VOL. LXI
NOV 161906
INDIANAPOLIS, NOVEMBER 17, 1906.
NO. 46
c1
ganTl
Some Unpleasant Discoveries
By  Hilda   Richmond.
Recently a young man moved from his
own farm in the country to a small city
to take a position as letter carrier at six
hundred dollars per year the first year, aud
after that eight hundred and fifty. These
amounts looked large to him in comparison
with the small sums lie hail been able to
s:,ve each year on the farm which was
small, so he made great calculations on
getting rich speedily. In fact he expected to show some of the people in town who
complained that it was almost impossible
to lay away anything for a rainy day. just
how to manage, but he has made some unpleasant discoveries since leaving the
farm.
He had expected to pay about five dollars per mouth rent, hut soon discovered
I hat Ihe houses renting for that amount
were so small, so poorly built and in such
neighborhoods as he would not care to
bring up his children, so he was forced to
take a modest residence at twelve dollars
t" be at all convenient to the office. Con-
c idering the walking involved in his new
work he found he could not he at the outskirts of town, as he had intended where
he could have a garden, a few chickens
and a cow. This    opened    his eyes a
trifle since twelve dollars subtracted from
fifty leaves just thirty-eight for all other
expenses.
Before they were fairly settled a funeral
occurred in his family—that is among his
relatives—and the trip to the funeral six
miles from town and back cost exactly
six dollars. The carriage took three
and he had to pay the sub who worked
lor him, besides taking lunch along and
buying feed for the horses in the strange
little village where the funeral was held.
It was the first time he had ever hired a
buggy to go anywhere and it was quite a
shock to know that every time he wanted
to take his family for a drive, he would
bave to pay  that sum.
Another unpleasant discovery was that
the neighbors in town were not like the
neighbors in the country. There when
sickness or some calamity came the kindly, sympathetic neighbors came in to do
what they could for the family and take
care of the chores, hut the first time he
bad any occasion to ask a kindness of his
next-door-neighbor in town she coldly
recommended a certain trained nurse, and
regretted that she was too busy to help.
And she was not unkind either. She
was a very busy woman with plenty to do
at home, and she feared the new people
were going to prove nuisances in the
neighborhood because they j wanted to be
fiiendly. People in towns and cities are
ever on the alert against being imposed
n non.
About this time he began to be alarmed
about his boys and try to find out how to
keep them employed while out of school.
<>n the farm there had iheen chickens to
feed, kindlings to split, wood to carry in,
paths to make and all sorts or chores to
give active exercise, but in town there
was nothing. The small back yard
would not allow chickens and a cow was
bnt of the question because there was no
1 am. Since gas Vns used for fuel no
kindlings were required and there were
no ashes to dispose of, so the boys played
or loafed all the time out of school much
to the dismay of their helpless parents.
True there were some tasks in the town
like passing bills and delivering papers,
but there took too much time from studies
and were not to bc thought of on that ac-
This Farm Will be Submerged   Under 200 Feet of Water
In tbe construction of the lioosevelt
Dam in Arizonia—the largest dam iu the
world—the United States Reclamation
Service, having in charge the building
of all the large Government irrigation
works, found it necessary to purchase an
extensive area of land which will, when
the dam is completed and water turned
into tho reservoir thus formed, be covered
with water to a depth in the deeper portions as much as 200 feet. At the present
time in the lowest part of the reservoir
site is a thriving city called Roosevelt,
with a population of nearly 2,000; a city
with electric lights, water works, school-
houses, stores and churches, which will,
upon the dam's completion be submerged.
A portion of the unused hind has proven
very valuable to tbe Government during
the past season for providing the thousands of horses used in the work with excellent pasturage. Water was turned onto this land, previously a desert waste.
Through the magic influence of the water
llierc arose a blooming garden, rich iu fer-
tili'y and yielding crops which would gladden the hearts of the most prosperous
Mississippi Valley farmer. Alfalfa in
abundance and hay and grain were produced, providing sustenance for the horses
and for the men. That this land is rich
and capable of producing bountiful yields
might be gathered from a glance at the
accompanying photograph showing a portion of Uncle Sam s new farm in the Ton-
to reservoir site.
'Ihe reservoir created by the dam will
be tie of the largest artificial lakes in the
world. Its capacity will be ten times
greater than the Croton reservoir which
supplies the city of New York with water.
It will contain more water than is stored
by the Assouan dam in Egypt. One million four hundred thousand acre-feet, or
enough water to cover that many acres a
foot deep, will be held in this basin until
needed by the farmers in the valley below.
count.
The entire family felt the change of diet
keenly but th? grown people said little
about it. The many friends, who made
the little home a stopping place when they
came to town and ate at the modest table,
concluded that the G—'s had become very
stingy since moving to town, but they
were entirely  wrong. To  havc  to  buy
every mouthful the family ate
and pay big prices for common
produce was enough to make
(both father and mother careful in their
outlay of money. In. the country they
had given away pumpkins, apples, grapes,
vegetables and fruits of all kinds, but
now they had to buy everything. Many
of tbe old neighbors who ate at their tauble
and thought they were getting stingy, did
not know the little farm had been rented
for cash rent and the owner did not get a
single article from it, or they might have
remembered to tuck in a few vegetables
ami apples on their way to visit them. An
average summer dinner with ten cents for
roasting ears, ten cents for tomatoes and
potatoes, and fifteen cents to cover all
other things was a fair sample. Thirty-
five cents per day for thirty days means
more than ten dollars out of the thirty-
eight for diner alone. Many may think
that    a   great deal,    but  with  butter    nt
twenty-two cents per pound, the mistress
of the house found it cheaper to provide
meat than to use such vegetables as sweet
potatoes ami green corn every day. Let
some housekeeper who thinks this too
large an estimate count up the price of
butter used on her table in the country
(luring the green coin season, before making rash statements.
There were other unpleasant discoveries
in the shape of extra school books, better
clothes, social demands and fuel. The
rent from tbe farm had to be drawn on to
help out, but they are hoping that when
the salary is incraesed they will know how
to expend it wisely and still hope to lay
by something for the rainy day. They
do not expect to get rich, however, nor do
they talk any more about showing some
people how to manage. If the farming
implements, the stock and butter making
utensils had not been disposed of when
tbey left the farm at aliout half what they
cost, it is quite likely they would go back,
but as it is it will take several years to get
enough money saved to start again even if
they want to bv that time.
An apple tree near Reading, Pa. has
one large apple growing upon the trunk,
without branch or twig, which is a queer
sight.
OUR INTERURBAN LINES.
Our latest Interurban Hue is the one
from Rushville to Oonnersville. It was
finished October 26th. The next line to
be opened to the public is the one from
this city to Crawfordsville, we believe,
which will be completed probably by tbe
end of the year. So rapidly  are  these
roads being constructed that the general
public can hardly keep advised of them.
It is, Indeed, one of the chief wonders of
tins wonderful age that facilities for quick
transit are multiplying at such a
rapid rate. Capital is so abundant that
any project that gives promise of paj ing
even a moderate per cent on the investment can command all that is required,
and these interurban roads have, with
few exceptions, payed handsomely from
the start. The good prices for crops and
wages have made it possible for fanners
and mechanics, and even the laboring
classes to patronize the electric cars, and
the fact that they run hourly, enabling
those so desiring to run out 30 to 50 miles,
make a visit or transact business, and return home the same day, has been a strong
temptation to thousands to tspend a little
money in travel. It has seemed for
some time that Indiana had about all the
lines of railroad that its people would support, but it is not safe to say that this is
so, when we see the crowded cars going
and coming at all hours thro our streets.
The end is not yet.
'Ibis is one of the greatest steam railroad centers in the country, but we have
almost as many interurban; lines as steam,
already, aud from present prospects will
soon have more.
EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT.
In a bulletin just from the press Mr.
I'assett A. Cotton, State Superintendent
of Public Instruction, presents a very optimistic view of the public schools in Indiana. Schools have improved iu every
way within the past three years. School
buildings are more artistic, comfortable
and canitary, and the grounds surrounding
them bespeak care and pride of thecitizeus
Parents are taking deeper interest in education. Better teachers are demanded,
and are being supplied at higher salaries.
Traveling State libraries are supplementing the regular work in- the school room,
and conditions in general are immensely
improved along the lines of educational
work.
Material prosperity of our citizen*, favorable legislation, compulsory education,
more intelligent teaching, better school organization and the newspaper were the
prime factors in bringingabout the present
encouraging status in the broad field of
education.
The improvement of the farm home and
its surroundings cannot help but have a
good effect upon the neighborhood, and in
time begets emulation upon the part of
others, so that they vie with you in beautifying their own homes. Friendly rivalry
of this kind gives a rural neighborhood a
desirable reputaton.
The Ohio State University will open a
special winter course in Agriculture, Jan.
7 to extend to March 10 1907.
Eight different subjects will be taught
in the course as follows: breeding and
feeding of live stock, breeds of live stock
nnd stock judging, soil fertility, farm
crops, farm horticulture, farm mechanics,
farm management and farm dairying.