Model Landlord 



By following Golden Rule Oscar 

 Kiest has earned the name of 

 best landlord in Logan county 



Therefore all things whatsoever ye 

 would that men should do to you, do ye 

 fven so to them — Matthew VII. 12. 



A 



RE landlords people? This ques- 

 tion was asked of his readers re- 

 cently by a metropolitan newspaper 

 columnist. He evidently had had 

 some trouble with his landlord. 

 If he asked Harold Fue of Logan 

 county that question, Fue probably would 

 say: "Yes landlords are people. Some 

 are the very best of people. And you 

 can include my landlord among them." 

 Fue operates a 160-acre farm near Lin- 

 coln on a 50-50 crop share basis with 

 Oscar Kiest, the landlord. 



Possible areas of friction between land- 

 lord and tenant are many, but Fue and 

 Kiest have submerged their differences 

 over the years until they now work to- 

 gether as a harmonious team. 



Both have the same motto: "What 

 makes money for him, makes money for 

 me." The result: both have prospered 

 from the farm. Now after 21 years as 

 Kiest's tenant, Fue feels he is in a posi- 

 tion to buy his own farm. What bothers 

 him most on that score, however, is his 

 feeling of reluctance at leaving the farm 

 where he has built up a long tradition of 

 good relations with his landlord. 



Kiest, though well-versed in scientific 



farming, doesn't tell Fue what or when to 

 plant. He feels that Fue is a good 

 enough farmer to do that himself. The 

 tenant does, however, keep his landlord 

 informed on all operations as a matter of 

 course. 



Both landlord and tenant take a great 

 deal of pride in raising crop yields. In 

 1946 Fue brought in 97.7 bushels of corn 

 per acre. 



Kiest is one of the few landlords in 

 Logan County who furnishes his tenant 

 with seed. Besides he pays for half the 

 cost of inoculation. He is also generous 

 in taking care of all plant food needs. 

 All of the land has been limed twice 

 and all has been phosphated once and 

 some twice. 



Fue said he once asked his landlord 

 for 200 fence posts. Four hundred were 

 delivered. Mrs. Fue is particularly happy 

 about the care Kiest gives the buildings 

 and the farm home. The house has mod- 

 ern plumbing with stoker heat, hot and 

 cold running water, and a water softener. 

 Fue liked the modernization so well, he 

 pitched in to help with the installation 

 of the plumbing and dug out the base- 

 ment. 



By JIM THOMSON 



As*'t Editor, UA RECORD 



Sold on the advantages of modern 

 methods of farming, Kiest, at his own 

 expense, sent Fue to a University of Il- 

 linois College of Agriculture short course. 

 Fue has since gone on his own. 



Kiest had a renter on another farm for 

 32 years and a third for 10 years. He 

 o^vns a place in Missouri and one sum- 

 mer he took Fue and another tenant along 

 to see his cotton fields there. The men 

 were gone four days. Kiest paid all ex- 

 penses. :"' ":^-\ 'J: :■!':' ;^ ■' \ \-./''s'- • 



Fue keeps his own livestoclc on the 



farm. He pays cash rental on the pasture- 

 land and alfalfa ground. As a condi- 

 tion that he pay for all fertilizer, Kiest 

 receives the soil conservation payments. 



A one-year lease is the Logan county 

 custom but for many years Kiest and 

 Fue haven't bothered with new leases. 

 They let the old one ride. 



Kiest says there are many advantages in 

 the long-time lease especially if you get 

 a good tenant. The morale of the long- 

 time tenant is high and he takes better 

 care of the soil, the buildings, and the 

 equipment. :,>:,. . ;' 



'My advice to landlord and tenant," 

 Fue said, "is to be honest with one an- 

 other. You will both be better otT and 

 you will be able to work in harmony." 



Fue stopped in the midst of his work 

 in the fields and looked thoughtfully 

 towards the horizon. "I've had a lot of 

 ups and downs," he said, "but life on 

 this farm has been pretty good when you 

 consider that I arrived in Lincoln in 191 2 

 with only $12 in my pocket." 



The writer followed his gaze across 

 the fields and spoke in admiration of a 

 cluster of beautiful buildings on an ad- 

 jacent farm. 



"That's one of Mr. Kiest's farms," Fue 

 said with a smile. 



l«fH Landlord Oscar 

 lonant Harold Fuo at 



Klatt (l«ft) talks evor oporotiens wHh 

 planting tlmo. Right: Mrs. Fuo dlscussos 



tho kitchon of hor homo wKh Mr. Kiost. 

 Ing Installod in tho Fuo homo. 



Kiost hod medom phmib- 



SEPTEMBER, 1948 



