SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 387 



told me to put in cheese factories; he said that they would prove a 

 great stimulant to the dairy business and that they would go hand in 

 hand with the creamery business. Over in that state, in Richland 

 county, a rough, hilly country like my own, the country is not 

 adapted to raising corn in any quantities because of the hills and washy 

 character of the soil. Nevertheless, while the soil may not be adapted 

 for corn growing it is adaptable to dairying and they have developed 

 it into a great profitable business. They have over a hundred factories 

 in that county and the bank deposits are larger there than in any other 

 county I know of in that portion of the state. A few years ago a milk 

 condensing concern came into the city of Richland and operated there 

 with great profit to the farmers; they are a great corporation with head- 

 quarters out west somewhere. There are creameries in every town in 

 the county operating just as profitably, and probably just as extensively 

 as the cheese factories. 



This has so intensified the dairy business there that they have made 

 a very rich county out of it and have developed the dairy business to 

 such an extent that it is now exceedingly profitable for a man to' milk 

 cows. And I know what it is to milk cows. When I was a boy not very 

 old I was working for a farmer. July 4th came along and the farmer 

 and his wife left to attend a little social celebration down at the village 

 about a mile away. The hired man went too, leaving me to milk the 

 twenty-five cows all alone. I wanted to go dov/n to the village celebra- 

 tion and so hurried as fast as I could to milk those twenty-five cows — 

 and it was some job. Finally I finished. Just as I was ready to leave, 

 it started to rain and I had to stay at home. Ever since I have always 

 had sympathy for the fellow who had to milk cows — especially on the 

 Fourth of July. 



Now, I have started operating a few cheese factories this summer 

 and my only trouble thus far has been in getting the machinery to my 

 factories from the supply houses. They claim that everything is high 

 on account of the war and I cannot get the machinery as fast as I 

 wish. I expect to start another within a short time and I hope to have 

 ten operating within a year; I also expect to build a cold storage in the 

 town that I live in and operate both lines of business, but I don't ex- 

 pect to do it myself; I expect to let men who understand that work 

 take charge. 



I believe that this will tend to intensify the dairy business. I don't 

 intend to build a cheese factory where it is going to destroy a creamery; 

 I don't believe in destroying but in building up, and I believe that 

 this is what will bappen. Down at the little town of Rosette there is 

 no creamery; there is none within ten miles of Waukon. I have oper- 

 ated from the first of May this year at a reasonable profit and condi- 

 tions are rapidly improving. They now have sixteen silos there and they 

 are bringing in cows as fast as they can get them. Next year I believe 

 that our output will be trebled. The patrons are all well satisfied, for 

 I think that I may say that they are getting more money than they can 

 get from any creamery, without fear of successful contradiction. 



