Proceedings of the Annual Convention Volume 24 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 edition. Excerpt: ...because he could not meet them. We were forced to make them, and somehow they always seem the hardest to pay. It was like payingfor a dead horse. It is very different with the dairy farmer of to-day; he can pay those bills when made. And there is a good deal of satisfaction in that. A good many years ago I happened one day to be in the hotel in Geneva when there were quite a number of farmers present. Times were hard, crops were poor, and prices were low. Of course, they were discussing the condition of affairs. One farmer was very blue; he was completely discouraged, and he did not like Minnesota anyway. He was going to move, as soon as he could, to some place where he could at least make a decent living. There was also present an old farmer, who, years before, had come to our town with a wife and several small children, and without a dollar. By hard work and careful management he had accumulated a large fortune, such as but few farmers ever accumulate anywhere. He leaned over to me, and whispered in my ear: "The trouble with him is, he has not got anything to sell." That told thewhole story, and it was one of the best agricultural addresses that I have ever heard. I shall never forget it. It is one of the old "truths" that I shall continue to pound into my hearers. Yes, happy indeed is the farmer who always has something to sell. He and his family can go well fed and well clothed, and can enjdy many luxuries that others know not of. To them life is not a burden, but a pleasure. I said a little while ago that the successful farmer must work every day in the year, or hire a man to do the work, and on some of our farms it is necessary to hire a number of men anyway. The work cannot be done otherwise. So the hired...