10OS. 
l'FTE KUKAF, NEW-VORKER 
Hope Farm Notes 
President Roosevelt lias appointed a 
commission to investigate the condition of 
farmers and see what can be done to help 
(hem. I believe this is a sincere effort 
to get at the much-needed truth. We can 
all help by reporting the facts and giving 
the conditions just as they are in our own 
neighborhoods. I begin by giving as sim¬ 
ply as I can the story of the region where 
we live—among the hills of Bergen Co., 
New Jersey, about 2.7 miles from New York. 
This country lias been settled nearly 2(><> 
years. It was covered with farms when 
Washington’s army camped in this section 
during th<‘ Revolution. An old church was 
used as a prison for some captured Hes¬ 
sians. Farming was the chief business— 
the crops being rye, straw, hay. potatoes 
and fruit. By hard work and’living the 
simplest kind of the simple life, these hill 
farmers accumulated property, laid up small 
sums of money and helped build railroads 
and towns. Some six generations lived in 
peace end fair prosperity until the town 
and city taught the young people that 
there was better opportunity away from 
the farm. 
To-day, within half a mile of my house, 
on four roads there are ’.31 farms—ranging 
from 10 to 90 acres. There are in addition 
four tenant houses. Eight of these farms 
are occupied by city men who either rent 
them for country homes or hdld them for 
a rise in value. There are not more than 
two farmers who depend entirely upon the 
products of their farms for a living— 
though all are fairly prosperous, with a 
little money laid aside. Some keep Summer 
boarders with profit, others act as agent, 
some work with their teams for outsiders, 
and most have a little interest money or 
some member of the family working in the 
city. There are about 2.7 children in all. 
Brobably not over -to per cent of available 
land is tilled—the balance being left in tim¬ 
ber or rough “old fields.’’ The cultivated 
land is mostly fenced—the rest left open. 
I know of only two younger men who have 
followed their fathers as farmers—one of 
these has returned from the city. Of the 
smaller hoys only two or three apparently 
have any notion of following farming as a 
business in this section. Politically votes 
stand about even. Four years ago, with 
about 1 0.7 votes cast, Roosevelt had six 
majority. 
These men all handle and buy and sell 
about the same tilings, so that polities can¬ 
not be said to hi* based on business—-rather 
on prejudice and inherited feeling. The 
system of levying taxes is to assess land 
generally at $40 per acre and then add the 
value of the buildings. 
Every house is kept well painted and 
reasonably neat. There is probably a sew¬ 
ing machine in each one. washing machines 
in half and pianos in 60 per cent. While 
most are well heated by stoves about a 
dozen have water in the kitchen brought 
from a spring or pumped from a well. 
Perhaps 70 per cent of the meat used is 
bought from a traveling butcher, and I pre¬ 
sume the baker’s wagon averages 20 loaves 
of bread a day. 
The farms are practically all occupied 
by Americans. As soon as they are large 
enough tin* boys and girls usually go away, 
either for some sort of an education or to 
work in town. ^Vs a rule 1 do not think 
Country boys marry country girls. The 
country girl who goes to a town school is 
in demand because she is usually taught 
housekeeping and can help keep a town 
home. The country hoy seems more likely 
to seek a town girl who is usually pre¬ 
judiced against the country. I think most 
of our farmers have made and laid aside 
money enough to put the so-called “im¬ 
provements’’ in their houses if they felt it 
was a business investment to do so 
Now go out and ask our people what 
they think about farming in this section 
and you will get a variety of views. Most 
of them will admit that the soil is as 
productive as it ever was (or can be made 
so), that prices, on the whole, are satis¬ 
factory, with hay at $2.7. potatoes at $1, 
milk at six cents, ami sweet corn, apples 
and other things in proportion. Yet, witli 
a fe\V exceptions you will be told that there 
Is little or no profit in it. The man most 
likely to claim through thick and thin that 
farming in our section is “all right” is the 
head of a small religious community. These 
people have a small farm on which they 
grow fruits and vegetables which they re¬ 
tail in nearby towns. In good seasons they 
turn off probably $2,000 or more. This Sttm- 
mer 
during 
the 
lin rd 
times they 
ha ve 
fed 
nml 
housed 
III 
times 
.’30 people 
from 
the 
city. 
They 
a re 
vegetarians, and 
live en- 
11 roly upon grains, vegetables and fruits— 
about 00 per cent of their food coming 
from their farm. They buy nothing of 
butcher, baker or grocer, and their clothing 
bills are small. They have few expenses 
except for feed, fertilizer, seed and tools. 
Thus, by living even simpler than the fann¬ 
ers of three generations ago did. and hand¬ 
ling their farm with modern skill, these 
farmers save money and are thoroughly con¬ 
tent with their lot having no ambition to 
do anything else. 
Co to our other farmers and ask them 
why they are not satisfied and ‘ why they 
arc not willing to put their capital Into the 
land, and you will get many reasons. 
1. The labor question. There are no 
longer any skilled and reliable men who are 
ambitious to do good farm work. Most of 
the hired men who work near the large 
towns stay until they receive a little 
money and then proceed to get drunk. This 
is not tile exeception but the rule. The 
Influence of the large town is altogether 
harmful upon hired help. On the other 
side, some hired men tell me that they 
do not get decent treatment—good food or 
a comfortable place to sleep. 
2. The rum question. Not only does the 
saloon ruin hired help, hut it hurts flic 
market for the crops grown in our section. 
Most of these are perishable, and not 
classed as necessities. \Ye all have instances 
where women would like 1 to buy our goods 
if they could only have the money paid 
into the saloon. 
Competition. Modern methods of dis¬ 
tributing goods hurt our farmers. Stuff 
of all kinds is rushed into New York 
and when there is a glut hundreds of ped¬ 
dlers load up and scour the country, al¬ 
most giving the goods away in some cases, 
breaking down our prices and hurting our 
trade. The people who ship this stuff from 
distant sections get next to nothing for it, 
and the way it is sold hurts farmers here. 
The railroads and handlers get their full 
share. 
4- Transportation. \Ve live near enough 
to the city to do a good business direct 
with consumers if we could have our product; 
carried properly, if we ship by freight, 
before (lie car can he transferred across tho 
river our perishable goods would be spoiled. 
If by express the rate is outrageous and the 
handling worse, f have had so much trou¬ 
ble with the express companies that it does 
not pay to try to increase this promising 
trade. With a fair parcels post as the 
English people have our section would be 
in a position to develop a great trade. 
.7. Trusts and tariff. Like most others, 
our people are not clear in their minds re¬ 
garding the result of much of the legisla¬ 
tion since the Civil War. In a general way 
it is accepted that the trusts apd large 
corporations are on the whole enemies of 
the common people. The average farmer 
might not he able to demonstrate this on 
paper, hut he feels it—and the feeling itself 
is depressing. He feels that he pays more 
than he ought to for the great majority 
of the things that lie buys, and that the 
few cents extra on each thing go to make 
l lie great fortunes which affect him in vari¬ 
ous ways. As for the tariff, there is a 
growing feeling among country people that 
it is in some way connected with these 
great monopolies! it is m.v conviction that 
President Roosevelt's commission will run 
upon this feeling whenever they get into a 
community of intelligent farmers. Pater¬ 
son and other manufacturing towns and 
residence places where manufacturers live 
provide great markets for our products. We 
know these markets are best when work¬ 
men are employed. We also know that (lie 
money made rapidly in these protected in¬ 
dustries is what enables men to come into 
our section and buy land for building and 
thus multiply our values by 10. These ad¬ 
vantages are evident, yet our farmers also 
begin to see the other side, and to realize 
that while tariff legislation has given them 
a better market if has given the manufac¬ 
turer and tiie towns the money and the 
direct opportunity. Our farmers also begin 
to realize that during the past 2.7 years 
the so-called “voice of New Jersey” has been 
only the voice of a few strong politicians. 
We have a farcical primary law. under 
which we are supposed to elect delegates to 
a county convention. I venture to say 
that with such a primary law as they have 
in Iowa or Kansas. New Jersey would make 
more history for righteousness in the next 
10 years that she has in the past 50. 
0. T.nck of interest. A few farmers and 
many Summer hoarders (who never ran a 
farm), claim that our people do not use 
improved methods, or show their faith in the 
land. There is no doubt that if our lower 
land were tile drained and graded it would 
produce the Marshall strawberry to per¬ 
fection—witli great profit. Our bills make 
ideal apple ground if one has the faith and 
patience to invest bis money in the ground 
and wait for if. Mv neighbor is producing 
enormous forage crops for his dalrv from 
what were formerly “old fields.” Yet. with 
few exceptions [ must confess that'farming 
is conducted in a feeble half-hearted way. 
Fields lie bare through the Winter which 
ought to be covered with Crimson clover, 
while the owners buy manure and fertilizers. 
Trees fail through lack of spraying. Our 
average crops are far below what they 
might be. and not one in 10 of our neopie 
would take money awav from a safe Invest¬ 
ment in town to paint the house, drain a 
field or plant an orchard. Tt is true that 
boys and girls are not taught that the 
farm is the place to invest the savings. 
Yet there are few places on earth where 
these savings multi be made to earn larger 
dividends in the soil that right here if the 
boy’s heart went into the soil with them. 
The social problem. While many 
realize Hie possibilities of this section there 
is a general feeling that the country is 
doomed for farm mimosas. Tt will be worth 
too much for building lots to snnnlv New 
i ork peonle with homes. When it goes a 
weedy old field will be worth as much as a 
rfH) onion on fell for n to"*n <aftp or n ^frooT 1 . 
Already surveyors are working in the next 
“alley marking out lots on an old hillside, 
this feeling of future values prompts most 
men to let the land He Idle and wait Tn 
n section like this. too. we get a front 
view of the insolence of the rapidly-made 
rich. They whirl along our roads with 
their autos, selfish and indifferent. The 
example they set to our young peonle in 
idleness and foolish extravagance is very 
harmful. T believe that scarcely one smart 
bov in 100 could he kept at home to work 
father’s farm if surrounded hv the influ¬ 
ences which these showy wealthy people 
bring into a neighborhood.. Tn Westches¬ 
ter Co.. N. Y.. one of these got-rich-ouick 
people bought a farm and proceeded to burn 
down the old homestead and buildings, in 
order to get rid of them. There could not 
have been a worse example set before young 
nirmors. Xonr OrpprMvfpli, (~*oti n wlint is 
starting In our neighborhood has already 
come to pass. Farmers have mosttv sold 
their farms at high figures. \ few of them 
have moved farther hack and bought new 
farms, hut the great maioritv have found 
tiie social null too strong for hereditary 
feeling, and they have taken little places 
in town. Some of us do not want to sell 
our homes, and will develop our farms in 
the face of what seems destiny, hut with 
many the prospect for land speculation is 
ending the desire for improved farming. 
You may say that these conditions are 
in no way fair for fartnlnrr sections. Yet 
there are thousands of communities where 
tins increase of land values is going on. 
Tn many more thousands methods are 
changing and people are thinking as they 
never did before. I have given our condi¬ 
tions as T see them. 1 would like to have 
you think out (be same tilings as they apply 
to your section and tell me what you make 
of it. Just imagine von are a member of 
that commission bunting for the truth and 
seeking for a remedy. The muse is not so 
important, for most of us understand that 
fairly well—think out the remedy. Tt is 
evident that education, so-called, cannot do 
if all—even though every school in the land 
lias an accomplished teacher In agriculture 
We must consider Hie evils as they stand 
the limitations of a farm life, the human 
nature of a farmer and the possibilities of 
changing society without a revolution, and 
see what we make out of a remedy. Tf 
you were Congress and bad to he respon¬ 
sible for your actions what would you do 
to make farm life happier and better and 
give tiie farmer just what be needs? 
H. w. 6. 
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Thousands of Successful Farmers Are Doing It 
There is no charm or secret about it. 
You simply spread it with a machine, and 
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Manure is generally estimated to be 
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There is no doubt that it is worth twice as 
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INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF AMERICA 
(Incorporated) 
Chicago, U. S. A. 
