Gresham outlook., May 29, 1914, Page 7, Image 7

HOME ANO FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
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Home and Farm Magazine Section Editorial Page
Suggestiona From Our Associate Editera, Allowing for an Interchange of Views, W ritten by Men of Experience on Topics W ith
Which They Are Fully Acquainted—Hints Along Lines of Progressive Farm Thought.
A WOMAN WORTH WHILE.
ifting the hat u a m ark
L
of respect.
O ur hat is lifte d high to Mrs.
S co tt D urand.
She is a rich woman and she
liv es in Chicago.
A few y ears ago she w ent into
th e d airy business.
B ought some H olsteins.
B ought some Guernseys.
M ixed th e m ilk.
EstabU suvu .. nigh priced m ar­
k e t in Chicago and sold it.
She knew nothing of the b u si­
ness.
She w orked it ou t by reading
d airy books and farm jo urnals,
an d by ta lk in g to dairym en, and
by using her own head.
Yea, we confess, she was a book
farm er.
But she made her 270 acres pay
fo r fo u r or fiv e y ears and th en —
She w ent to the W isconsin A g ri­
c u ltu ral College.
W hat in the world ever possessed
lierf
B ut she w ent an d studied and
ta lk e d to college professors, and
retu rn ed to her farm and her 200
head o f cattle.
She has toiled.
She has fought.
She m akes $12,000 a year.
Too bad.
I f she had only not gono in for
“ hook la m in ’ ’ and th a t course a t
W isconsin she would be a ric h
woman.
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AS THE TWIG IS BENT.
OMEHOW we wish we w ere a
tow headed boy once more.
T here came to th e desk th e
o th er day from th e Oregon A g ri­
c u ltu ral College a t C orvallis, O re­
gon a catalog of a b o y ’s short
course in agriculture.
T h at m eans th e o p p o rtu n ity to
any voung O regonian to im bibe
farm in g lore fo r tw o full weeks a t
a m erely nom inal cost, th a t of his
board and tran sp o rtatio n .
I t is quite possible th a t in v a ri­
ous sections of th e country other
ag ricu ltu ral colleges o ffe r sin n 'a r
oportunities. We havo not heard
o f them .
In p resen tin g th is course, E. D.
K essler, directo r of the Summ er
School, says:
“ The purpose is tw o fold—th e
value to the boys who a tte n d ; the
in flu en ce on th e school rep resen t­
ed by those boys.
“ B oth consciously and uncon­
sciously our o rd in ary school edu­
cation places th e em phasis on p re­
p aratio n fo r th e professions and
o th er occupations relatin g to a
public career.
“ In th e m inds of m any people,
w ork upon th e farm is m enial. It
m eans early risin g and early r e tir ­
ing and h a r i g rin d in g labor from
sunrise to sunset. I t is not sup­
posed th a t any intelligence or high
degree of education can be used
by a m an on th e farm .
“ These erroneous ideas m ust not
only be banished from th e m inds
o f th e boys and girls who will be
th e fu tu re fa n n e rs and fa rm e rs ’
w ives, b u t an o p p o rtu n ity m ust be
given to show w h at a g re a t field
fo r th e ap plication of scien tific
tra in in g is offered, how th e g re a t­
est creativ e genius m ay be called
in to play in w orking out th e prob­
lem s which co n fro n t not only the
A m erican farm er b u t th e g reat
A m erican public as well.
“ The old notion th a t any so rt
o f lab o r which requires m anual ac­
tiv ity ia necessarily u n in terestin g
and u n in tellig en t m ust be driven
out o f our schools. The skilled hand
m ust be directed b y th e highly
tra in e d b rain and, still above and
beyond this, it m ust be recognized
th a t only those who can build up
fo r them selves ideals which will
a r:u s e all th e energy and am bition
o f w hich th e ir n a 'u re s are capable,
can be tru ly nappy in any occupa
tion or p ro fessio n .”
T h at strik es us uncommonly lik e
good te i.s a
S
School boys who im bibe scien­
tific farm in g a t th e ir earliest years
are going to be inspired w ith the
desire to a tte n d an ag ricu ltu ral
college in la te r y ears and learn
how to im prove on th e w ays of
th e ir dads.
T heir fa th e rs often had to learn
in th e school of hard experience.
And th ere are easier w ays of do­
ing th in g s th an the school-of hard-
experience method.
The y oungsters at C orvallis will
study a few hours every day. The
balance o f tho tim a th ey w ill spend
hiking, in sports and recreation.
The supervision will be th a t of
th e “ big b ro th e r” order.
The in stru ctio n will be very p rac­
tical and suited to the age of tho
boys.
As a resu lt of theee tw o w eek s’
study, it is expeeted th a t th e boys
will learn to id en tify th e principal
field crops w hich th ey may see as
th ey go about the country, learn
som ething o f th eir method of p lan t­
ing, cu ltiv a tio n and h arv estin g ;
will have some p ractical experience
in carin g for vegetable gardens
w hich w ill be p u t in on th e farm ,
so th a t by th e tim e tho boys reaeh
C orvallis th e various vegetables
will he av ailab le for fh eir study
and c u ltiv atio n ; will be able to
recognize the principal breeds of
cattle, sheep, swine and horses, and
to know som ething of the points of
a good an im al; will become in te r­
ested in th e problem s o f breeding
up a good flock of chickens th a t
will n o t only be orn am en tal b u t
p ro fitab le as w ell; w ill recognize
some o f th e common p la n t p ests in
orchard and garden and know how
to tre a t them .
In short, the object of tho course
is to place in the possession of the
boys in terestin g in form ation th a t
w ill be of some practical use to
them im m ediately and will fill them
w ith an ap preciation of tho g reat
scope of th e study and arouse th eir
in te re st in pursuing th o ir in v estig a­
tions fu rth er.
“ ID E A L " FA R M IN G .
E R E C E IV E D th is le tte r tho
o th er day. Somehow it in ­
te re ste d us, fo r wo believe
th a t th e m isconception o f the w riter
is the misconception of m any. He
said:
“ I am a city man. T w as alw ays
under the im pression farm in g was
an ideal occupation. My farm in g
frien d s say I am wrong. W hich ia
rig h t f '
A nsw er: C ity M an—fa rm in g ie
ideal I F —
F arm lan d s are low in price.
F arm products of classes are de­
ficien t in supply.
F arm in g is conducted on an enor­
mous scale.
The producer has a rep u tatio n ,
especially fo r breeding p u re b re d
stock; raising the fin est g rad e of
fru it, and so fo rth .
M ark ets are advantageous.
A nim als k ep t are productive.
T here is a large yield w ith rela­
tiv ely little labor and fertilizer.
Cost of production is low by good
farm organization.
P ro d u cts are stap le in ch aracter.
T h at is about all fo r th e pres­
en t, o u t we th in k you will catch
our d rift, City Man.
You will fin d some of those con­
d itio n s on every farm .
T here are m ighty few farm s you
w ill fin d them all.
In o th er words, farm in g is ideal—
In U topia.
A nyw here else it ie ju s t a p laia
business and profession w ith the
sam e h ard sh ip s and th e sam e sus-
ensRes you will find in ev ery th in g
else th e world over.
W
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FARM WAGES.
H E LABO RER on th e farm is
o ften aa alm ost in v ariab le
eom plainer.
H is moan is most freq u en t on the
subject o f his pay.
In faet, it m ight be said th a t h it
moan is precisely th a t o f th e rest
o f hu m an ity :
“ I w an t more m oney.”
Y et consideration of bis ease does
not m aks it th e deplorable one it
has been pointed out as being.
The condition of th e farm labor­
er is, fin an cially and otherw ise,
superior to th a t of the facto ry em ­
ploye.
The money w ages o f farm labor
increased about 2.5 per cent d u r­
ing the p ast year, and about 11.0
per cent d u rin g th e p a st fo u r years.
Sinee 1902 th e increase has been
ab o u t 36 per cent.
W ages of farm labor tended up­
w ard du rin g th e decade of th e
seventies; th ey w ere alm ost s ta ­
tio n ary d u rin g th e eighties, and de­
clined from 1892 to 1894, sinee
w hich tim o th ey have steadily
tended upw ard. F arm w ages now,
com pared w ith wages during the
eighties, aro about 55 per cent
higher; com pared w ith th e low y ear
of 1894, wages are now about 67
per cent higher.
The cu rren t average ra te of farm
wages ia th e U n ited S tates, when
board is Included, is, by the month,
$21.38; by th e day, o th er than
harv est, $1.10; a t h arv est, $1.57.
When board is not included, the
vate is, by th e m onth, $3(1.31; by
the day, o th er th an harvest, $1.50;
by the day a t h arvest, $1.94.
W ages in d iffe re n t sections of
tho U nited S ta te s v ary widely.
For instance, tho m onthly rate,
w ithout board, is $56.50 in N evada,
$54.00 in M ontana, and $51.00 in
U tah ; b u t $17.90 in South fa ro -
lina, $19.60 in M ississippi, and
$20.20 in G io rg ia. The highest
sta te average, $56.50, is th u s seen
to be 3.2 tim es higher th an the
low est rute, $17.90.
Thio w ide d ifferen ce in the wage
rates in d iffe re n t sections of the
U nited S ta te s is gradually lessen­
ing. In Sevan in v estigations made
betw een 1866 and 1881, tho av e r­
age of w ages of farm day labor
(w ith o u t b o ard ) in th e W estern
sta te s (w here wages are highest)
w as about 100 per cent higher than
in the South A tlan tic Staten (w h ire
w ages w ere lo w est); w hereas, in
seven in v estig atio n s made since
1898, the W estern states averaged
ab o u t 110 p er cen t higher than the
South A tlan tic, snd in the past
y ear th ey w ere only about 90 per
cen t higher.
The money wages of farm labor
have increased relativ ely more th an
w ages fo r labor in city m anufac­
tories durin g th s p ast tw en ty te
th irty years.
A com parison o f the average of
w ages per employe in m an u factu r­
ing in d u stries, as reported by the
census o f 1910, 1900 and 1890, in­
d icates th a t th e wages of such em ­
ployes increased 22 per cent in tea
y ears (1900 to 1910), and increased
only 23 per cent in the tw en ty
y ears; th e increases in farm labor
w ages w ere approxim ately 37 per
cen t in th e ten years and ab o ci 55
p er cent ia th e tw en ty years. T his
relativ e gain of raral npoe ’v b a a
w ages acts au to m atically npoa the
m ovem ent from country to city.
W agee of farm labor have bees
increasing rap id ly , not only in the
U nited S tates, b u t ia most, if wot
all, o th er eo n striee of the world.
Ia H ungary th e wage* of ag-<col­
tura! laborers increased about $9
p er cent ie th e te a years fr te t
1897 to 1907. Ie D enm ark, fr»m
1891 to 1905 wagee e f farm lib e r,
w ith board iacreased about 1C per
cent, aed w ith o u t lioard 19 par seat.
In Sweden wagee of agricu ltu ral
laborers in e ’»used 3$ pur cent ie
tho ten y ears from 1898 to 1901.
F o r N orw ay wd have d a ta show­
ing th e wagee In country and in
tow ns, w herein ie shew n th e t
w ages w ith b o a ri, increased 19 per
cent ie country end 15 per cent in
tow ns, durin g the tee y e a n of 1895
te 1905, th u s show ing a g reater
gain in co u n try th an in town
wagee. In J a p a n w here economie
conditions havo been changing
rapidly, th e y early money wage« of
ag ricu ltu ral
lab o r
n»o*»
th an
doubled tn tko Icori« n yea/u 'ruse
1894 to 1908 and increased 43 pee
cent from 1898 to 1908.
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VALUE OF ORGANIZATION.
H E Home and Farm M agazine
Section is not in terested in
politico.
N evertheless we keep aa eye on
things.
Hence we noted th a t the Republic
can voters of Oregon nom inated Dr,
Jam es B. W ithyeom bs to bo th eir
candidate a t the general election
ag ain st the D em ocratic nominee, Dr.
C. J . Smith.
There are a num ber of lessons
or ideas from tho nom ination of
Dr. W ithycombe.
F irst of these is th a t the farm er
anyw here is a m ighty power when
he ehcoses to exert him self.
R epublican farm ers chose to have
ono of them selves as a c o n testan t
fo r the u ltim ata prize a t th e general
election. T hey proceeded to carry
out th a t idea by voting.
The ballot box is tho m ig h tiest
pow er for good—or bad—we have.
How rarely we exorcise it!
A nother idea wo received from
th e nom ination of Dr. Withycombe,,
who was form erly director of th e
extension d epartm ent of Oregon
A gricultural College, was th e value
of cohesive srgariization.
jL oyally to th e ir college caused
hundreds o f O. A. C, g rad u ates all
over Oregon to rally to the b an n er
of Dr. W ithycom be.
I t was as flue an exhibition
of real “ college s p i r it’ ’ as wo have
over seen. I t brought results.
Incidentally,
those
g rad u ates
showed th eir stren g th by stan d in g
together.
The farm er represente the basis
w ealth of this country. Alone ho
is helpless. U nited he m akes a
power th a t can not be w ithstood.
W hether It be through co opera­
tiv e organizations or through hie
G range, the farm er united has a
voice the v ery stridency of which
can force the country to tak e notice
a t any tim e.
In politics the farm er united, can
m ake and upset political parties.
He is apt to do it, too.
W hen the farm ers of A m erica
realize th eir stren g th then will they
receive g reater consideration th an
has previously been th eir wont.
T
FA RM ER know s th a t a bank
savings account is the most
b eau tifu l th in g on earth. T here are
no microbes in it to steal aw ay his
peace of mind. I t is a prom oter of
sw eet sleep, and an aid to digestion.
A
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CITY man who tries hie hand
a t farm ing is filled w ith good
resolutions, but they to« often die
of m alnutrition.
A
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OUR farm er know s th e tru th ,
and he knows the average
m a n 's opinions are generally of
more value to him self than to any
one else.
Y
’ ARM ie one p see where a fa ir
exchange it no robbery, even
when a farm er trad es his money for
experlsnee.
A
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UB FA R M ER know« th a t the
banker who shakes h it hand
m eet effu siv ely when erope are
good and be has money to loan,
shakes him altogether when i t ’s
go a *
T
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O FA RM ER can be popular and
tell his troubles.
N •
Y
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3UB richest farm er most often
is the fellow w ith th e w orst
digestion.
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OME farm ers th in k they e a s t
m ake a h it In th eir n e ig h b o r
hood unless they buy aa no Im­
mobile.
S
FA RM ER boy who lessee the
Oilin tr y for the city should
kn -w th a t while it is hard work
to r-.ii'h tho top. it is tu li hardef
work to stay on turn
A
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