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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1915)
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Editorial Page of Home and Farm Magazine Section Timely, Pertinent Comment Upon Men and Affairs, Following the Trend of World News;, Suggestions of Interest to Readers; Hints Along Lines of Progressive Farm Thought. 4 TO ADVERTISERS Advertisers in this locality who wish to fully coy,er all sections of Oregon and Washington and a portion of Idaho will apply to local pub lishers for rates. General advertisers may address C. L. Bur ton, Advertising Manager of Oregon-Washing ton-Idaho Farmer, Oregonian Building, Port land, Oregon, for rates and information. TO READERS Readers are requested to send letters and articles for publication to The Editor, Oregon-Washington-Idaho Farmer, Oregonian Build ing, Portland, Oregon. Discussions on questions and problems that bear directly on the agricultural, livestock and poultry interests of the Northwest and on the uplift and comfort of the farm home always are welcomed. No letters treating of religion, politics or the European war are solicited, for the .Oregon-Washington-Idaho .Farmer .pro claims neutrality on these matters. Comparatively brief contributions are pre ferred to long ones. Send us also photographs of your livestock and farm scenes that you think would be of general interest. We wish to make this magazine of value to you. Help us do it. H WARRING AGAINST WAR. G. WELLS, one of the foremost contributed to the press of America an article crying for peace, though war be made against war to secure peace. Peace is something ardently desired, but, as the novelist aptly points out, though 99 out of 100 men are vigorously opposed to war, the 100th man may be sufficient to incite pas sions and make strife. Another vital factor that must be reckoned with in peace move ments is the innate love of the "glory of vSr," that thrills in man as he listens to blood-stirring tales of wondrous charges, of gallant defenses, of thrilling sorties. The tinsel with which war Is embellished may be nibbed off by contact with the reali ties that are pictured by thft pens of men who have been to the rear as well as the front of the battlefields' of Europe. By bringing to light the sordid uselessness of the heart breaking struggle, a victory Is gained for peace. To conquer the 100th man, II. G. Wells proposes two weapons knowledge and ridi cule. Of the tAvo, ridicule is perhaps the stronger. He desires to see the indignation of peace-loving peoples aroused. to such a pitch that the warriors will see themselves in the light of public condemnation. And further, he believes in poking fun at the man who would risk his life, aye, give his life, for something he knows nothing of. Patriot ism is worthy, indeed, but it is so often misguided. , The author wants, "as far as possible, to end war altogether, and contrive things so that when auy unavoidable outbreak docs occur, it may be as little, cruel and mis chievous as it can be." It is a much-to-be-desired condition, and the. dream of pro ponents of peace over the world. "Will it ever be realized? A year, ago and thousands would have been willing to enthusiastically answer this question in the affirmative. Today they shake their heads in doubt. Universal peace is still a dream. CRITICISING THE COUNTY AGENT. AN ITEM has recently been going the rounds of the popular press in a cer- tain section of the country to the effect that the county agent is merely another means for the agricultural college student to make an easy living off the farmers. Anyone who can put forth such a theory must be either short-sighted or dyspeptic There is no question as to the efficiency of the real agricultural expert and the assist ance they have rendered in the various counties where they have been established. The work is heralded with highest applause from everyone who has been willing to co operate with these men for the solution of problems which have puzzled, for the up building of a higher class of farm industry, for increasing profits and the improvement of farm conditions generally.. There is no reason why the men on the farms should not have" such a counselor as this to whom they may go in case of ques tions or difficulties that inevitably arise in the carrying on of farm work. The farm agent or the farm expert, as the case may be, is a man who brings the indorsement of his state college because of the efficiency he has shown in scholarship, because of the way in which he has mastered and .handled the subjects that have been presented to him in his college course. Men of this stamp are thoroughly in line with the best progress of farm work and they are entitled to the support and co-operation of the progressive farmers in their community. There should be no criticism, there should be co-operation if the bestresults are to be obtained. A STEP IN ADVANCE. (Editorial In Hertford Mail Tribune.) TTIOLLOWING the Tacoma convention,- where preliminary steps were taken to place the marketing of Northwestern fruit upon a co-operative business basis, another move in the evolution of the indus try is announced by the Rogue River Fruit & Produce Association, whereby it is pro posed to standardize the pack of all orchards and relieve the individual of the collecting, grading, packing and bxing of the fruit; All the orchardist has to do is to pick his fruit and assemble it in lug boxes for the auto truck, which takes it to central storage and packing house, where it is graded, packed, refrigerated, shipped and marketed for him, relieving him of much unnecessary labor and responsibility. This is another step towards placing the fruit industry upon a staple manufacturing basis. Next will come, as it has come in the California districts, the picking of the fruit by the co-operative association, and in some of the districts, pruning and spraying by the common agency. PROVING IT WITH FIGURES. A GENTLEMAN who is posted on finan cial matters, who has looked the situa tion over carefully and thoroughly, J has tins to say relative to the importance of the dairy industry from the financial stand point in a community. One county in Iowa, the one where the first co-operative creamery was established, has in two banks deposits to the value of $2,076,000 and undivided profits, capital and surplus, to the value, of $800,000. Thi3 county has more creameries than any other in the state, it is pre-eminently a successful dairy community and the improved breeds of dairy cattle are being introduced rapidly. Another county, one that has not a creamery and where dairying is abhorred because it represents too much work, has iu its three banlcs $17S,000 as capital and surplus and undivided profits, and $840,000 on deposit Here is the difference between the com munity where dairying flourishes and the one where it does not. In the former the deposits are $2,076,000, while in the latter, where there are no creameries, the deposits are $840,000. In the county where cream eries flourish the capital, surplus and un divided profits in two banks is $800,000, while in the three banks of the other county; it represents $178,000. This shows perhaps that the dairy farmer has money. He is the. man who is able to patronize banks because he has money to deposit. , - . i& SOME USEFUL LESSONS. 1 THE war has already done much to teacK Americans many valuable lessons which' they might have been years and years in learning hut for its coining. We see now, for example, with a clearness that was never before vouchsafed to us just why our trade with South America has not and still does nnt trn 'fnvu-nvd fntrfpr. When the war opened we were going to do great things ancl immediately and completely capture from Europe the immense South American trade. But we came abruptly to a halt. It was discovered to our dismay that the rich South' American trade would not fall into our lap, like a ripened apfle, but had to be labored for, with the-foundations laid secure and deep. We have learned the three or four things needfid to divert Latin American commerce toward this country. What are these? : - We must send capital to South America, invest American money there and give our customers long and ample credit facilities. This we are in a fair way of doing through" the establishment of branch banks in the principal cities of South America. The next requisite is an American mer chant , marine to carry our goods to the Southern' republics and transport their products hack. Here the United States lags ' grievously. Third, and perhaps most important, the United States must send to Latin America trained young men to mingle with the peo ple of those countries, learn their ways, their , likes and dislikes and how to cater to their tastes. The personal touch is just as essen tial in foreign trade as in domestic, a&d to the South American means more than any other thing. . 1 Recognition of the great obstacles which must be overcome gives the quietus to the hope of Americans to obtain a monopoly of South American trade in one fell swoop. But, on the other hand, the very fact that Ave are beginning to realize just, what steps must be taken to accomplish our ends is a long for ward movement toward the winning of new victories in the field of foreign commerce. . The highest price ever received for any farm product, pound for pound, is butter. When sold it takes the least fertility from the farm. Now the thing to do is to produce that pound at the lowest possible cost. . ; One of the main things to observe in keep ing W inter apples is to have them placed in a cold place where the temperature is about stable. Handle carefully so as to keep them sound. The foundation of the American prosperity is in the soil. We are still an agricultural nation and wise men assert that we must remain as such. The secret of growing a good first-class calf is to never let it become stunted, in fact, this applies to all live stock on the farm. Habit is second nature but not second fa nature. It rules or ruins both.
