The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-02-26
Japanese Murder DefenseIess Women, Children
CAPITALISM IN THE
BUSH COUNTRY
By CHARLES E. TAYLOR
Organizer, United Farmers League


''Swedes," who could not talk Eng !
hsh, who worked for So and $40 |
per month, which the 1oggers beat
them out Of. The old lumber lack
quit and went west, leaving the
industry to the new Corners. Oxen
gave way to horses and short
hauls to long hauls. Scattered
over this nation from New York to
San Francisco can be found
"Swedes" in all walks OF life, who
worked in their youth in Aitkin
county lumber woods.
In time there were schools: loo
school house and school mar1ns.
The marms seldom survived the
attacks of the bachelor homestead
ers and were absorbed at once into
church appeared. Summer roads
the community. Now and then a
wandered around on the river
banks thru the woods and across
corduroyed stretches, over the
swamps, just wide enough for a
wagon track-the straight wide
roads were the logging roads, a.
valuable after it "froze ups and
until it ''broke up" in the spring.
Then there came "grades" on the
main roads; other railroads built
thru, new towns sprung up, the
iron mines opened, and the pine
and big spruce trees were gone
together with the primeval beauty
of the country which is lost forev-
er and cannot be described.
Babies were born, grew up
some graduated from the log
schools now replaced by frame
and consolidated; a few went to
Atkin to high school and away to
Ta4wn
Boys and girls fell In love, dream
ed dreams OF happiness and sue
cess. The more ambitious and
venturesome quit thu brush and
went to northwestern North Da-
kota, Montana, and TO the wheat
provinces of Canada. Others tui1t
homes IN the woods and chopped
and rrubpel out farms. Labored
for an edu:asiou @or their child
rem and competence for old age
in the face Of The st dIseLui
aging lbs s;Ies SI'S'y an sure
~ the oadtry ~ss conquered.
In :Ime came the ditching enter.
prises whi;h were to redeem The
swamp lands. Then the roat
building program, forced by til,
auto: the promised comfort and
happiness at last.
The war brought a market 10
timber. People agot a few dollar
ahead" Some bought Fords. Road
were then built thru the forest ev
erywhere. It made work and "goo
times" Townships were bonded 70
roads and bridges: school district
for big school houses. Ever
swamp was drained by aid o
bonds: the contractors saw TO thai
AaTNS ~
County Agents came and alon
with them county fairs and farm
ers' institutes, at which white
col1are6 farmers taught the home
steaders to farm.
Dairying become the main in
dustry and timber took and mair
tains second place. New settler
came by the thousands, who kno'
not the ways of the woods-moS
of them failed.
Great trunk paved state higl
ways now cross the swamps, til
: rivers, around the thousands {
, beautiful lakes, and take the
course in a bee line thru the r.
naming forests and stump lana
north and south, east and ives
penetrating the land once acce
sibIe only by the boat, and logon
roads. The magnificent lakes a:
available to those who have Il
! money to visit them, which nun
! Der grows steadily less and less.
But there never was a boom
the bush land. Times as a who
were even: Never any good time
: except during the waH never al
bad times: people lived so clio
to the soil, so primative, havil
d fuel at hand, free for the cuttin
plenty of good water, woods fl
n of wild game and fish and wi
t fruits of many kinds. where ;
q sorts of vegetables yielded album
e antly, and where money was {
v ways hard to get, that they ha
7, been subjects to neither the u
IS or downs of other supposedly mo
g favored and sensitive develop
% areas: never very flush, nor )
Ie brokeJ
g Here is the perfect diversifi
10 country. People toll long hon
g the year around-uever a time
n what there Is plenty to do. Z
d farmers do not now nor never ha
r had, their eggs in one basket.
s. when other people In other 8
le lions were getting rich or u
IS they We're and building fine hon
le and buying costly furniture, a
s, high-priced cars, these people w
rS 5oinr none of these STOOLS
X thin4s-they could not. when +
f. lners of the west quit the hori
to ana more primitive machine
st these backwoods ti1lers stuck
" old 6sDobbin," and the mower
ut the hayrake. A few shos appe
ed and now ana tnsn san
tv threshing machine-once IN
as while a small binder. All q p
~ Of the dairy business.
AL the women did not get De
ar LIGHTS in their homes nor elec'
irons. nor power washers nor
n of tha thousand ana one TIL
a.. that make life easier for the v
n and mother OF small cha1nren'
en- cept in rare cases: -.
ts. The farmers d1d nok .ss
a. their farms-nox WAS ~ possl
~ e. horrovr much money on q
ne Ana while some years Were
M course more productive than s
~ ers. there never was crop
AZ ure In the history OF tns DO
M land. a. :
~ the land of my boynooos wnAr
Oh used TO go to log scn0Ot No
- and dream of success, ann the
les Ss-11ev I. ike Lincoln, would be
'oA orreat lawyer, or maybe an 60
Ire Greeley and march out
'ao the backwood to washington
nc ha president and do good 70
no Fe,rovr men. MY father came
es this country In the spring OF l
on when the pine tree was ev
where, and no ona dreamed
an could ever all be cut away.
ale readers and comrades Tar
-, wide, what do find7
es a happy, prosperous farm-o
ing people-as hard working.
Ds1 gal conservative people by All
az ories should be7 NO. mol
er. Concluded next week)