What Haa Been Done for the Farmer.
Edit _ Indiana Fanner:
This is the title of an article over the initials D. K. in your Issue of August tab.
The purpose of the letter was a reply to
'   the communications of S. B. II., of this
.    county, a* well as to some   others who
.'     seem to think the interests of the farmer
are neglected in framing state laws.   The
.       attempt was made in the letter above men-
:      lioned to show that the farming e'ass was
.       looked   after  by   the   legislator fully   as
much, if not more, than any other class.
The purpose of thi* letter will be to point
out some other things of which the farmer
is iu need more thai! additional legislation,
.      which, if looked after, will tend to ameliorate his condition  more than anything
else that can be given him.   A law cannot
be made under our Cotuttitution that will
make a man rich unless he manages his
buslines*) in such/- manner as to save more
than   he  Hp.nd a.   A great many  letters
from farmers all over the State have suggested   plan*  of  legislation   that   would
teud to make the way of the farmer more
desireabls as well as mora profitable, but
they  are all faulty In  this respect, viz:
what la asked as a saving to the farmer Is
a loss to someone else.   The letters of S. B.
II., of this county, aro noticeable In  this
respect.   He  Is bitterly opposed to "class
legislation" when it takes from tho farmer
and ls decidedly In  favor of it when  It
. taken from the achool  teacher.    But why
\ this war against school teachers?   No class
of laborers who are required undor the
law to make expensive preparations make
so Uttle money out of their calling aa do
4 tho school teachers.   All  who   have  quit
J farming in this county and gone to school
<.| teaching to make money can 1*8 counted
j on the fingers  of  ono   hand, while buu-
j dreds have quit teaching school and gono
| to farming in order to make a bettor living.
\ "Farmer," in your issuo of  October-1th,
* would havo us believe that tho farm tnort-
; gages ln Kansas and   tho two Dakotas  aro
] caused   by unfavorable legislation, but we
all know that the failure of crops threo
years out of five causes the depression
there. While on this subject It might lie
well to noto the remedy of the farmers of
those western States for this depression.
Thoy have even gono so far as to petition
the circuit courts to delay tho foreclosure
of mortgages In cases where the defendants are farmers. Did any one ever hear
of selfishness going further? The one
who loans money to a farmer is just as
much entitled to his remedy as if he had
loaned to someone else. The only law for
this class of farmers is one tbat will kill
grasshoppers and prevent drouths. If a
farmer get into a Stato where he can't
make a living, he don't have to stay there.
It seems the hight of folly for one man to
ask a man to loan him money to feed to
grasshoppers without giving security. As
to this State it might be said that many
farm mortgages are caused by poor management—twin brother to the western
grasshopper and drouths.
The presumption is that "Farmer"
knows something about farming. It will
be of great interest to some if he, with his
experience, will name one genuine farmer
in this county who stuck closely to business for a number of years and died with
his farm mortgaged complaining of the
laws. Can any one give a better reason
why farmer Smith succeeds and farmer
Jones fails other than the one attends
more strictly to business than the other.
If poor legislation measures the success of
the one, it ought to mete out the same
measure to the other. We know that all
are not equally successful, hence, there
must be same other cause for the difference. This difference, I take it, ls made
by the farmer himself. -
Perhaps there aro many of your readers
who would like for S. IJ. II. or "Farmer"
to giv. an explanation for  the fact  that
one farmer will fail by the side of one
who sum__s, all things else being equal.
Both are strong aud governed by the
fame laws., yet one succeeds aud Ihe other
doos not. Many farmers in this county
have prospered admirably for a mini be r of
years attending strictly to legitimate
farming, until they took up with a cranky
notion of doiug something else. Some
who havo madegood farmers have thought
best to go iuto the grain threshing business and mortgaged their farms for wheat
threshers, clover huller.- and engines, and
iu a few years the farm would be in the
hands of the firm who sold the machinery.
Others have sought oilice and trouble followed in the wake of the election returns;
others have abandoned slow success at
farming for the more speedy returns of
riding behind fast horses, but somehow or
other they could never rido quite fast
onough to keep up with tho interest on
borrowed capital.
The success of every business depends
upon tho manner in which it is mamtgod.
A farm cannot Ik* successfully conducted
by au average farmer unless his whole
mind is thrown into the business from
lovo of the art. He must keep within tin.
proper bounds or tlio chances aro that ho
will fall. Tho rulo is a plain one. Young
chickens sometime* stray from tlio care
of the mother and aro carried oil' by hawks,
Tlio farmer** dog sometimes wanders oil
at night to see the *i_,_.t und Is picked up
dead at day break In the cily, aud if my
memory of tho Scriptures serves mo right,
gardening was onco a peaceful and happy
occupation, but tho forbidden fruit was
there, and ln that cradle of tho human
race was first rocked the evil that follows
transgression from the line of duly. Be
the story a figure or a fact, the lesson it
teaches is it* sound to-day us it wa* in tho
timo of Kdon. Tho farmer is no exemption
to this rule, ills enemies also lie in ambush and It Is his own fault If ho wanders
in their way.
One slightly girted with the power of
reading human naturo can rido through
this county in a buggy nnd without asking many questions can pick out tho
grumbling class of farmers by seeing tho
conditlonsof their farms. If ho findsafarm
with fenco rows 20 feet wide with brush.he
can safely say that this farmer will havo
a theory in regard to a now code of laws
he wants enacted. If the corn-planterand
hay-rake are run up on a pile of rails for
the winter, tire owner will bo found in
favor of taking the tariff off of farm machinery because manufacturers are making too much monoy at the expense of tho
farmer. If tho children don't know what
township they live in, the father will bo
found advocating tho idea of paying school
teachers but fifty cents per day, and begrudging that. If tbo wife is found splitting a rail with one hand and holding a
baby in the other, the husband will be
down on equal rights and woman suffrage;
if ho has moro dogs than horses, he will
favor the repealing of the dog tax law, and
so, as we go over the county we find tho
grumblers are always tho wonst farmers.
Indiana is recognized as being one of
the best farming States In tho Union, and
thsse who cannot succeed have the remedy In their own hands. If they will follow the example of those who study and
apply themselves to the art of good husbandry, it will be found a sure cure for
most of the imaginary ills with which the
unsuccessful are now suffering.
D. K.
Montgomery Co., Oct. 10th.
Written forth. Indiana Farmer.
TUB FARMERS" OPPORTUNITY.
Will it be Wisely Used?
nv  \v. t\ l.ATTA.
A fino hog sale was held in the fair
grounds at I_ebanon, last week. Tblrty-
flve shoats, wbose average weight wa* fio
pounds, brought?!,IK), and $1.0 was the
highest price a single pig brought. There
were buyers from Minnesota, Missouri,
Iowa, and Illinois.
Perhaps never before in the history of
the state have the farmers of Indiaua
manifested so general an interest in
legislation. Many farmers will be in the
Oeneral Assembly. The candidates of the
old political parlies, whether farmers or
not, will be desirous to please their farmer
constituencies. The coming winter will
therefore be an op*_tune time to secure,
wise and effective legislation in tho
interest of agriculture.
To accomplish much, and make no
mistakes, there should lie concerted
action. It is "not onough"—and I am not
sure that it is e\ en wise—to pledge candidates who desire our votes. Better vote
for thu man whoso "past history Is a
pledge of loyalty" to tho causo wo espouse
and then trust his judgment and fidelity
to inllucnco him aright.
But whether candidates aro pledged or
not, thero should lie unamiuity in tlio demand nii*dn by tho farming classes. How
shall thoso demands Im unified and formulated, aud how secure prompt action
upon measures agreed u*m>ii?
1. As to formulating measures in the
interest of the farming cl—■>ses. 1 know
of no better plan than that proposed by
former J. A. Mount, who will l-o In tho
Stato Senate. Ills plan was outlined
soveral weeks since, in tho Imuana
Paiimku. It was briefly to refer all pro
posed measures relating to agriculture to
a joint ■•.niniitt ee, composed of representatives of all tho Stato farmers' organizations. Such a e.mmitteo could decide
what measures it would bo wit-o to push
and their decision would havo tho
approval of farmers generally and insure
tlieir concerted action.
2. As to socurlng prompt legislation;
ItCt tho different County farmors'organizations (of which thoro will bo one
of somo form in nearly overy county by
the ond of the year) promptly endorse
tho proposed measures, give solid backing
to members of tbo Assembly who propose good bills and demand tho spoody
enactment of the samo Into laws.
Without somo such committeo of conferences as tho ono proposed by Senator
Mount, thoro will _ clashing of interests
in tho agricultural ranks, and unnecessary
wrangling over measures of merely local
lni*K>_ tanco; and without the prompt
active ^backing of tho farmers' organizations, the friends of the farmers ln tho
legislature will be compelled to fight
cingle handed, and sometimes be bar-
rowed by doubt, as to whether their
courso will meet tho "general approval"
of their farmer constituents.
Farmors, what say you to a joint
committee, on agricultural legislation,
consisting of, say throo members oach
from the State Farmers' organizations?
I jet me repeat: a groat opportunity Is
before you; will you make the most of it?
Purdue University, Lafayette.
Relief for the Masses.
Kditors Indiana Farm, r:
Among tho various methods of relief
recommended is one requiring the government to Issue 1,000 millions of Oreenbacks
and lend to the farmers at two per cent.
A far better plan It seems to mo would
bo for the Nation to lend tho Statos a
currency that would be a legal tender for
all debts, public and private, returnable to
the national treasury, at tho rato of throe
•ier cent por annum without Interest,
issued to tbe States on a per capita basis
at the rate of two dollars per annum in
quarterly installments, that would be in
round numbers thirty millions every
ninety days.   Tho currency so issued  to
be used by the States to pay off, first tho
public debt of the State so far as due and
payable, second the debts of the counties
so far as due and payable, third the debts
of the townships so far as duo and payable, and fourth the debts of tho cities so
far as duo and payable. Tho Stato to distribute  to   the   counties,  townships   and
ities on a per capita basis.
By this method one hundred and
twenty or thirty millions of interest paying debt would lie paid off overy year, and
thai sum added to the cunency of tho
people every year. That would be a
gradual (though as compared with present
methods a some what rapid) extinguishment of interest lieariug debt, aud tho
increase of tho currency at the rate of
thirty millions every ninety days would
bo gradual. Tho business of the.country
would be so expanded as to absorb it all.
In five years all_lho State, county, township and city debts, in tlio I'nion, could
bo paid off and ninety-livo jiercent of the
people lieiieflu-d by ihe relief. If the
policy should be continued until one
thousand millions was issued to the States
it would havo to bo u*.l for other purposes
than the payment of tho four classes of
debt* above enumerated. And privato
indebtedness might bo extinguished in
tho same way, charging an intorest of
one per cent on money loaned to private*
individuals, not for the purposo of deriving ft revenue but simjiiy to raise a fund
sullicient to pay the expense* to tho State
lliat It would bo at in managing the loans
to privato Individual*.
. Tho threo per cent of tho principal
repaid to the Nation annually by the state*
could bt-appropriated to specific purposes
in advance of its collection, Buch as tho
purchase of tho telegraph service of the
country, and annexing ll to tho mai
service; to tlio improvement of rivers and
harbors, and supplying the nation with
public building* wherever needed. But a
far moro rapid extinguishment of debt,
both public and private, might bo accomplished by allowing tho currency issued
to tho Stato* for tho abuvo pur*>oses to bo
converted Into national bonds, bearing Interest at tho rato of two percentpor annum,
payable at tho pleasure of tho government. Then impose au income tax on al[
incomes over ten thousand dollars, on
corporations and individuals, to bo used
for tho redemption of tho debt. The
advantage of such a policy would Be that
a great mass of debt now bearing a high
rato of interest, would boar no interest at
all, or in tho case of privato indebtedness
only ono per cont, and tho debt as paid
Irom year to year by tho States to the
Nation would bo used for public purposes, and tho ultimate payment of the
debt would be imposed on tho accumulated capital of tho country, instead of tho
annual earnings of tho people.
For the adoption of such a policy I
would bo willing to voto for any man and
with any party. Sam'i.B.Hokkcii-n.
Lost Without It.
Editors Indiana Farm...
After knocking about for somotimo I
find myself at home an:l without the
Farmkr, which is next thing to calamity.
Vou can hardly realize how much wo
havo lost without it. Having taken it so
long it is as ono of our oldest and best-
friends. You will jiloase lind ono ($1:00)
dollar, with my best wishes, and earnest
hope that tho Far.mkr may still come to,
and choor our home as in tho past.
Moore's Hill. Dr. Corya.
Whilo hauling broomcorn yesterday on
his farm, noar Humboldt, 111., James
Moore's team 1 _ame frightened and ran
away, indicting injuries upon his body
which resulted in death. He was an old
and highly-re*i *ect_ citizen of Coles
county.
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