Year: 1873

Hard Times Largely due to Farmers unwise


Puechases-an Erampze-4 Farmer ruined


by Reaper.


DUBUQUE, Iowa, Sept. 12.-The
hard times of which farmers every
where in the West have been SO uni
versally complaining during the past
two or three years cannot, with justice,
be wholly attributed to railroad extor-
tions, to over~production. or to any one
or all of the various causes that have
been paraded before the public by the
farmers in their public meetings and
conventions The fault lies in some
measure, at least, with the people, who
suffer and complain, but who, Of course,
like all other classes, labor with much
more zeal to secure the reform of abuses
Of which other people are guilty than
to correct their own mistakes. While
conversing with Secretary Smith Of the
Illinois State Farmers Association sew
eral weeks ago, although he denied
that the farmers Of his State were ex-
travagant in their family expenses, he
admitted that in the purchase Of farm
ing implements they had not always
acted with the best judgment. They
had, in many cases allowed themselves
to be most outrageously swindled by
agents who had sold them worthless
machinery, while at other times they
had contracted debts for implements
which, though they we're as good as
they were represented to be, were pur-
chased at too high prices, or were not
absolutely needed on the farm.


These admissions made very little
impression on my mind at the time, and
I don't think that in my letters from
Kewanee l even mentioned the subject.


1t never once occurred to ME that
farmers were sometimes 6 broken up
and obliged to sell their farms and be-
gin anew in life because they had run
in debt for mowing.machine, reaper
a sulky corn-plow, or any Of the labor
saving inventions of late years. But
since I have come into this State and
mingled with the farmers here I have,
found that it is not on] common oc-
currence, but that thousands Of farmers
who are still struggling to keep their
heads above water, and are obliged to
economize in every conceivable way and
deny themselves and families many COM
forts, first began to run behind hand
when they purchased a reaper or now
er or some other piece Of farming ma
chinery which they could not pay for
and which they could have done with
out A farmer living near DesMoines
related to me the history Of a man who
had once been his neighbor, and from
what l learned from other sources am
convinced that he told me the truth
when he said that examples might be
multiplied indefinitely.


A FARMERS EXPERIENCE WITH A


REAPER AGENT.


"a few years ago." he said, ga
farmer who lived near me, and who,
being out Of debt, was on the high
road to prosperity, had, in the early
Summer, the promise Of magnificent
crop Of wheat. Some weeks before it
was time to cut it, an agent came along
one day, selling improved reapers.
GA beautiful crop Of wheat you've got
there" he remarked to the farmer.


The latter reckoned 'twould turn out
pretty we'll.


Now you ought to have a good
reaper to cut it with" said the agent.


"Can't afford it; haven't got the
money" replied the farmer.


Pm selling a frst-class machine
better than any that have been used
about here-and I can give you one at
a bargain and wait until it has paid for
itself: I don't want any money now,"
continued the agent temptingly, and
with pencil and paper he showed first
how much the farmer would have to pay
for cutting his crop that year, how much
grain he could cut for other people,
and, in short, that before he would
have to pay for the machine he would
have saved and earned enough with it
to pay for it, and still have the machine
not half worn out. To make a long
story short, the farmer was persuaded
to purchase the reaper, and gave an
" iron-clad" note for it-that is, note
accompanied with statement of, prop
erty, which in this State is equivalent
to a mortgage.


A FARM RUINED BY A REAPER.


The machine arrived in due time :;
it worked we'll and my neighbor was
ahle To cnt his crnn himself instead