THE NEW EARTH 



given up to diversified farming, a line of 

 activity which has had a marked bearing upon 

 the success of the farmer of to-day. Their soil, 

 sensibly cared for, was so productive, and the 

 demands for their corn, their cattle, their 

 sheep, poultry, and all manner of food supplies 

 in the rough, was so steady, they should have 

 been of all men most independent. But for 

 years they were sadly dependent, even after 

 they passed the ten-doUar-an-acre period and 

 their farms were rising in value to double 

 or quadruple that figure. They were at the 

 mercy of others who were not merciful. They 

 had patiently endured the slow strangulation 

 of greed. 



It occurred to one of their number one day 

 that they were like other men, after all, — like 

 merchants, bank presidents, railroad managers, 

 and so on, and quite as much entitled to free- 

 dom as the owners of the railroads that were 

 unfair to them, or the dealers in agricultural 

 implements who charged them too much, or 

 the merchant of their little town who steadily 

 bled them. So a number of them got together 

 and talked the matter over. "Why not go 

 into business ourselves?" they said. "Why not 



366 



