie sod, contend with grasshoppers and
drought and put up a fifty-hfty battle with fate
for home and living.
Not so this caravan. 1t was travelling in COM
fort and at speed. 1t knew just where it was go
ing. 1t. was scheduled for kindly attentions along
the way and warm welcome Its land was Sc
cured. There was water for irrigation. Houses
and warehouses were ready. Everything down to
the last detail had been arranged. Failure was
unthinkable. Success seemed assured
Shades Of Kit Carson, Marcus Whitman and
Brigham Young! What contrast the Lincoln
highway of 1921 to the Santa Fe trail of the
Thirties, the Oregon trail of the Forties the Nor
mon trail Of the Fiftes the pixies Peak or Bust"
OF the Sixtiesi
The figures OF the census of 1920 show that the
trend OF the population from the country to the
city has become greatly accumulated since 1910.
Now, for the first time in the countrys history,
more than half the entire population is living in
urban territory" That is to say that of the popu-
lation Of 1O5683, ,108 persons 519 per cent liv
ing In cities and 481 per cent in rural communities
Iu the census of 1910 the corresponding percent
ages were 46.3 and 53.7.
This is a condition that is regarded as neither
desirable, nor entirely safe. Therefore many are
the projects to get city dweers back to the soil.
Back to the soil An American slogan for Amer
cansl Yet the country does not extend general
invitation to all comers 1t Is not ready to support
indefinite number of miscellaneous applicants.
Mother Nature Is very far from being the benevo-
lent old soul she is pictured by the fctionists who
write farm prospectuses. She does not give her
bounties for nothing. She demands full payment.
And she exacts full penalty for mistakes
1t is the surest kind of sure thing that the
country home that pays its own way means hard
work for somebody. There will be blisters, back
aches and muscles that will have to be worked
from soreness into strength. Ere the billowing
grain delights his eye, the city man will under
stand why providence or nature or evolution pro-
yded him with eyebrows
Moreover there is slowness and deliberation
in natures ways and methods that to the city man,
used to doing things upon the instant, will be little
less than maddenng. 1t Is useless to rage against
ordered
The city man must learn to wait for seed time
and harvest and to possess his soul in patience.
So it is evident that there Is balance to be
struck The city is one thing the country is an
other The city cannot be transplanted In the
country And no can strike this balance for
the would-be back-to-the-lander; he must do 1t
for himself.
In striking this balance, however, there is more
to be taken into account than the dollars. There
ere the beauties of nature. There is pure air,
undefled by smoke and SCOT; place in the sun,
with no skyscrapers overhead to shut out the blue
sky and the stars and the moon honest thirst
that makes nectar of the gods out Of water from
the well and buttermilk from the spring-house !;
an appetite that would put a soul under the ribs
of Death sleep the like of which no city man ever
knows
From many viewpoints farming is the highest
and best of callings. Farming Is an honest bust
ness The farmer is useless consumer, no para
site He is a producer he contributes directly
to the wealth of the nation. He Is Independent
and is beholden to man for place or favor. He
does not climb up by dragging others down. Land
is the fundamental natural resource from which
the nation draws its life And the farmer is the
bulwark of the country.
Yes; back-tO-the-land is the right thing for the
right man. He will find independence-mentai,