VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SEPT. 14,1889.
NO. 37
Written for tbe Indiana Farmer.
Cash.
BT JOHN M. STAHL.
We farmers make a mistake in not baring more ready capital. Oar wheat and
oats are now ready to market and we can
have some ready capital if we wish; and it
will be better for ns to have this than to
bny another 40 and go in debt, or even
than to pay eff that note calling for seven
percent interest. We can make more
than seven per cent per annum ont of a
few hundred dollars cash. I believe in
getting ont of debt jast as fast as yon can
judiciously; yet I know of many farmers
who wonld make money by borrowing
two or three hundred dollars and paying
cash during the year for groceries, boots
and shoes, etc. It is wonderful how muoh
you can pay cash for when yon .have a
start of f2C0; for that money can be turned over several times during the year.
While many merchants have no credit
price and no cash price, I have always
been able to make from 15 to 25 per cent
by paying spot cash for family supplies.
The man who buys on credit not only
pays the merchant a fat rate for tbe use of
the money, but also a per eent to cover
the bad debts unavoidable in a credit business. The man who pays spot cash year
after year, can always get a reduction in
price to cover both these per cents paid by
the man. whojjn^onj.ime. If one merchant will not make such areduction, another will. I bave found some merchants
who did not want their "cash price" tome
made public, fearing that it would alienate
the trade of some {.ood credit customer.
But I have noticed that when I called for
a dollar's worth of sugar or coffee, that my
package weighed considerable more than
the package of the man who bought the
same amount and had it charged; or when
my bill was footed up, the minor items
were "thrown in." Of course I do not
publish this over the neighborhood telling the name of the merchant who gives
me an equivalent of 15 to 25 per cent because I pay cash. Very few merchants
would rather have one dollar put on their
books than 80 cents cash; for, aside from
the use of the money they are sure of the
SO cents, while a part of the dollars put on
the books is never collected.
I was talking, a few days ago, with an
agent for farm machinery whose sales are
quite large, and he said that 80 per cent of
his sales were made on time, while the
buyers would save at the rate of 20 to 40
per cent per annum by paying spot cash;
that much of the business had to be done on
time; both agent and manufacturers were
▼ery anxious to sell for cash, and would
make a heavy discount for cash; and that
they can afford to do this for when machinery was sold on time they were ont
the use of the money, got some worthless
paper in spite of all reasonable cares and
were put to considerable trouble and expense to collect the paper that was good.
I have no doubt that in other localities
farmers would save from 15 to 40 per oent
per annum by paying spot cash for farm
machinery. This is certainly better than
loaning the money at seven per cent and
perhaps losing it, or than buying more
iand.      ...
I have found, tbo, that other things being
equal, the man who always pays cash can get
abetter Class of labor than the man who is
, slow pay. Moat farm hands want their
money as fast as they have earned it and
naturally prefer to work for the man who
pays promptly.        ;
finally, while I wonld not encourage
■peculation or ad vise the farmers to get into
Bide show business, yet the man who has
a little cash to handle can make it very
productive. We can buy cheap a few animala of some man who ls "hard up," and
who finds it a favor for some one to bny of
Wm; then our friend with the ready
money can buy very cheap feed of some
other man who is hard up, and can make
a handsome profit on both feed and an
imals. And if we kept a little more cash
capital we would at least avoid being one
of those hard up fellows who muat sell
cheap.
Qainoy, 111.
Benefits of Irrigation.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
After a rather warm and dusty journey
I arrived at my home in Idaho three weeks
ago today. I will not tax yonr time and
patience with an account of trip, etc.,
though a greater nnmber of interesting
and a amusing events occurred than lever
before met with in traversing 2,000 miles
by rail. I notice accounts of persons leav.
ing Idaho for Montana on account ot
drouth. I do not think there are any from
this section, although it is extremely dry.
Dronth does not very materially affect
counties where irrigation is depended npon to the extent it is here. I wish I could
exhibit to the Farmer people the fruit
melons and vegetables delivered at onr
door by onr fruit and vegetable wagons.
A fourth of ar head of cabbage as solid and
white as could be was sufficient for a family of four for dinner today, all of us being
fond of it. Some yellow clingstone peaohes
I preserved today oould scarcely be pressed into my glass qts., they were so large.
I did not arrive in time for the early fruits
and missed the apricots, but we have a
second orop of strawberries and the blackberries last for long weeks. Prunes are
unusually large and plums also, and ln
endless variety. Nectarines are in season
now, and make preserves the color of rubies and of delicious flavor. Our immense
vegetables, fine melons and lovely fruits
axe brought to great perfection by irrigation. I notice by onr eastern papers the
Banate Committee on irrigation, is taking
their rounds in different parts of the west.
I think in some portions of Montana the
crop product of the land properly irrigated
wonld be five times as great as that land
dependent for moisture on rainfall alone.
Senator Sherman, chairman of the committee, says he has been subject to criticism for making the statement that irrigation doubled tbe orop product of the land.
I think no one properly .understanding
irrigation wonld make such a criticism.
One of my traveling companions, in my
recent journey over the Northern Pacifio
from Indiana, was an E is tern man who
has been living a part of the time for a
few years in California. The subject of
irrigation came up, and this old gentleman said: "Well I don't want no irrigation. I planted a nice garden and after it
was up and growing it turned off mighty
dry. I thought I would irrigate. So I run
ditches all throngh my vegetables and
kept the water running all the time and
the dryer it got the more water I gave the
garden, and the result was my garden
was not a success, my potatoes being
small and watery and my watermelons of
poor flavor and inferior size." I should
have like to have explained to the gentleman where he had failed in irrigating.
Potatoes and melons need little or no Irrigation. Too mnch water is almost as bad
as too little or not any. It is a subject
that requires study and experimenting,
and any one coming from the Eist to any
part of the West where irrigation is necessary will do well to take lessons in this
branch of some one having experience.
It ls now 4 o'clock p. m., and the mercury is 86° in the shade but ere 9 p. m.
the change will be snch that a heavy
covering for tbe night will be needed.
We have been having quite a good deal
of smoke, occasioned by the timber in the
mountains being on fire and at times the
immense hills near ns are scarcely discernible. For the benefit of many acquaintances anxious to know more about
the opening of the NezPerces reservation,
near us, will say this best and second
Oklahoma will not be opened for white
settlers for many months, so the government surveyor Informed me. It is very
desirable land and as our Indians are
quite peaceable and bave no Sitting Ball
or great warriors to frighten the whites
with, we anticipate a great rush when the
land is declared opened. There have been
a number of improvements here during
my year and a half But, the greatest
being a handsome court house near
enough completion to make ns quite
proud of its style of architecture. We
have only one thing to regret and that is
that along with the whistle of our steamers we cannot hear those ot the steam cars*
We almost conclude at times that Lewis-
ton will forever be exempt from railroad
privileges, simply because our influential
people consider the river facilities sufficient. L. A, B.
About Irrigation.
The preponderance of testimony points
most strongly to the fact that Montana,
north of the Bait range is agricultural
without irrigation, at least that part along
the Milk river valley and along the slope
of the Bear Paw mountains. The affinal
government records for ten years Indicate
a mnch more copious rainfall than In any
other part of Montana, while in this dry-
est of dry years, when grass is so short on
our ranges that grave fears are felt for our
cattle interests the coming winter, we notice that copious, almost torrential rains,
have fallen along the Milk river, and not
only grass is green and luxuriant bnt the
new settlers' crops surviving the June
drouth promise not only a fair but in some
oases a very large yield, and that without
irrigation. In considering the question of
rainfall and grain production not by tbe arbitrary political division of the oountry bnt
rather the physical differences caused by
elevation and latitude, let us not suppose
because southern and western Montana
require irrigation for the successful maturing of crops that it necessarily follows
that the Milk river valley up near the
British line requires it too. Montana is
an empire In area and lt is quite possible,
and in fact extremely probable, that there
are marked differences both in tempera
tnre and rainfall within its limits. Who
would suppose that wheat and oats arsi'
aging five feet ten inches in height were
grown near Chinook the present season,
and yet such is the fact. Therefore, brother
editors, let ns not condemn before we in
vestigate. With the Milk river valley
waving with golden grain for 200 miles in
length and six to ten miles in width, Montana will have added another gem to her
golden crown of prosperity.—Anaoonda
Review (Montana).
■ * ■	
Christian Conference.
Edltora Indiana Farmer.
In view of the urgent need for wise and
well directed effort by all churches and
Christian agencies to reach with the Gos
pel invitation, and to evangelize, the peo
pie of the city and country who at present
do not come to the churches, we invite
ministers and members of the evangelical
churches in the West, to meet in Chicago,
at Chicago Ave. Church, corner La Salle
and Chicago Aves., Sspt. 26 to Oat. 6*, for
the purpose of considering practical methods of Christian work, and discussing
some of the great questions now uppermost in the publio mind, touching the
evangelization of the masses, the reclamation of the fallen, the reformation of the
intemperate, the relief of the poor, and
the elevation of the unfortunate. Churches
are invited and urged to send pastor and
delegate to this convention, as it is one
that concerns all churches. Among the
speakers from abroad are Rsv. J. Munroe
Gibson, D. D., Rsv. A. T. Pierson, D. !>.,
Francis Murphy and son, Miss F. E. [Willard, and others.  Mr. D, L, Moody will
preside at the Convention and Ira I).
Sankey and Prof. H. H. McGranahan will
conduct the Blnglng.
F. G. Ensino, Seo'y,
154 Madison St. Chicago.
F. M. B. A.
Editors Indiana Farmer;
I notice an artlole in the Fabmeb of August 31st, oopied from another paper, in
whioh it states that the Farmers' Mutual
Benefit Association cr-azs is becoming
quite prevalent. Said article makes mention of the F. M. B A., In diflerent parts
of the country, making contracts with
merchants for dry goods and groceries at
a reduced prloe for spot cash. Said article
also tries to make lt appear that the movement by the farmers is looked upon with
muoh disfavor and that the people in general look upon It as an attempt to organize
a g'gin tic Farmers' Trust. I fail to see
why this and other papers single out the
farmers and make a target of them, when
there Is a trust on every thing that the
farmer consumes, and the same papers,
themselves, combine and purchase their
material direct from manufacturers in
every instance they can and leave the
middle man, as they call him, out entirely.
"Consistency, thou art a jswel."
The F. M. B. A. and all other labor organizations expect to hear great lamentations from those averse to their being organized. The monopolies and trusts will
in the nearf ature learn that the laborers
and producers of this country have the
power to correct all irregularities at the
ballot box. They have trusted politicians
to legislate for them, snd get left every
time. I for one am truly glad that the
farmers and laborers are awakening to
their interest, and urge them to boldly go
to the ballot box with a full determination to put a stop to monopoly and trust
legislation.    . T. J. R.
Gibson Co.
Wheat S.-owira' C o_t*7-union.
The Farmers' Federation in convention
assembled at Topeka, Kansas, August 14,
1889, unanimously adopted resolutions
calling for a convention of wheat growers
of the Mississippi valley, to meet at St.
Louis, on Wednesday, the 231 of October,
1889, for the purpose of discussing measures for relief, and to form a wheat growers' association.
Tho apportionment of representatives
of said convention to be one delegate from
each county in the respective States and
territories In the Mississippi valley, and
any farmer in the United Btates or Territories who has grown 500 or more bushels
of wheat the past year, may be admitted
as a delegate to said convention, also, all
editors of the agricultural press of the
United States shall bo entitled to seats in
said convention. Waj".tfb N. Am,!*-*,
President of Farmers' Federation.
J. P. Limbtjbneb, Secretary.
The Farmers' Federation of the Mississippi Valley is a close corporation of three
directors, with centralized business power
in the hands of a president, and an executive board composed of heads of departments.
Harvest Excursions,
Editor! Indiana Farmer:
I was mnch interested in the articles of
Dr. B. T. Brown, in yonr paper, on his
trip to Montana and the Milk river valley
country last June, and want to go ont on
one of the Harvest Excursions and see the
country. Can yon tell me if I can buy
the low rate tickets for September 24 th or
October 8th at any ticket offlce here in
Indiana. Q, __,, Sloane.
Delaware Co.
—Yes, any coupon office has the Harvest Excursion tickets to all parts of tbe
West and Northwest—Eds.
 . * » —
Thursday of this week was the centennial anniversary of the formation of the
War Department,