OCR Text |
Show jjjl2M OPPOffilflPUMIW IOK f' T is difficult lor those who are concerned more with enjoying the - luxuries and pleasures of life than they are in securing its necessities J to understand the leelings of those J to whom hunger Is not an unusual 1 experience. And, yet, we are told J that one-tenth of the American peo-. peo-. pie do not get enough to eat; that four-fifths of our wage earners do jccg not earn in excess of $500 a year. "Sa Living on such an income is like-4 like-4 wise more or less incomprehensible to those to whom the expenditure of such a year's earnings in a brief outing in the mountains, the northern woods or at the seashore is not an unusual experience. The problem of achievement of ambition and of success tnat confront the business or the professional profes-sional man is radically different from fhr't prob- we all agree should De Drought back to the soil have neither the money nor the credit necessary to accomplish it. It is as to the method by which this difficulty can be overcome and this deficiency supplied that this article is written. There have been successfully established in Missouri and other states in recent years a number num-ber of farm home colonies, which seem to offer the ; best method for bringing people back to the soil in a way which is likely to make the experiment a successful one. The general plan of these farm home coloniesis 'or some individual or association associa-tion to divide a tract of land available for farming and fruit raising into a number of small farms, which are sold on easy terms or rent 3d to persons per-sons who desire to go back to lie soil, with a central cen-tral or home farm conducted in a way and with the appliances necessary not only to encourage and to instruct, but also to assist those liivng upon the other farms; the idea being that the central cen-tral farm, under the control of an experienced farmer, will be a source of example, and with the establishment at some central place of a church, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, creamery, silos, milk separators and other modern conveniences and necessities of the farm, the chances of suc-ees suc-ees swill be increased and the chances of failure oopyfyewr j3Y xxxjoyv -vs. co. 1 f' T is difficult lor those who are ( J ) m tmm ...- ""a ' "' U45CJ concerned more with enjoying the V Vrt r Jf jii,..., .itsv l luxuries and pleasures of life thau Kj y eirj f " t-C tP they are in securing its necessities I' -A L " -"V l J to understand the leelings of those 5 aM vT v N l J to whom hunger Is not an unusual jj , t -L T 4 4 """" - V. J I f experience. And, yet, we are told '-IJ X N 1 that one-tenth of the American peo- K v - v J pie do not get enough to eat; that l , rt t 1 5rL A A T 4 ,1 -V ' four-fifths of our wage earners do iV'N n r V5 3 1 fot.earn in exucess f 00 a j;ear- $j v " i ?- v I T c) Living on such an income is like- 6 f ' "T t i-v- M t wise more or less incomprehensible I ljfe-" 2 x n s 1 to those to whom the expenditure ( ' ' a- S N 1 of such a year's earnings in a brief outing in the I iri jf N '' S, i ' x n N I mountains, the northern woods or at the seashore 1 fos? ijtn JJ t Z& V,.V4' vs XsV5 is not an unusual experience. I "XJ? t v x--nX x vN 1 The problem of achievement of ambition and of I s?t s V v I success tnat confront the business or the profes- V - v.4 i -"J sional man is radically different from fhr't prob- 1 T - V 4 j- ? "' lllll jSf" 4Jfejs jiis&f' - "ve a agree should De Drought back to the soil T!3?2&:' have neither the money nor the credit necessary rF? " '. , wHTX'Tl ' & f ,1 r to accomplish it. It is as to the method by which " 5y, 'TjlV 3 i. -v-5.2 k this difficulty can be overcome and this deficiency r" i" , , 'J i "j r ? H-f&l JI . . supplied that this article is written. t r v y ( Tnere have been successfully established in j' v v " v . " Missouri and other states in recent years a num- 1 s v " N v " i 5- J Der f larni home colonies, which seem to offer the ; I , 1 wt-3", a i (ft v v - best method for bringing people back to the soil r Jv j?, v" " ' r " in a way which is likely to make the experiment a A'l'"'- ' -J ? v " ftt - &f successful one. The general plan of these farm ' zzz home coloniesis 'or some individual or associa- CATiJ?JiG rt G?A JN QJ tion to divide a tract of land available for farming ' t j and fruit raising into a number of small farms, zp(fliji? which are sold on easy terms or rent 3d to per- lem of existence that stMW gons who desire t0 g0 back t0 le soiIj witn a cen. daily demands a solu ' ,f tral or home farm conducted in a way and with neonleTn the ' United a s - " Vlj the appliances necessary not only to encourage people m me united V-" V "1(S J V $ and to instruct, but also to assist those liivng femTsTcTmot S , l? C ' ' "Pon the other farms; the idea being that the cen- em is ot course, moM h ( 1 ' l . J C J ') tral farm, under the control of an experienced acute ,.n those centers , ? R g fi farmer, will be a source of example, and with the f population and indus- 4 ?J t rSiX establishment at some central place of a church. try where great wealth h M v S schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, creamery, silos, and great poverty exist V -r ?v ft r, , milk separators and other modern conveniences I VtT StnkH18 L Kl JJVT A & a-d necessities of the farm, the chances of suc- Z Z f t h!le P0Verty V y' W?" Vw es swill be increased and the chances of failure "know tnUnefiarenot V A t f "srgj correspondingly lessened, unknown n the coun- , . j JJJL', J The isolation and lonesome- ZrtTen LTri TZSTTZTT ! , Incident to Individual suit of accident, misfor- SVrATOV&. effort in getting back to the tune or disease and " soil w thus, or course, avo.d-nt avo.d-nt tL .h i , ' I ed, with a consequent lin-omtle. lin-omtle. lack of opportunities or the discnm- - t provement of conditions of (nation and injustice apparently incident to our V A Urinl life ZS2l in,dUStrial SyStem- While the problem of f-X , , . rT" H Under the auspi -es of the the poor has always been, and doubtless will al- ' , '-'v 1 V v. mthnlip ohnrch -md d arrays ar-rays be, with us, that is no reason why we should ,4 A t l sS Ucula ly under the diret accept with complacency conditions which, if U A , V ? ,S J n of Ar hb hop John J not capable of being completely reformed, are, rx t J - ,Jf V ! t ' n the st Louis lt least capable of considerable correction., . . , , . : j H S0ceae there hive oeones-The oeones-The increase in the cost of living in recent " - v " ' 1. ' tablished in Missouri a num years has given a new interest to attempted ex- , x " i k 4; . f tamisueu ui Sanations of existing conditions, and various the- h i ' f A " 1 " ,W L 0 ories are offered. We are told that the increase fx - A ? hVnefl in the amount of gold production, or rather the L ? t b ? n ? hliTe decrease in the cost of gold production, has low- 2 1 4 - ' f ? ' V 7 cial 0ne WaS T "1 ered its value, and, therefore, enlarged our meas- V J , f ft'te Sme yea" T ,-, Ponv ure of value, with a consequent increase in the J-L -A ' view a a Ma,,a.n c0y; cost of necessities as well as the luxuries of life jqT TH y& OJ 7T SSA?JJ -O whlch , f enj0J PtJi,.0 lint without a corresponding increase in wages and ' " successful careei . ineie m. lem of existence that daily demands a solution solu-tion from 75,000,000 of people in the United States alone. This prob lem is, of course, most acute, in those centers of population and industry indus-try where great wealth and great poverty exist side by side in striking contrast. While poverty and misfortune are not unknown in the country coun-try districts, they exist there generally as a result re-sult of accident, misfortune misfor-tune or disease, and correspondingly lessened. The isolation and lonesome-ness lonesome-ness incident to individual effort in getting back to the soil is thus, of course, avoided, avoid-ed, with a consequent improvement im-provement of conditions of social life. Under the ausp'4-es of the Catholic church, and particularly par-ticularly under the direction direc-tion of Archbishop John J Glennon of the St. Louis diocese, there have been established es-tablished in Missouri a number num-ber of such farm home settlements set-tlements which have proven both interesting and benefi cial. One was " established some years ago at Knob-view Knob-view as an Italian colony, which has enjoyed a most successful career. There has not from the lack of opportunities or the discrimination discrim-ination and injustice apparently incident to our present industrial system. While the problem of the poor has always been, and doubtless will always al-ways be, with us, that is no reason why we should accept with complacency conditions which, if not capable of being completely reformed, are, at least, capable of considerable correction. , The increase in the cost of living in recent years has given a new interest to attempted explanations ex-planations of existing conditions, and various theories the-ories are offered. We are told that the increase in the amount of gold production, or rather the decrease in the cost of gold production, has lowered low-ered its value, and, therefore, enlarged our measure meas-ure of value, with a consequent increase in the cost of necessities as well as the luxuries of life without a corresponding increase in wages and salaries; that combinations and trusts have increased in-creased the price of their products by arbitrarily fixing the price of the raw material to the producer pro-ducer and the price of the finished product to the consumer; that labor unions have increased the cost of the necessaries of life by the increase that they have brought about in wages; and finally, the explanation is offered that supply has not kept pace with demand; that consumption has Increased more rapidly than has production. It is unusual that a general condition Is to be attributed to any one cause. That all of these influences are more or less responsible for the present conditions is probably true. That a permanent per-manent correction of the tendency of the price of the necessities of life to increase must be based upon a proper relation between supply and demand, de-mand, is at once apparent. A demand increasing increas-ing out of proportion to the available supply is sufficient in and of Itself to cause an increase in prices. And any correction of the other conditions which may have helped to bring about the increase in-crease in the cost of living must necessarily fail unless there is maintained a proper relation between be-tween consumption and production. The fact that In 1909 the value of our exports of food-stuffs decreased, de-creased, as compared with 1908. eighty-seven millions mil-lions of dollars, while the value of the food-stuffs imported in'o the country increased thirty-seven millions of dollars, making a charge of one hundred hun-dred and twenty-four millions of dollars upon the wrong side of our national ledger, shows that the consumption of that which wo produce has been Increasing more than has the production. To bring about a correction of these conditions it is apparent at once that there must be an increase in-crease in production, and the question is how is this to be accomplished. We must either use to better advantage the soil that Is already in cultivation, culti-vation, or cultivate that which is now uncultivated. The truth is, we must do both. Production in this country, as compared with other countries, shows that we are not using to the best advantage advan-tage the great resources with which nature has endowed us. The average produciion of wheat in the Netherlands is 34 bushels to the acre; in England. 32: in Germany, 2S: in France, 20, while in the United States it is only 14. The same disparity dis-parity is found in fields of corn properly cultivated compared with those not properly cultivated. In a recent report i. was stated that approximately ap-proximately 40 per cent, of the soil that -.vcs cultivated cul-tivated was used in such a way as to decrease, rather than increase, its productivity. The correction cor-rection of this condition of inadequ:.te produciion. due to lack of scientific methods of cultivation, aiust come from the agricultural department of j !he United States and the agricultural colleges of I the different states. From these sources the farm-j farm-j ers must get the scientific information which will enable them to adopt not only effective methods I of agriculture, but eff-'ctive methods for conserv- ing the productivity of the soil. The other correction cor-rection must be accomplished by inducing a larger portion of our population to engage in the cultivation of the soil We can all agree as to the advisability of the "Back to the Soil" movement. But how to make It effective and successful is anothe. and far more difficult problem. Some time ago George Ade, the great American humorist, said in a speech before the representatives of the Associated Press that everybody thought they could "write a play, run a hotel or edit a newspaper." He might have enlarged en-larged his list by adding "become a successful farmer." To put seed in the ground and see it grow seems so easy that almost every one imagines imag-ines himself capable of doing it successfully. But we know that farming, that is, successful farming, farm-ing, is both a science and a business. One can make just as complete a failure of farming as he can of practicing law, running a hotel or editing edit-ing a newspaper. It would be worse than useless to encourage the "Back to the Soil" movement if "it is not planned and executed in a way that is likely to be successful. The natural yearning to "get back to the soil" that comes to most people causes such a movement to appeal to those who are well qualified, as well as to those who are poorly qualified successfully to do their part as cultivators of the soil. To go back to the soil is to the man of ordinary means and under ordinary ordi-nary circumstances something like pioneering, and not every man, by any means, is capable of becoming a successful pioneer. To undertake indiscriminately, in-discriminately, unscientifically and without proper method and organization, to get people back to the soil will result in more of failures thnn successes; suc-cesses; in more of injury than of good. But i his work can be accomplished in a way that will be both effective and successful and which will increase in-crease the proportion of producers as compared with consumers. All that is necessary for the accomplishment of this result is that the same foresight fore-sight and organization should he adopted in starting start-ing the business of farming as is adopted -in the inauguration of any other business enterprise. If men of means, who also have the disposition to help their fellow men, would realize that they could make a good paying investment, as well as relieve distress and suffering by helping others to return to the soil in the right way. the "hack to the soil" movement would then g've promise of accomplishing all that its enthusiasts h.ivc chiim-ed chiim-ed for it. Such a movement must, of c.-:'rr-- be under taken on a busines basis; upon a plan which will promise not only a profitable return on the investment, hut result in giving pood homes and steady employment to many people who need both. It is easy enough to p- to the poor of the large cities that they should ''go back to the soil:" but for the success: al accoinj.lis.hnint of such a result motuy. and onsiriern )e money, is required. One cannot exp-. t to make a living on a feu- hundred doilars Invested in a farm and the ; machinery necessary for its cultivation, any more than one can expect to make a living on the same amount invested in any other business. So, in the first place, it requires mony or credit to buy a farm, and money or credit to sr-cure necessary neces-sary implements, machinery, hores, cows, etc., to successfully conduct it It will take from five to one hundred and sixty acres, according to the character char-acter of the soil and the methods of its cultivation, to support a family. You cannot expect large returns re-turns from a poor farm, or from a pood farm, poorly poor-ly cultivated. You cannot expect to receive a return re-turn from a farming investment out of all proportion pro-portion to the value of the investment and the labor expended thereon. The difficulty in this proposition begins at once. Many of thoee whom . resulted a marked benefit to trip settieib, as as to the people of the surrounding country who have been taught many things in the use of the soil by these foreign farmers that they had uol known before. One of the farm colonies that promises the most 'successful results is a Swiss colony recently esu,o lished in Howell county, Missouri. Another settlement of similar character has been established by Col. J. L. Torrey, who was the organizer organ-izer of one of the "Rough Rider Regiments" in the war with Spain, and whose regiment through the unfortunate accident of a railroad wreck was perhaps deprived of the opportunity for actual service. serv-ice. Col. Torrey purchased a tract of 10,000 acres upon the southern slope of the Ozarks, which be is sel"ng to deserving people upon terms which practically place it within the reach of all who are looking for an opportunity to engage in farm lile who have not the means available to do so. That Col. Torrey is interested in developing good citizens, as well as good farmers, is manifest from the fact that he insists that every one of his ten ants, or these to whom he sells a farm, shall own an American flag which they shall, on proper occasion, occa-sion, display from their homes. These farm home colonies are all established oc the same general plan. A tract of land Is divided up into different farms with a central farm and village. The land Is sold or rented on such terms as puts the opportunity to become a farmer within the reach of any deserving man. The profits or returns to be realized from such an Investment will, of course, vary according to the size of the farm purchased and the character of the soil. Horace Greeley said that a man could make a living for himself and his family upon five acres of land. This is true of some land and not true of other land. But it is true that with a small acreage properly cultivated, with cows, hogs and chickens well managed, a good living can be made on a comparatively small investment if the enterprise is conducted with industry and intelligence. It Is, however, always dangerous to "count your chickens before they are hatched." The results In farming farm-ing enteri rises, as in other enterprises, will usually fall short of expectation. !a,'.nick.. accidents and other misfortunes will, of course, confront the farmer. farm-er. But if l.c has "the right stuff in him." the land will yield him a liberal return ii he will use good judgment, v.-nrk hard and stick to it He can then be independent ot the beef trusts and other trusts; 1 enjoy luxuries that the city man of means cannot secure, and view with complacency an increase In the cost of living when he realizes that he Is a producer as well as a consumer When President Roosevelt's Country Life commission, com-mission, after an extended invest ipa t ion of conditions condi-tions of country life throughout 'J e country, mnde its report to the effect that improvement in the social life of the farmer was one of our most important im-portant problems, many regarded this statement as a mere academic or theoretical utterance. But; any one really familiar with the conditions of country coun-try life knows full well that the limited social life of the country is one of the great-st disadvantages that now e:;ists in connection with the cultivation of the soil. To provide a proper social life is an essential If the "Back to the Soil" movement is to be made generally successful. |