tSiS Ow#»'^ ^B-V^^V ®1t^ Iniu^rBttii nf fHtnu^anta CURRENT PROBLEMS NUMBER 4 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY OF A COMMUNITY IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY BY LOUIS DWIGHT HARVELL WELD, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Economics, Chief of the J)ivision of Research in Agricultural Economics! P MINNEAPOLIS Published by the University of Minnesota January 1915 So ;2^ Copyright 1915 The Uxiversity of Minnesota \ ///^ PREFACE In selecting localities for the social and economic surveys conducted by the Division of Research in Agricultural Economics of the University of Minnesota, it has been the object to choose communities that are typical of ditierent sections of the State. The first, published in 1913, covered a township in southeastern Minnesota which is representative of those regions where diversified farming and dairying have reached a fairly high state of development. The community selected for this survey is in the Red River \'aliey, near Crookston, and is typical of the large-farm, grain-growing s ection of ^Minnesota . The farming community covered does not represent the very Ijest section of the valley ; better-kept farms and more fertile soil are to be found nearer the river itself, and on the Dakota side. The sec- tion covered in the survey includes not only land with rich "gumbo" soil, but also sandy land where farming has not developed to so high a point. On the whole this community is typical of the average Red River Valley community in that it stands midway between the most highly developed parts of the valley and the poorer parts. This survey and the one taken simultaneously in the "cut-over" potato section in eastern Minnesota, difi^er from that previously described in that an attempt has been made to include both a farming and a village com- munity instead of a farming community alone. A village has been selected as the center of economic activities, and the territory covered is that which is tributary to the village, that is, the territory which uses the village both as a shipping point and as a place in which to buy supplies and professional services. In this way it has been intended not only to bring out a com- parison between life on the farm and life in a small Minnesota village, but also to bring out the economic dependence of the one on the other In this siu-vey it was found that the differentiation between village life and farm life had developed to so great an extent that the two are treated separately in the presentation of the data. In the eastern Minnesota sur- vey, on the other hand, the village life and farm life are carried along together. The object of th ese surveys is to subject to statistical measurement certain rural social ami eco nomic fo rc es m order to furnish more exact d^ta_ aj a foundation for constructive programs of rural betterment. No attempt is made in the presentation of these reports to offer such construct- ive programs, principally because the data obtained are confined to such restricted localities that it would be dangerous to make broad g enexalizations. It is hoped, however, that as these studies continue, and comparisons of iv PREFACE conditions in different communities are tlitis made possible, certain funda- mental facts will gradually unfold, with the result that sane and definite methods of procedure may be evolved. In the meantime it is also hoped that the facts set forth will not only prove suggestive to those who are studying the rural-life problem, but that these facts m ay also furnish defi nite evi dence, either corroborative or adverse, as to the wisdo m of policiesan(l theories that they may be adv-D catin g ^ This series of surveys was originally planned by Mr. C. A\'. Thompson, formerly Director of the Bureau of Research in Agricultural Economics, University of ^Minnesota, but since June. 1913, with the Rural Organiza- tion Service. The preliminary arrangements for this survey and the de- tailed planning of the schedules and methods of procedure were perfected by Mr. Thompson before his resignation from the University of Minnesota. It should also be stated that Mr. Thompson has given generously of his time in reading manuscript and in giving valuable counsel throughout the preparation of this report. The field work was performed during the sum- -^^^^^xCt '• .^X^ I mer of 1913 by the author, assisted by Mr. C. A. Halverson. The able \~3=^ assistance of Miss Olga x^xness in working up the statistical results from field notes is gratefully acknowledged. L. D. H. Weld, Chief of Division \^ CONTENTS Page Chapter I. Historical Sketch and General Conditions 1 Chapter 11. How the Farming Community Lives 24 Chapter HI. Marketing of Farm Products 36 Chapter IV. The Stores and Industries of the Village 52 Chapter V. How the Village People Live 71 Summary 84 u u SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY OF A COMMUNITY IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER I HISTORICAL SKETCH AND GENERAL COXDITIOXS Scientists tell us that following the glacial period as the ice melted and retreated toward the north, what is now the Red River \'alley was the southern arm of Lake Agassiz, whose surplus water flowed south through Bigstone Lake and the Minnesota River into the Mississippi. This arm of the lake averaged about forty miles in breadth, and, as the ice dam to the north gradually receded, the water in the lake fell. The heavy gravel and sand were deposited on a series of beache< which represent the levels The Prairie ; Timber along Stream in Distance at which the water stood at ditlerent periods. The huer materials, silt and clay, were deposited in the deeper waters. As time went on the level of the lake became lower than the southern outlet and water began to flow north- ward. Finally, with the disappearance of the ice, the lake became dry, leav- ing only the Red River of the North with its tributaries flowing into Lake Winnipeg, a representative of the early Lake Agassiz, anrl hnallv emptving into Hudson Bay. The community studied in this survey is located on land pre^•iouslv covered by this pre-glacial lake, and extends to within about seven miles ■^ 2 L. D. H. WELD of the Red River. The country is exceedingly flat, the vision heing broken only by timber along the streams, or that planted for windbreaks on the prairie farms. The gradual recessions of the lake explain the soil condi- tions in this community. In most of the territory covered the soil is a rich, dark, heavy, loam, or "gumbo"; on the east the soil gradually becomes sandy as a low-lying ridge is approached which formed one of the beaches of the early lake. Two tributaries of the Red River, the Marsh and the Wild Rice rivers, flow through the district as shown on the frontispiece map. The Marsh River is a small and rather unimportant stream ; the Wild Rice River is a larger river, having its source among the lakes and swamps from eighty to a hundred miles east of the Red River. The beds of both streams are but little below the level of the prairie, and consequently easily over- flow their banks, oftentimes causing floods which cover a considerable part of the territory studied. The Red River Valley was included in the grant to the Hudson's Bay Company when it was formed in 1670.^ During the eighteenth and a large part of the nineteenth century the fur trade was predominant tlirough all this northern country. It was not until 1800 that permanent settlers ap- peared and cultivated the soil, notably those whom Lork Selkirk brought from Scotland and northern Ireland in 1811. The present boundary between Canada and the United States was not fixed until 1818, and at that time many of the original settlement moved north of the boundary into Canada. Although the fur trade continued to be the most important source of liveli- hood, farming was carried on to a greater or less degree, increasing gradu- ally during the first half of the nineteenth century. The market for farm products, which consisted largely of vegetables, was toward the north, where the Hudson's Bay Company required large quantities of supplies. By the early fifties trade began to grow up between this section and southeastern Minnesota, which had just begun to be populated. Cartloads of furs were hauled five hundred miles across country to St. Paul to be ex- changed for manufactured articles. In 1857 the Hudson's Bay Company began bringing supplies to Canada in boats by w^ay of the Minnesota River and the Red River of the North, thus augmenting this trade. It is said that there were six thousand carts in use in this traffic by 1858. In 1850 a stagecoach began to operate between the head of navigation and St. Cloud, which was reached by boat from St. Paul. In this same year the first steamer made its ap]:)earance on the river. Previous to 1881 Norman County, which includes the territory surveyed, was a part of Polk County. In 1860 the Federal Census showed that Polk County had 2,100 acres of land in farms, of which 400 were improved. The principal crops as meas- ured by the number of bushels in order of their importance were corn ( !), ' The historical data herein contained were taken largely from TItc Economic TJistorx of the Red River Valley hv T. I.. Coulter. COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 3 potatoes, oats, wheat, and rye. It was also reported that small quantities of butter, cheese, tobacco, maple sugar, l)arley, hay, and slaughtered ani- mals were produced. During the Civil War Indian massacres occurred in the Red River \'al- ley ; the steamboats stopped running; the stagecoach was attacked and looted ; agriculture was abandoned ; and the settlements were practically de- serted. It was not until after the Civil War that settlers again began to come into the Red River Valley, the westward movement of population in the United States reaching this section about 1870. Railroad-building began in Minnesota during the War; by 1867 the St. Faul and Pacific Railroad was built to St. Cloud and in 1871 it was pushed through to Breckenridge. thus connecting St. Paul with the head of Unbroken Prairie Held by Speculators. Farmers Purcbase tbe Rigbt to Cut Hay navigation on the Red River. Stagecoaches ran north and south through the valley to Winnipeg, and steamer traffic increased. In 1871 the North- ern Pacific was finished across the State from Duluth to "Moorhead. only thirty miles south of the locality studied in this survey. In 1870 there were only 2,206 whites in the Red River Valley south of the international boundary. The census returns for that year showed that agriculture was making inroads on the fur business, and that a diversified system of farming was being developed in the valley. It is curious to note that for the first few years of active settlement diversified farming was the rule. The reasons assigned for this by J. L. Coulter in his Econonnc History of the Red River Vallev were that railroad rates were too high to get grain to market and to bring supplies from distant markets, and that the ravages of grasshoppers discouraged grain culture. The grass- 4 L. D. H. WELD hoppers came in large numbers during the early seventies and all possible attempts were made to eradicate this pest. Finally in 1877 they suddenly disappeared and have never come again in numbers large enough to do any considerable harm. This period of diversified agrictdture lasted until about 1876. Then came the one-crop system and the bonanza farms for which the Red River X'alley is famous. The Dalrymple farms on the Dakota side were first cultivated in 1876. The Grandin and others were started soon after. Although the region surrounding Ada was never included in any of these immense farms, one of the Grandin farms is only about fifteen miles to the west. The fame of these bonanza farms quickly spread, caus- ing an influx of settlers and a mania for large farms and grain culture. The bonanza farm, however, was the exception ; there were comparatively few that ran over two or three thousand acres apiece. The land in the particular district covered by the survey was taken up by comparatively small farmers, although a farm of five hundred acres in those days was not considered a large farm. Railroad Development In 1872 there were three steamers and six barges on the river. In that year tracks were first laid northward through the valley from Glyndon on the Northern Pacific through Ada, and to a point north of Crookston on the Red Lake River. A few trains were run this first season, but the road was closed for the winter. A flat car with masts and sails was constructed by the settlers, who thereby transported such necessaries as they needed. Trains continued to be run only in summer for four or five years, the panic of 1873 retarding railroad operations, but not appreciably retarding the incoming of settlers. By 1878 the St. Paul and Pacific was continued northward to the Cana- dian boundary, meeting the Canadian Pacific at that point. Winnipeg was now connected by railroad with Minneapolis and St. Paul. The day of the stage-coach and the river steamer was over. Mr. J. J. Hill had been engaged in the river traffic since 1871. In 1879 he reorganized the north and south line under the name of St. Paul, Minnea])olis, and Manitoba Railway, and began to develop the system which later became the Great Northern. In that year through connec- tion was made to Minnea])()lis and St. Paul via Fergus Falls. Ftirther railroad developments that ])artictilarly affected the district with which we are concerned were the building in 188.vl884 of a branch line north from Moorlicad along ilie river to Halstad only fourteen mik> west of Ada. I'^inally another north and south line, now the Northern Pacific, was built fourteen miles east of Ada in 1886. The building of these two lines on the west and east respectively reduced the territory tribu- COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 5 tary to Ada, which has never become the important city that the early settlers hoped. For many years they thought that an east and west line would make the town a junction point, and frequent rumors to this effect persisted even until the early nineties. No such road has ever materialized, however, and the village remains the shipping and supply point of a farm- ing community which is more or less restricted in area, due to the presence of railroads fourteen miles away on either side. General Agriculti'ral Conditions The principal facts with regard to the general organization of agri- culture and the changes that have taken place since 1890 are shown in the tables below, wdiich are compiled from United States census returns for Norman County, in which county the community under consideration is located. For comparative purposes the figures for 1910 include also Mahno- men Countv, which was formed from a part of Norman County in I'^Oi'). TABLE I General Agricultural Statistics of Norman County for 1890, 1900, and 1910 (including Mahnomen County for 1910) 1890 1900 1910 Number of farms 1,698 323,191 190 182,628 56.5 $3,320,280 $10.27 1,938 428,985 221 316,597 73.8 $6,882,260 $16.04 $1,120,750 $456,750 $236 $1,155,870 1,901 Land in farms (acres) Average number of acres per farm Improved land in farms (acres) Percentage of land improved Value of land and improvements Value per acre of land m farms 460,529 242 338,901 73.6 $17,605,282 $38.23 Value of buildings $2,631,554 Value of implements and machinery Value of machinery per farm Value of live stock $261,390 $154 $751,490 $681,664 $359 $1,936,748 The average size of farms in the county has been increasing, while the actual number of farms has decreased between 1900 and 1910. The aver- age size of farms included in the survey is 291.2 acres, or .^0 acres larger than the average for the county. Eighteen of the 201 farms visited have 500 acres or more, and one has 1,000 acres. Many of the farmers are "land crazy," and seem to have an ambition to add to their acreage. The value of land and improvements in the county has increased from an average of $10.27 per acre in 1890 to $38.23 in 1910. The value of land in farms covered by this survey in 1913 ranged from $40 to $60 or $70 per acre, with an approximate average of $50 per acre. Improved land constitutes 70.2 per cent of the area of the farms visited. It will be no- ticed from the census figures in the table above that the total value of 6 L. D. H. WELD buildings and the value of buildings per farm in this county more than doubled between 1900 and 1910. Crops Changes that have taken place in agricultural methods are indicated by the following tables which show the principal crops and the condition of the live-stock industry in Xorman County for the last three decennial census years. TABLE II Principal Crops of Norm ax County 1889, 1899, and 1909 (inxludixg Mahxomen County for 1909) 1889 1899 1909 Acres Bushels Acres Bushels Acres Bushels Barley Corn.' Oats Rye Wheat 3,691 143 23,438 56 107,415 903 56,051 2,544 315,403 530 1,233,249 71,159 8,781 450 31,676 150 137,419 858 202,820 12,790 754,550 2,120 1,459,030 96,881 33,348 2,359 55,814 2,919 84,885 1,514 707,779 66,950 1,417,324 48,727 1,265,739 Potatoes 165,118 Hay and forage .... Acres 52,876 Tons 29,713 Acres 59,941 Tons 62,740 Acres 72,704 Tons 72,006 TABLE III Principal Animals on Farms in Xorman County 1890. 1900. and 1910 (including Mahnomf.n County for 1910) 1890 1900 1910 Working oxen Milch cows Other cattle 1,089 7,208 9,328 8,972 12,736 13,101 15,513 Total cattle 17,625 21,708 28,614 Horses Sheep Swine 5,987 4,908 4,129 41,771 11,350 6,129 6,777 69,443 11,009 6,225 6,173 Poultry (all kinds) 106,234 The most prominent fcatiu'es of the agricultural methods of this com- munity are the dependence on grain-farming and the relative backwardness of the live-stock and dairy industry. Wheat is the most important crop l)Oth in acreage and in value, though oats exceeded wheat in 1909 in number of bushels produced. Comparison with earlier years indicates that the COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 7 acreage devoted to wheat has fallen off substantially, and that other field crops, notably barley and oats, have largely taken its place. Corn is raised to only a small extent, although the acreage for the county in 1909 was a great deal larger than in 1S99, and the figures ob- tained during the siu'vey indicate that corn-growing has increased very rapidly since 1909. In fact the total number of acres planted to corn in 1913 by the 201 farmers visited was 2,463, an amount actually larger than the acreage for the whole county in 1909, according to the census figures. This phenomenal increase is due to three causes : first, a decided agitation for the production of more corn that is sweeping through the Red River \'alley ; second, the i nfluence of the agricultural instructor in the local high school ; and, third, the need of cultivated cr ojxs to kill oft" noxious weeds that infest the land. Of the 201 farms visited there were 146, or The Only Silo in the Community Covered by the Survey 72.6 per cent, that reported some corn. The average acreage of corn for these 146 farms was 16.9. There were two farms with 60 acres each planted in 1913 ; one with 50 acres ; two with 45 acres ; and six with 40 acres. There were a great many who had planted only from 5 to 10 acres, appar- ently with the idea of trying it as an experiment. Judging from the general sentiment, the farmers will undoubtedly increase their acreage rapidly in the future. There was but one farm of all those visited t hat ha d a silo , and this had just been built. There are numerous other farmers, however, that are contemplating the liuilding of silos in the near future. Potato-growing has not become important in this section, although the census figures show that it is increasing. Of course prac*^ically all families raise potatoes for their own consumption, and a few raise more than they need in order to trade them at the stores in the village ; but not more than seven or eight farmers among those visited really raise them 8 L. D. H. WELD cJ^^ on a commercial basis. Two of these had 85 acres apiece in 1913; the rest had less than 30 acres apiece. Cropping Systems It has already been pointed out from the census figures that there has been a decided decrease in the acreage devoted to wheat since 1899 . and that barley and oats have been largely substituted in its place. This change has been helpful in reducing the competition of crop s for the farmer's labor during the rush seasons, as well as in cutting down the risk due to certain plant diseases, but it has not helped to build up or maintain the productivitv of the soil, for all of these crops remove about the same kind and amount of soil fertility and leave the soil in the same ])hysical condition. The straw has been burned after threshing, and even the stubbles have met with a similar fate ; as a result the vegetable matter has been depleted to such an extent that much of the soil is in very poor physical condition. At present many farmers allow their straw piles to decay and then spread them back on the fields, but even now the frequent bonfires ilkiminating the heavens at night indicate that there still remain some who have no adecjuate conception of what conservation of soil fer- tility means. Along with the depletion of vegetable matter has gone a decrease in the nitrogen content. Little has been done in the way of growing legtimi - nous crops to counteract this decrease. There is a common belief among many of the farmers that clover or alfalfa will not grow in the Red River Valley on accotmt of the severe winters. The snowfall is often meager, and the stormy winds, sweeping over the flat fields, pile much of the snow up along the roads and fences, leaving the fields unprotected against the heavv frosts. Several small fields with good stands of clover were fotmd. however, and a number of successful alfalfa plots had been recently started, some of them through the efiforts of the agricultu ral dej3artiii£nt_of__the highschool. It seems, therefore, that clover and alfalfa are destined to play an nnportant role in the cropping systems of the future. Indeed, it is diflicult to see how the community can continue to prosper without tliem. But it will ref]uire persistent effort and more hearty cooperation l)etween landlord and tenant to establish firmly these leguminous crops. Tenants who have only a one-year lease do not spend money and effort 'on enter])rises. the benefits of whicli are likely to be reaped by someone nelse. Landlords must show more liberality in the way of inducements be- fore their tenants will grow those crops which, while they may bring in a smaller immediate return, will increase the ])roducing capacity of the soil. Under present unsettled conditions, when land changes hands so fre- (luently, progress in this direction can not l)e expected to be very rapid, l)Ut some landlords are showing an interest in this ])rol)k'ni. COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 9 Corn is undoubtedly the crop that is growing most rapidly in favor. Farmers coming in from Iowa, Illinois, and southern Minnesota have given a great impetus to corn culture. Many landlord s residing in the sections just named, but owning land in the territory covered by this survey, ^ffer diejr teiTantsth e free use of la nd^de voted to corn, stipulating of course that the ground must be kept free from weeds. They iind it profitable to do this because, as a rule, land on wdiich corn has been grown will yield much better the next year. This is due to the fact that thorough cultivation kills many of the weeds, and also aerates the soil and puts it in better condition for the crops that follow. Much of the land included in the survey is badly inf e.st'"''! ^^''-^^^ ^ypprl^^^ The most troublesome annual weeds are wild oa ts and kinghea d. Quack grass and Ca.n ada thistle are the two most troublesome perennial weeds, but neither of these is as prevalent as wild oats and kinghead. Some fields sown to small grain were found in which the wild oats had absolute con- trol. Conditions in this respect would be improved if more cultivated crops and less small grain were grown. Live Stock That mixed farming is slowly developing is shown by the increase in cattle. The number of dairy cows in the county increased 46 per cent between 1900 and 1910, and the number of other cattle, 21.8 per cent. And yet the average number of dairy cows per farm on the farms visited (luring the survey is only -£9, while for the state of Minnesota as a whole it was 6.9 in 1909. Sheep- and hog-raising are only holding their own. Ten per cent of the farms reported sheep, with an average of twelve per farm. One hundred and thirty-eight farms, or only 68.6 per cent of all those visited, reported mature hogs. This represents approximately the number that breed hogs, and these farms had an average of 3.2 mature hogs apiece. Many families buy pigs to raise during the summer and fall, and slaughter them for their own consumption during the winter and spring. Poultry-raising is increasing rapidly, but very little attention is paid either to breeding or to proper housing. Comparatively little attention has been given to breeding. Eighty-nine farms, or 44.2 per cent, keep l)ulls, of wdiich eighteen are claimed to be of pure blood. The l)ulls may be classified as follows: Pure-bred I lolstein 6 Pure-bred Hereford 5 Pure-bred Short Horn 3 Pure-bred Red Poll 2 Pure-bred Angus 1 Pure-bred Jersey 1 10 L. D. H. WELD Grade Holstein 2 Grade Jersey 2 Grade Short Horn and scrub 67 Total 89 The prevaihng stock is Short Horn. Some of the grade Short Horn bulls are of very good quality, but most of them are of the scrub variety. The dual pur po se i^ lea_is predominant ; the few who have gone into pure- bred stock are about evenly divided between dairy and beef types. A very excellent herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, just imported, re])resents the most noticeable effort toward live-stock improvement found in the community. Farm Machinery The use of farm machinery is of special interest in this section be- cause it is on the flat prairies of the Red River Valley that the highest Threshing Scene development in the use of farm machinery has ])een reached. This com- munity oft'ers little of interest, however, in the historical develojimcnl of farm machinery because most of the important inventions came about be- fore this part of the State was settled. This is true of the steam threshing outfit and the binder. At present only three of the farmers visited own their own tlireshing machines. Men in the village own machines and go COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 11 about from farm to farm durini^ tlie harvesting season. The farmers help each other during liarvesting, thus offering an interesting example of in- formal cooperation. That the ownership and use of farm machinery are increasing is evident from the fact that the value of implements and ma- chinery per farm in the whole county increased from $236 in 1900 to $359 in 1910. (See Table I.) Most of the farmers plow with horses. In the early days oxen were commonly used. Many of the original settlers drove into the country with oxen ; some sold their oxen to settlers who were going farther west. Oxen gradually disappeared, although there were 1,089 reported in the county as late as 1890. One farmer included in this survey still does his farm work with oxen and even hauls his grain to market with them. The reason he gave was that oxen furnish cheaper power than horses. Tie had moved These Plows are Coming into Common Use in a few years before from the cut-over section of northern Minnesota. In recent years traction engines have been displacing horses in plowing, and gang plows which turn from eight to twelve furrows are in use. Out of the 201 farms visited, 15, or 7 .S per cent, have tractors of their own . Eight of these are steam tractors, and seven are gasoline. Other farmers hire tractors for their plowing . Gasoline tractors are commonly used for plownng, while the steam tractors are mostly used for threshing. As for other machinery, practicallv all farmers own binders . Those most commonly used in the community are seven- or eight-foot cuts, pulled by four horses. Only a few farmers were found using the l)ig twelve-foot binders, with the power applied behind instead of in front. The users of 12 L. I). H. WELD I these big jjusli hinders \vere enthusiastic over the results they were obtain- ing, one man claiming he could cut as much grain a day alone with six horses as two men with eight horses could harvest using the seven-foot binders. While this proportion possibly would not hold as an average, there can be little doubt that the big machines economize manual labor appre- ciably. ( )ne third of those visited own manure spreaders , and this is a recent develoi)ment. The number of acres over which manure had been spread din"ing the season 1912-1913 averaged 13.7 for all farms included in the survey. Nineteen per cent of all farmers visited have forges and do a substantial part of their own blacksmithing. Most of the farms have cream separators ; whole milk is not taken to the creamery at all. Nationalities ok Heads of Families Percentage of Total Norwegian 47.8% German 26.7' American 13.7% All others 11.8' NaTIOiXALITY The nationality of this community is j 2J."'-"'^""^i"'^i"'tlv Scandinaviam The census figures show that the population for the whole county in which this community is located was 13,446 in 1910; that 11.7 per cent were native- born of native parents ; that 60 j^er cent were native-born of foreign or mixed parentage; and that 28.3 per cent were foreign-born. Of the foreign- born 77. 32 L. D. H. WELD per cent of the families are members of such societies, and they each at- tend on the average about eleven meetings a year. Twenty-three per cent of the families had children in Sunday schools, and 19 per cent in young peoples' societies. An attempt was made to obtain a statistical measure of the amount of informal visiting among farmers. Seventy-five per cent of the families reported that they visited to a certain extent during the winter evenings, and it appeared that they averaged perhaps three or four such visits a month during the winter. Eighty-five per cent of the families reported that they visited other farmers on Sundays and they averaged better than once a month. About one fourth of those who visit apparently confine their visits principally to relatives. 1007o Local weekly paper 84% Agricultural papers 767o City daily papers 43% Religious papers 35% Cheap magazines 34% (35 cents per year or less) First-class magazines 22% Diagram Showing Percentage of Families Reached by Various Kinds of Reading Material Ninety-two per cent of the families report that they do more or less reading. In other words, there were found 16 families out of 201 that said they read practically none at all. The following table gives an idea of the kinds of papers and magazines taken regularly by farmers : Per Cent Average Number of Families per Family Local weekly paper 84 1 Agricultural papers 76 2 City daily papers 43 1 Religious papers 35 1.5 Cheap magazines i^Zb cents per year or less) ... 34 1.8 First-class magazines • 22 1.9 In addition to the above, about half the families took weekly papers from other communities, either where they had previously lived, or where sons COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 33 and daughters and other relatives were located. Thirty-five per cent of the farmers said that they received and read agricultural bulletins issued either by the Federal Government or by the State. In a few cases only the chil- dren read the farm papers and station bulletins. Fifty-two per cent of the farms had some kind of music in the house. The musical instruments most commonly found were as follows : Percentage of Homes Organ ZZ Violin 26 Phonograph 24 Piano 6 The country people do not mingle socially with the village people to any extent. Farmers feel that the village..people are "snobbish" ; many ex- pressed this thought by saying, "We are not good enough for them." Farmers attend very few entertainments in the village. Members of 48 per cent of the families had attended moving picture shows during the pre- vious year, but such attendance had been very infrequent except in the case of a few families living near town. In 14 per cent of the families par- ents had attended one or more shows or theatrical performances, and in 20 per cent the young people of the family had attended such performances. Nineteen per cent had been represented at band concerts, and 9 per cent at other musical concerts. The number of shows and concerts in the vil- lage is extremely limited, however, and the Lyceum Course ofters about the only desirable attraction. A farmers' short course, held in the village, had been attended by 55 per cent of the farmers. The farm people seldom leave the community to visit cities or other localities ; there are no large cities near enough to make such trips pos- sible or worth while. Occasionally they go to Fargo or Crookston. Only sixteen farmers were found who had ever attended the State Fair at the Twin Cities, and in seventeen cases young people of the family had attended the Fair. The State Fair has always come too early in September for the farmers of northern Minnesota. The local county fair is always held in the village about the first of October, and the farmers attend this in large numbers. The ^erage distance to town from the farms visited is 5.1 miles. Eight miles is about the greatest distance that farmers have to travel to market in this region. The average number of trips to town was 6.3 per month per family. This of course varies with nearness to town and wdth different seasons of the year. The regular trips of those who haul cream to the creamery raise the average. The proportions of all farmers having different kinds of vehicles appear in the following table: L. D. H. J VELD Per Cent of All Fanners Wide-tired wagon 84 Single buggy 77 Double-seated buggy 34 Surrey 21 Automobile 6 Tbere were twelve farmers found, or 6 per cent of tlic lotal. wlio owned automobiles. Most of the farmers used work horses for driving, although 16 per cent kept special driving teams. Farmers^ Economic Organizations The organizations that the fanners of this section are interested in are the creameries, an insurance company, telephone companies, farmers' ele- vator, and Farmers' Club. The extent to which the 201 farmers visited belong to these organizations appears in the following statement: Per Cent Creameries 27 Insurance 32 Telephone 19 Elevator 10 Farmers' Club 23 The principal creamery is at Ada. (See chapter on Marketing of Farm Products.) There is also a creamery northeast of the town on the very edge of the section covered by the survey ; and also one five mile-: south- east of Ada which is no longer operating. The Ada creamery is a small one, and it will appear in the chapter on Marketing that a surprisingly small proportion of the cream produced is hauled there. There is a highly suc- cessful mutual insurance company which covers this territory, and there are three cooperative telephone lines. The "Farmers' Elevator" does not really belong to the farmers, although there are still a few who hold stock in it. (See chapter on Marketing.) Cooperation has not ])rogressed very far, although there were only six farmers who said the\' had no faith in coop- eration. With regard to insurance, practically half of the farms are insured against fire, with an average of $2,137 i)er farm. Only 15 per cent of the farmers carry life insurance, with an average of $3,708 apiece.^ There is opposition to life insurance especially on the part of the Norwegian Luth- erans. It was said that a country jiastor had recently refused to officiate ' Of the few who carry life insurance, llurc were only two who had over $3,000. One of these had $9,000, a fact which accounts for tin- high average. COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 35 at the funeral of one of his parishioners because it was found that he had insurance in a fraternal order, and that a preacher from another denom- ination had to be called from the village. It was undoubtedly the member- ship in a fraternal order that this pastor objected to principally, because the opposition to insurance per se, although still noticeable, is gradually dy- ing out. Twenty-eight families, or 14 per cent of all visited, had members who belonged to lodges, but there were only nine men and three women who actually attended lodge meetings in the village, ^vlost of the others were members merely for the sake of carrying insurance. "" Shortly before the survey was made, a Farmers' Club had been formed through the etlorts of the instructor in agriculture in the high school. Twen--' y-three per cent of the farmers visited were members of this club, and the outlook appeared bright for a successful and permanent organization. Meet- ings were held in the village, and a well-attended picnic was held during the summer. At this picnic the farmers' families came shortly before noon, had their lunch immediately, listened to a few speeches and some music by the "juvenile" Ijand from the village, and then dispersed. Although thor- oughly successful, the picnic would proljably have been of more value had the farmers had the disposition and taken the time to play games and do more general visiting. CHAPTER III MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS The following table shows the approximate values of the principal farm products marketed at or through Ada in 1912: $0.78 $99,000 Wheat ■ Amount Average Price Total Value Elevators 77.000 bu. ' Flour mil! 50,000 bu. Flax 20,000 bu. ' 1.23 24,600 Rye 26,500 bu. .47 12,450 Barley 90,000 bu. .35 31,500 Oats 125,000 bu. .25 31,250 Live stock 64,400 Cream : Sold to creamery 177,000 lbs. 12,820 Shipped 13,900 lbs. 1,000 Butter ( farm-made) 25,000 lbs. 5,000 Poultry 6,000 Eggs .184 12,000 Potatoes 4,000 Flax straw 2,625 Miscellaneous (hides, wool, vege- tables, bacon, etc.) 5,000 $311,645 The total value of farm products marketed at Ada was a little over $300,000 in 1912, most of which was shipped to outside markets. This list does not include products consumed on the farm. Fairly exact figures were obtained for some products in the table above ; for others estimates are given. The Markrtixg of Grain Grains constitute over two thirds of the marketed crops ; in earlier days the proportion was of course larger. The problems connected with grain- marketing may hence be deemed the most important. As railroads were built through the wheat-growing sections, warehouse or elevator facilities were generally provided with but little delay. At least as early as 1877 there w^as a warehouse at Ada for grain and seeds. By 1880 large quantities of grain were being marketed at this point. In 1883 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 37 the local paper said that "Ada is already the leading primary wheat mar- ket in northern Minnesota, receiving last year from teams over 400,000 bushels of wheat." This, if correct, was more than three times as much wheat as was marketed in 1912. At first, the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, passing through Ada, tapped a wide territory. Farmers brought their grain from points even twenty and thirty miles away — from what is now Mahnomen County on the east, and from points in Dakota beyond the Red River on the west, at least during the winter when the river was closed for navigation. Early settlers can remember the long processions of farmers' wagons, drawn largely by oxen and stretching far out over the prairies, bringing wheat to the Ada elevators, where they would often have to wait in long lines, even over night sometimes, in order to unload. The Grain Elevators of the Village In spite of the opening of the railroad along the Red River fourteen miles west of Ada in 1883, thus lopping off a large part of the tributary territory, the shipments of wheat continued unabated, and were estimated at nearly 500,000 bushels in that year, ^^4thin the next two or three years a number of circumstances conspired to detract from the importance of Ada as a shipping point. The first severe flood was experienced in 1885, destroying a large part of the crop. In 1886 the present Northern Pacific line running north toward Winnipeg was built fourteen miles east of Ada, thus cutting off another large slice of its territory. Finally, the price of wheat, which had been very high, began to decline about 1886, and the production of wheat per acre also began to fall off. An item in the local paper stated in November, 1888, that the Northwestern Elevator had been closed for the season. 38 L. D. H. WELD For many years there have been five elevators at Ada, many more than have been needed to handle the grain brought to that point. During the summer of 1913, while this survey was in progress, one of the five was torn down, and the materials were shipped to Montana to be used in the erection of an elevator in that State for the storage and handling of grain. Although the other four are all being operated, the bulk of the business each year usually goes to two or possibly three of them. The operation of more than two apparently results in an economic waste. In 1889 a meeting of farmers was held in the courthouse in order to organize the Xorman County''iilevator anlTStara^e^CoiiTpan)', for the build- ing and operatingol two^elevators, one at Ada, an^ the other at Twin \'alley on the Northern Pacific, fourteen miles to the east. The capital was:. $10,000, with sliares of S5 each, and no person was to hold more than five This Elevatcr Is Bciny Demolished; the Lumljcr Gties ii Reerected as a Grain Elevator -Montana to be shares. It was further stipulated that the shares should not be held or controlled by combinations of persons or companies. This was the first cooperative efifort of importance among the farmers around Ada. The Farmers' Elevator was built and put in operation in 1890. The company made a slight profit the first year, but jealousies and dissatisfac- tion appeared among the farmers. The second year of operation was char- acterized by poor management and meddling on the part of farmer mem- bers. It is said that the manager bought damaged wheat as No. 1 North- ern, and that this wheat graded only No. 3 in IMinncapolis. As a result, the elevator was run at a loss. It was then rented ; there had been two assessments, the farmers were disgusted with the whole afl'air, and got rid of their stock. One farmer member is said to have sold his share for a COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 39 keg of beer. The stock gradually got into the hands of business men in the town ; one able man in particular became interested in it and has super- vised its operations successfully since about 1895. Tlu'ough able and con- servative management it has been kept in operation, and to-day gets more of the farmers' grain than any other. In fact, an addition has recently been built. Although still called the Farmers' Elevator, it does not be- long to the farmers, and it is run as a joint-stock company. This experi- ence is typical of many so-called farmers' elevators in Minnesota. And yet the business men can not be blamed for stepping in when the farmers have failed to make a success of it. The farmers are now considering the purchase of an elevator to be run cooperatively. They are better fitted i to manage such a concern now than they were twenty years ago. vujr^ The Flour Mill Furnishes an Important Market for Wheat "J'he local roller mill is an important factor in the marketing of wheat. C)i the 1912 crop it took more than one third of that marketed at Ada. In some years the mill takes a larger proportion. During the short-crop year of 1910, there were only two of the five elevators running, and the mill, besides buying direct from farmers, took all the wheat of the Farmers' Elevator and a large part of that of the other elevator. Probably more than three quarters of the wheat brought to Ada that year was purchased by the flour mill. The flour mill pays farmers two cents a bushel over the current mar- ket price. The reasons assigned by the secretary for this practice are: first, to get the best wheat ; second, to induce farmers to go to the trouble of hauling to the mill where they often have to wait their turns ; and, third, to get farmers to buy flour at the mill. The mill exchanges flour for wheat I 40 L. D. H. WELD in the proportion of a sack of flour (ninety-eight pounds) for three hushels of wheat. This is cheaper for farmers than buying flour at the stores. The mill officials think that the mill furnishes the farmers around x^da with five sixths of their flour. On account of this exchange privilege, and the premium offered, farmers outside of the natural trade territory of Ada bring their wheat to the mill, many coming a considerable distance. The price of wheat in Ada is between ten and eleven cents below the Minneapolis price. The difl'erence is made up approximately as follows : Per Bushel Freight rate ( 1 1 cents per 100 lbs.) $0,066 Commission .01 Weighing, switching, etc .005 Margin allowed to cover local expenses .02 $0,101 Marketing of Live Stock There are two markets for stock : first, the local market, represented by butchers in the town who slaughter for local consumption ; and, second, individual cattle-buyers who purchase for shipment to outside markets. The relative importance of these two markets is illustrated by the following ap- proximate figures for 1912: Value of stock sold : For local slaughter , $14,440 For shipment 50,000 Total $64,400 During most of the year 1912 there were two butcher shops in Ada. On August first, one shop bought out the other, but one of the members of the buying firm continued to run a second shop during the heavy busi- ness of the fall. Since December 1, 1912, there has been but one shop. The following table shows the approximate number of head, and value of cattle, calves, sheep, and hogs bought by the local ])utchers during the year 1912. .Average Number \'alue Value per Head Cattle 225 $7,650 $34.00 Calves 65 470 7.23 Hogs 342 5,950 17.40 Sheep 64 351 5.48 Total 696 $14,421 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURl'EY 41 The weights of animals purchased by the butchers for local slaughter were not ascertainable. The average values per head, however, indicate that the stock was pretty "scrawny." This is brought out more clearly below in the figures referring to shipments of stock to other markets. The pur- chases of animals from farmers do not represent the total amount of meat sold by the local butchers, however, because they also bought considerable quantities — principally beef — from the packing houses. The local consump- tion of meat products by months (aside from that killed on the farm) is of interest. The following table gives the amounts paid farmers by local butchers for live animals and the amounts paid packers for dressed meat.-;. Paid to Farmers Paid to Packers for Animals for Dressed Meats January $713.00 $ 65.45 February 474.00 115.72 March 1,045.00 198.43 April 1,113.00 213.88 May 1,328.00 314.54 June 1,098.00 400.00 July 1,093.00 350.00 August 1,542.00 400.00 September 1,752.00 600.00 October 2,146.00 600.00 November 1,326.00 400.00 December 791.00 156.87 Total $14,421.00 $3,814.89 It will be seen from this table that the butcher shops handled the smallest amount of ineat during the winter months. This was due partly to the fact that farmers can best keep their own fresh meat supply at that time of the year, and to the smaller number of transient laborers on farms and in the village industries. As for the shipments of live stock to outside points, there were 45 mixed carloads sent to market during the year 1912. Judging from de- tailed figures on a few of these carloads, the average value per car was about $1,100, or a total of approximately $50,000. The carload shipments were distributed throughout the year as follows : Carloads January February 2 March 5 April , 42 L. D. H. WELD Mc Carloads 6 1 July 3 August 4 September 5 October 7 November 12 December Total 45 During 1912 tbere were no less than five differej it buy ers scouring the country to buy stock for shipment. They go about from farm to farm with horse and carriage (one was using an automobile in 1913) and make of- fers to the farmers for their stock. South St. Paul j^iriccs are used as a Apr. rie^y June Ju[y A\j^. Sept Get Kov. Dec. Carload Sliipmcnt.s of Live Stock b}- Alonths, 1912 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURCEY 43 basis for local prices, but it is bard to say just vvbat margins tlie local buyers allow under tbe market. Tbe cost of getting live stock to market in South St. Paul averages 32.4 cents per hundred pounds, 20 cents of which represents freight and 5.7 cents commission. Add to this 32.4 cents enough to pay the buyer for the use of a horse and carriage and to give him a living, and it is likely that the farmers get between 50 cents and $1 under the South St. Paul market. Some farmers know better than others what their stock is worth and consequently get better prices. Others are itempted by offers of round sums for a number of head together with little M-eference either to current market price or to weight of animals. If the farmers had their own shipping association, it would cost them only the 32 cents that it now costs, plus 6 or 8 cents per hundred pounds for the manager. They would probably save an average of 40 or 50 cents per hundred pounds, or from $4 to $5 on a 1,000-pound steer. As a matter of fact the Farmers Club organized a stock-shipping association in the spring of 1913, but no attempt has yet been made to ship cooperatively. The average weights of animals sent to South St. Paul in 9 of the 45 carloads shipped were as follows : Pounds Cattle : 717 Hogs 226 Calves 224 Sheep 107 Marketing Cream and Butter -^^yvA^ Owing to specialized grain-farming, dairying has never occupied an im- portant place in farming in this community. Early in the eighties there were but few cattle. The slump in wheat prices along about 1886 gave a slight impetus to mixed farming and to dairying, and the number of cattle increased rapidly. County records show that the number of head of stock of all kinds in the county increased from 8,000 in 1882 to over 19,000 in 1887. The United States census figures for cattle alone in Norman County are as follows : Total Head of Cattle Dairy Cows 1890 17,625 7,208 1900 21,708 8,972 1910 26,217 11,894- The number of dairy cows increased from 7,208 in 1890 to only 11,894 in 1910, indicating tliat the dairy industry has not been making very ra])iil progress during the past twenty years. During the eighties all butter was made on the farm and the sur- \^ 44 L. D. H. WELD plus over that consumed by the fanner's family was traded at the store. As this surplus exceeded local requirements, and as it was of very poor quality, the price of butter was extremely low, being worth in trade only 8 or 10 cents a pound. In 1887 one of the local papers began to agitate the building of a creamery. The advantages to farmers of obtaining cash for cream, and of saving the time and trouble of butter-making were set forth. It was said that nine tenths of the farmers did not know how to make decent butter and that merchants traded it in simply for fear of of- fending and losing country customers, and it was further affirmed that much that was traded in had to be sold to soap-makers for from 1^ to 3 cents per pound. Finally in 1888 a creamery association was formed, principally among the business men in town. It was not a cooperative association. An outside promoter apparently had much to do in starting the movement. At any rate capital was subscribed and an excellent building constructed ; in fact, it was a larger and more expensive building than that occupied by the co- operative creamery association which is operating successfully to-day. The company opened for business in Jime, 1888, and sent out wagons to collect cream over seven different routes. This creamery was operated for two years at a loss. The local paper reports that it made 57,679 pounds of butter in 1889, which was 2,000 pounds more than was manufactured in the present cooperative creamery in 1912! But tb.e plant was too large and expensive to be run economically; the col- lection of cream over a wide area was an expensive process ; the whole scale of operations was on too grand a scale for the volume of business. It apparently had the eft'ect of raising the local price of butter. One of the leading stores advertised in November, 1889, that it would pay 15 cents a pound for "fresh roll and print butter" and 12^ cents for "packed butter." The offering of high prices by local merchants was assigned as one reason for the company's failure. In 1890 the building was leased to a local mer- chant who attempted for a time to run it as a butter factory, and in 1894 it was bought by another merchant to use as a warehouse in connection with his business. It has been used for this purpose ever since. In 1896 a group of farmers east of the village organized the Town Line Creamery Association on the cooperative plan and built a creamery about five miles from Ada on the boundary line between McDonaldsville and Lake Ida townships. This company ran during the summers (and for two years during the winter also) until 1911, when it was shut down. The reason assigned for closing was that there were not enough cows ; that as old settlers had sold out, new farmers came in who had but little stock. The creamery that was built in Ada in 1903 undoubtedly cut into the terri- tory of the Town Line Creamery to a slight extent. The Town Line Cream- ery was not very well located anyway. A short distance to the east and COMML'XJTY SOCIAL SURVEY 45 southeast there is much unbroken prairie, thus cutting down the possible territory to draw from. Although the members of this association hope to start up again before long, the logical place for a creamery in this community appears to be in the village itself. The present successful cooperative creamery w-as organized in 1903 by the farmers with the help of certain progressive business men in town. The latter perhaps thought that by bringing the farmers to town more regularly and by increasing their money income through a creamery, they would get more business at their stores. The paid-up capital stock amounts to $2,900 ; shares are $10 apiece ; there are 55 shareholders ; each member has but one vote. Five per cent dividends have been paid on capital stock in some years ; other years none at all have been paid. The company first cleared itself of indebtedness in 1912. The by-laws do not provide for a patronage dividend, but officers of the company say that it is their intention to distribute profits in this way if they ever should exceed a fair return on capital. No attempt is made, however, to earn such profits, because the highest possible price is paid to farmers for butter fat from month to month. There is no provision in the by-laws for a sinking fund, but a working balance for repairs and contin- gent expenses is maintained from year to year. Farmers use hand separators and haul their cream to the creamery. Some of the principal creamery statistics for the year ended December 1, 1912 were as follows: Pounds of cream received 177,038 Average test (per cent) 26.1 Pounds of butter fat 46,257.78 Pounds of butter made 55,384.25 Per cent over-run 19.7 Average price paid for butter fat (cents) . . . 26.7 Total paid patrons for butter fat $12,820.52 Butter-maker's salary per month $65.00 On the wdiole the farmers seem well satisfied wdth their creamery, and yet a good deal of cream is shipped to centralizers. Those who ship claim that they get a better test for their cream in this way. During 1912 there were 1,658 gallons sent away by express, valued at about $1,000, or one twelfth as much as was taken to the creamery. About fourteen dif- ferent farmers shipped at one time or another during the year, most of their cream going to St. Paul and Minneapolis, and some to Alexandria, Minne- sota. During 1913, after the passage of the law prohibiting the shipment of cream more than sixty-five miles unless pasteurized or in refrigerator cars, this cream began to go to Fargo and Crookston. k 46 L. D. H. WELD The shipments of cream from Ada by months during 1912 were as follows : Gallons January 136 February 84 March 32 April 68 May 140 June 252 July 318 August 126 September 104 October 158 November 1 56 December 84 Total 1,658 Perhaps the most interesting feature of butter-marketing in this com- munity is the persistence of the primitive practice of making butter on the farm, and of taking it to the store to trade for supplies. There are some farmers who do not keep enough cows to make it worth while to haul cream to town, and they naturally make their own butter. But 88 per cent of all farmers visited make their own butter, and included in this number are the majority of the creamery patrons. The creamery reported only $207.21 worth of "butter and supplies" sold to patrons in 1912. And these patrons not only make butter for themselves but some of them often make a sur- ])lus to take to the stores in town. The amount of butter traded at the stores could not be ascertained exactly, but it may safely be estimated at about 25,000 pounds per year, worth approximately $5,000. The people of the town subsist almost en- ' tirely on country butter, and it is known that the stores have a surplus over the town's requirements of more than 5,000 pounds per year, worth about $1,000, which is shipped out to centralizers as "packing stock" to be "reno- vated" and sold to city consumers. Most of the merchants ship this butter fairly often as it accumulates ; one merchant lets it accumulate in his base- ment for several weeks, or even months, at a time, shipping out a large quantity two or three times a year. The following table shows the shipments of "packing stock" from this community by months for 1913: COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 47 N'alue per Month Pounds \'alue Pound (Cents) January February 90 $18.90 21.0 March April 226 50.35 22.3 May 530 102.32 19.3 June 2,090 384.43 18.4 July 834 158.46 19.0 August 554 100.25 18.1 September 138 26.90 19.5 October 301 63.21 21.0 November 490 110.30 22.5 December ... Total 5,253 $1,015.12 19.3 Most of this country butter is very inferior in quality. Some farmers, however, make a good quality, as for instance the one who supplies the lead- ing hotel of the town. The merchants are not enthusiastic about handling this country butter ; the one who handles the most says that each farmer thinks his butter is the very best, and that he can't discriminate between different grades for fear of offending his customers and losing their trade. This merchant trades in eighty or ninety pounds a day sometimes during the height of the season. He sells most of it locally, some even to farmers, and has standing orders of about forty pounds a week with customers in town. He sells it for one or two cents over what he allows the farmers. As packing stock it sells for a cent or two less than he allows farmers. Conclusion on Butter- and Cream-Marketing In conclusion, it is interesting to compare the quantities of butter sold by the farmers of this locality in the three different ways described above. Pounds Per Cent of Butter of Total Sold as product of creamery 55,384 65.4 Shipped in form of cream 4,350 5.1 Made on farm and traded at stores 25,000 29.5 Total 84,734 100.0 Of the total butter sold, only 65.4 per cent goes through the creamery. If the amount of butter made on the farm and consumed on the farm were known, it would undoubtedly show that less than half of the cream pro- duced in the community is taken to the creamery. On butter traded at the store there is a distinct loss to the farmer, as he never gets more than 20 48 L. D. H. WELD or 21 cents. Jn cmiiniunilies where dairying has advanced further, patrons buy butter from their creamery. This community has much to learn in the way of better butter-marketing. On the northeast edge of the territory covered by the survey there is another cooperative creamery which does about as much business as the one in Ada already described. A few of the farmers visited haul their cream to this creamery, but it gets the great bulk of its patronage from out- cases 22Ii g-so 226 gOQ LZ^. 150 ]25 JZ3 .^>Q 2^ 'jQ.n Feb. TTar: Apr. Md^ June July Au^. Sept Get. Nov. Dec Shii)mcnts of Egg.s from Ada during 1912 side the district surveyed. It is located about half way between the two railroads and has to have its butter, as well as coal, wood, tubs, and other supplies, hauled about seven miles. Farmers do the hauling, and many have been allowed to pay for their shares in this way. This creamery also handled $1,100 worth of coal for its members in 1912. The Marketing of Eggs To dispose of their eggs, farmers follow the time-honored custom of trading them at the store for groceries and other supplies. Very little atten- COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 49 tion is paid to raising hens, but some farmers trade in enough eggs to pay their grocery bills. Farmers who were questioned on this matter are ap- parently well satisfied with present methods ; very few had even considered the possibility or desirability of a cash market. When they bring in more eggs than they care to exchange for goods at the time, they are given checks or "tin money" which represents future purchasing power. Very com- monly, however, the farmer adjusts his purchases to the amount of trade he has coming to him for his eggs and butter rather than to his actual needs. Under the present system one tgg is as good as another ; there is no induce- ment to the farmer to gather them regularly ; small eggs are worth in trade as much as large eggs ; they are not graded as to color. The storekeepers sell what they can locally and ship their surplus to outside markets ; they turn them over to one man, who handles both their eggs and their butter. This man buys the eggs outright from the mer- chants ; he pays according to market prices ; what he pays the merchants one week, the merchants pay the farmers for eggs during the following week. By consolidating shipments he says he receives better prices. He began handling eggs in this way in 1906, and the method is apparently satis- factory to the merchants, and indeed does seem to be an efficient way of handling them. He says that he gets 5 cents a case on shipments to the Twin Cities, and 10 cents to Duluth. Most of his eggs go to the latter city. He is engaged regularly in other business and handles the eggs and butter of the merchants as a side line. Most of the eggs shipped out in this way go by freight ; occasionally there are a few shipments made by farmers directly. The shipments of eggs from Ada during 1912 appear in the following table: By By Average Price Express Freight Total per Dozen (Cases) (Cases) (Cases) (Cents) January 16 5 21 25.5 February 20 2 22 25.5 March 58 49 107 16.4 April 17 253 270 17.1 May 7 178 185 16.1 June 4 206 210 15.0 July 2 95 97 15.0 August 2 100 102 16.3 September 1 74 7S 18.7 October 1 6 7 21.0 November 4 ... 4 24.0* December 32 ... 32 25.0* Total 164 968 1.132 18.4 •Estimated. 50 L. D. II. J VELD Jt will be noticed from this table that eggs are shipped by express in the winter when shii)nients are light, and by freight during the months of heavy production. Jt should be remembered that these shipments represent only the surplus over and above the amounts consumed by the town. The merchants keej) no record of their egg exchanges and have but little notion of the exact cjuantity traded in. One merchant, who probably receives more than any other, estimated the quantity of eggs taken in by months as follows : Cases January 10 February 10 ^larch ' 18 April 100 May 160 June 160 July 100 August 75 September 50 October 40 November 20 December 20 Poultry Very little attention has been given to the marketing of poultry until within recent years. Until about seven years ago there were i)ractically no chickens or turkeys shipped out, although there were a few traded at the stores. When they were brought to town in any quantity, there was no market for them. The man who handles eggs and ])utter for the mer- chants took hold of the ])oultrv ]>nsiress in 1906 and began ])uying direct from farmers. The business grew rapidly from year to year until in 1*)12 it had become too much for him to handle with his other interests, and some of the leading merchants took it up. They take jioultrv in trade in fairly large ([uantities during the fall of the year, and ship to large cities. The approximate shipments of poultry, alive and dressed, during l')12 bv moiuhs, were as follows: January February March . , Al)ril . . . May . . . lune ... Alive (Pounds) 300 Dressed (Pounds) 50 Total (Pourds) 3.=^0 30 30 120 120 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 51 Alive Dressed Total (Pounds) (Pounds) (Pounds) July August September 1,250 210 1,460 October 2,850 22 2,872 November 13,047 9,817 22,864 December 1,500 5,169 6,669 Totals 19,097 15,268 34,365 Practically two thirds of the total poultry shipments were in November ; 86 per cent were in November and December together. More than half (55.6 per cent) were shipped alive in coops. December was the only month when dressed shipments exceeded live shipments. In November, turkeys formed 8,807 pounds of the 13,047 pounds of live poultry shipped. CHAPTER IV THE STORES AND INDUSTRIES OF THE VILLAGE The first store made its appearance about 1876. In the spring of 1877 there were in the village one general store and one hotel, one grain and seed warehouse, a small railroad station, and two dwelling houses. A sec- ond store was started in 1878 and a third in 1879. For the next three or four years the village grew rapidly and stores multiplied. In 1881 there were three general stores, two hardware stores, one drug store, and two hotels. Two new general stores were started that year. By 1883 the number of stores had increased so rapidly that there were nearly as many at that time as there are to-day. In 1896 one of the local papers enumerated the number of stores and other business and profes- sional establishments of each kind. An attempt has been made in the following table to fit the present situation to this classification, and also to fill it in for 1883 from tlie advertisements that appeared in the local paper at that time. Number of Stores and Other Business and Professional Establish- ments 1883 1896 1913 General merchandise stores 5 6 5 Grocery and notion stores 1 1 1 Fruit stores 1 2 * Clothing stores 1 2 Jewelry stores 2 2 2 Watchmakers 2 3 2 Drug stores 2 3 2 Banks 1 2 2 Newspapers 1 2 2 Lumber yards 2 2 t2 Machinery stores 3 3 3 Hardware stores 2 3 4 Furniture stores 1 1 2 Harness shops 2 3 1 Shoemakers 1 1 Tailors 1 3 Milliners 1 2 2 Dressmakers 1 3 $ . Laundries 1 Barber shops 1 1 2 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 53 18S3 1896 1913 Photographers 1 1 Livery stables 2 1 1 Blacksmith shops 1 4 1 Meat markets 1 2 1 Real estate dealers 3 3 4 Lawyers 3 4 6 Doctors 2 3 3 Hotels 2 2 2 (*) A number of stores handle fruit. (t) Including the lumber yard connected with the sawmill. (t) Unknown. There may have been some stores which did not advertise in 1883, and hence the figures for that year may not be complete. The same store is included under two or more classifications in a few instances; for example, in 1913 one store is reported under both jewelry stores and drug stores, and one cf Some of the Principal Stores the general stores, which has an extensive furniture department, is reported both under "general merchandise" and "furniture." For this reason, totals of the various columns do not reveal the number of separate stores at each date. The reason why Ada has failed to gain appreciably as a business cen- ter is that the section immediately adjacent to the village has not furnished sufficient business to make up for the gradual cutting down of tributary territory. At first it had a very extensive tributary area, extending fifteen The Saw ^lill and the Lumber Yard Tlie A'illage and tlie Elevators Bird's-e\e \ie\v ^.:i:^ Distribution of Sales of Retail Stores liy Months, 1912 (P-Zxpressed as Per Cents of Total AiHiual Sales) hut men's clothing and furnishings. ( )ne of these is perhaps the most suc- cessful and best managed store in town. The general store handles groceries, boots, and shoes, and ladies' cloth- ing and furnishings. The most important in each is groceries. There is CO MM UNI r y SOCIA L S UR VE Y 59 but one store in town that handles groceries alone, and this is a small one. Boots and shoes are sold by at least eight different stores. The only one that handles them exclusively is the village cobbler who carries a fair stock of shoes for sale. That the mercantile business of the town is split up among a large num- ber of stores is shown in the following table which classifies the thirty- three stores according to their gross annual sales. Annual Sales Number of Stores Under $5,000 6 $5,000 to $10,000 5 $10,000 to $15,000 9 $15,000 to $20,000 4 $20,000 to $25,000 4 $25,000 to $30,000 1 $30,000 to $35,000 2 $35,000 to $40,000 2 The following table and accompanying diagram show the percentage of total annual sales of different kinds of stores each month during the year: TABLE VI Percentage of Annual S.a.les of Retail Stores for Each AIonth Kind of Store Month General Hard- ware Farm machin- ery Men's clothing Jewelry Lumber All Kinds January February March 5.4 6.0 8.1 8.3 8.8 9.2 7.4 9.1 8.2 9.4 10.1 10.0 4.0 3.8 5.3 8.8 10.0 9.6 14.1 11.3 9.6 7.9 8.4 7.2 7.5 0.4 8.1 18.4 21.0 12.7 6.2 13.8 4.7 1.0 1.0 5.3 3.5 2.6 6.0 7.4 13.4 12.5 6.5 5.1 7.0 9.2 14.5 12.3 6.5 4.6 7.4 5.9 6.4- 11.5 4.3 5.0 4.4 5.8 9.0 29.2 0.8 1.6 2.5 15.5 5.2 16.1 13.8 12.7 4.6 10.6 12.6 4.0 4.3 3.9 6.4 April 9.7 May 10.0 June July August September October 11.2 9.1 9.2 7.3 8.6 November December 10.5 9.8 It will be observed that for all stores shown in the table, the sales of January and February are very light, and that they increase gradually to a maximum in June, although November and December are also heavy months. The June maximum is due partly to large sales of farm ma- chinery and men's clothing in that month. The business of the general stores, consisting largely of groceries, is the most uniform throughout the 60 L. D. H. WELD year. Over half of the farm machinery is sold during the months of April, May, and June. Men's clothing shows maximum points in spring and fall; jewelry in June and December, the two months when gift-giving is most common ; lumber shows extreme variations, with the heaviest months during the summer and fall. General Appearance of Stores The twenty-three principal stores may be roughly classified according to their general appearance as follows : good, seven ; fair, seven ; poor, nine. The principal items considered under general appearance are window dis- play, arrangement of store, character of fixtures, cleanliness and arrange- ment of stock on shelves and in cases. Of the seven classified as good in appearance, three or four deserve special praise. For example, one of the hardware stores would be a credit to a town several times larger ; the lead- ing clothing store has glass cabinets in which the suits are hung on hangers ; the jewelry store is particularly attractive and has a large line of carefully selected and artistically arranged goods. When the town went "dry" in the spring of 1913, the leading saloon was transformed into a drug store, the bar itself having been converted into a soda fountain. No expense or pains has been spared in making this a thoroughly up-to-date store in every respect. (There is apparently no intention of changing back to a saloon if the town votes for license again.) Three of the five general stores appear to keep their stock moving and have their shelves in good order ; the other two have goods which have apparently been on the shelves for years. All of the twenty-three stores have electric lights. Three of them heat with steam or hot water, one with a hot-air furnace, and nineteen with coal or wood stoves. Store Management Although the stores were liberal in giving information, most of them have such poor accounting systems that their figures are largely in the form of estimates, especially those dealing with value of stock, amount paid for merchandise, and expenses. The twenty-three principal stores may be classified roughly as follows with regard to the efficiency of their account- ing systems : Kind of System Conditinn Number of Stores T^ , 1 I good 5 Double entry { - ■' Ipoor 1 National Cash Register system 1 , (good 3 Smgle entry J , _ ^ ^ ipoor 12 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 61 There are really only six stores (outside of the lumber yard) that have effi- cient, well-kept, accounting systems. Among those classified as "single entry" there are some who have practically no system at all. Some do not even keep a record of sales. At least half of them take no inventory. Of the five general stores, only two have accounts in such shape as to enable the proprietors to ascertain anything definite about the condition of the business. Of the twenty-three stores only seven have cash registers, while one has wire carriers and a cashier. - Cost of Doing Business For most of the stores investigated accurate operating costs could not be obtained. There is the greatest diversity of practice even where at- tempts are made to keep cost accounts. Only five of the leading merchants take out and charge salaries for themselves, and some of those that do, take out small salaries that do not represent fair wages of management. The amounts so charged range from $40 to $100 per month, two taking out $75. Members of the proprietor's family work in the store in at least eight or ten cases, and with two exceptions no salaries are paid. Three or four charge interest to expense and one or two depreciation on fixtures and build- ing. The proportions of operating expenses to gross sales in four of the general merchandise stores in 1912 were approximately 19.2 per cent, 17.1 per cent, 17.0 per cent, and 16.5 per cent respectively. The average was 17.5 per cent. For the purpose of making these computations comparable, however, proprietors' salaries have been arbitrarily added for two of the four , stores, and raised for a third. In no case, however, is more than $75 per month allowed. If $100 per month had been allowed, the average cost would have been 18.7 per cent. Three of these stores are among the best-managed in town. Among some which have not adopted such up-to-date methods, the cost of doing business appears to be lower. The net profits in these other stores are not so large in proportion, however, because of less fre- quent turn-over of stock, poor selection of merchandise, etc. In three or four of the better-managed specialty stores, the cost of doing business ap- pears to be about 14 or 15 per cent. Many of the storekeepers have tried to compute the relation between operating costs and sales in this way, but most of them have failed to figure in salaries for themselves and other items, with the result that the figures they have obtained are too low. The most important item in expenses is salaries of clerks, which run from $40 to $65 a month for men, with the average almost exactly $50. The salaries of women are lower. There are two stores that employ four clerks regularly, one that employs three, and six that employ two. Except on account of occasional special sales, the number of salesmen employed re- 62 L. D. H. WELD mains fairly constant during the first eight months of the year, and increases slightly for the last four months. Of the twenty-three leading stores there were seventeen that advertised during the year 1912. The average amount spent for advertising was $223. There were three stores that spent over $500; two of these spent between $800 and $900. These two, by the way, had the largest volume of business and the greatest net profits. All of the general stores make deliveries in town. Newspaper advertisements in 1883 indicate that they delivered goods even at that date. The telephone is used freely in giving orders, just as in larger towns and cities. Cash and Credit Business In a region where there is still so much dependence on crops that are harvested in the fall, credit business naturally plays an important part in merchandising. With the gradual development of dairying and stock- and poultry-raising, however, conditions are not as bad as they were formerlv. Jaa Feb Ma.r Apr M^ June July -^qs Sept. Oct. Nov. :Dec.| % % 7i 72 1 t* f- 1 f — — hi St 1 / / \ ^ / / -> .-'-' f^ \ — ^--77 Si / \ \ f y ^ \ \ *' , ^' -•' ,^ / I S^^~^-^ ^•' ^ ■ — -_ ^ X ;^ •f \ V X "" \_ - ■~--- \ \ a H3 ail Stores . GenertJ Merchandise -^— -— . 1 Mem Olotlitr^ Per Cent That Credit Sales Were of Total Sales, by Months. 1912, for All Stores and for Various Kinds of Stores One of the merchants said, "Take away the cow and the chicken and we would be in the clutches of credit to-day, just as we were twenty or thirty years ago. While my credit business used to run up to $6,000, now it seldom exceeds $3,000." It has come to be the custom for people li\ing in COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 63 town to settle their accounts monthly. The leading merchants have been working toward this end. Farmers' accounts are allowed to run longer. Some business men in town, however, render their bills only once a year. One merchant who is striving to get his finances on a monthly basis said that he had not yet been able to induce his drayman to render a bill oftener than once a year. The merchants themselves have a curious custom of allowing their purchases from each other to run for a year and then settling balances. The proportion of credit business to total sales varies for different months of the year, as would be expected. The following table shows this proportion by months in 1912 for eight of the leading stores together: Per Cent that Credit Month Business is of Total Sales January 50.0 February 47.5 March 46.0 April 55.1 May 50.8 June 46.9 July 60.9 August 58.3 September 51.5 October 46.7 November 41.6 December 38.7 The proportion of credit business varies for dififerent kinds of stores, as shown in the following table and in the diagram on page 62. TABLE VII Percentage that Credit Business is of Total Sales Month Kind of Store General Hardware and Men's merchandise machinery clothing Per cent Per cent Per cent 39.2 71.5 50.0 43.0 57.9 44.3 37.4 48.0 67.2 39.7 66.5 66.2 43.9 64.6 41.1 41.4 56.2 43.4 43.9 75.4 49.5 41.8 76.6 48.5 41.5 62.3 51.4 35.7 57.7 55.9 32.9 58.0 40.9 33.1 54.4 33.5 January. . February . March. . . . April May June July August. . . September October. . . November December. 64 L. D. H. WELD A record of the cash and credit business by months was obtained from one store for the year 1892 as well as for 1912. The proportion of credit business to total sales for each month is shown in the following table. January . . February . March . . . April . . . . May Tune .... July August . . September October . . November December Per Cent for 1892 Per Cent for 1912 41.8 42.0 52.8 49.7 56.1 47.3 64.9 54.3 58.2 54.5 64.6 55.0 65.3 49.2 69.7 52.6 72.5 46.0 49.4 38.3 38.9 38.0 38.5 36.0 Other Forms of Service In addition to the mercantile business of the stores, which amounted to practically $500,000 in 1912, there are certain professional and other services, as well as a few manufacturing industries, which furnish important means of livelihood in the village. Some of the more important forms of services are as follows : Form of Service Lawyers Physicians Dentists '. Barbers Veterinarians Hotels Newspaper and printing plants Garages Livery and draymen Abstracter Blacksmith Number Engaged 6 3 9 Approximate Gross Business $ 10,000 13,000 6,000 3,000 4,500 65,000 Total $101,500 In addition to these there should be mentioned real estate men (five firms), whose productive capacity no attempt has been made to measure. There are also of course teachers, ministers, music teachers, seamstresses, etc. 81 211 41.2 52.5 $3,450.00 $8,870.00 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 65 Mail-Order Competition A careful attempt was made to determine the volume of mail-order business of this community by asking each family canvassed the amount purchased from catalogue houses during the preceding year. With but few exceptions, this question was answered frankly ; although in many in- stances the replies were rather vague because the exact amount purchased could not be recalled. The following table presents the results, and al- though the figures may not represent accurately the whole amount pur- chased in this way, yet there is reason to believe that the error is slight. Farmers Village People Total Number of families reporting purchases from catalogue houses 130 Percentage of total families visited 64.6 Total amount of such purchases, 1912. . . $5,420.00 Average amount purchased per family re- porting $41.70 $42.59 $42.04 The most noticeable thing about these figures is that the total purchases from catalogue houses amounted to only $8,870 for the year 1912. Con- siderable allowance might be made for possible error, and even then the amount would be surprisingly small when compared with the business of the stores. But before this comparison is made, a number of modifications must be considered. In the first place, there are certain kinds of stores, such as the bakery and restaurants, the coal dealers, the meat shops, and the saloons, that do not have to compete with mail-order houses. In the second place, the stores do a certain amount of business with farmers beyond the district covered by the survey. The number of regular customers not covered in the survey is not large — perhaps fifty in the country and an equal number in the village — but since Ada is the county seat and the largest town in the county people come occasionally from distant points, and many often make rather extensive purchases on these occasional visits. Allowances being made for the factors mentioned above, the business of the stores which is open to mail-order competition amounted to about $380,- 000. Assuming that four fifths of the regular customers of the stores were canvassed, the total mail-order business of the immediate trade territory was about $11,000, or only about three per cent of the business done by the stores. It was evident very early in the investigation that the amount of business sent to catalogue houses was much smaller than the merchants imagined, but that it should be only about three per cent was surprising. After the most liberal allowances have been made for other factors that might be considered, such as occasional purchases by well-to-do people of the 66 L. D. H. WELD village on their trips to larger cities, the total purchases outside the village are safely under five per cent of the gross business of the stores. On tiie whole, the attitude of the farmers toward the stores was de- cidedly friendly. Many of them of course felt that they were getting "stung" at the stores, just as people everywhere feel, but most of them said they believed in patronizing the local stores as much as possible. Some had had imsatisfactory experiences with mail-order houses and had given them up on that account. Although no definite figures were obtained, perhaps furni- ture and rugs were the articles most frequently mentioned as being bought from catalogue houses. Only a few btiy groceries in this way ; many send for dress goods and boys' clothing and overalls ; a few buy shoes, and one farmer wdio buys very extensively in this way said that he had found greater saving on shoes than on any other article. Two cream separators were reported as bought at a great saving; one the purchaser wasn't satisfied with ; the other had never given a bit of trouble during nine years of opera- tion. Other articles mentioned were hardware, blankets, and ladies' coats. The attitude of the various merchants with regard to the mail-order business varied ; they all had vastly exaggerated notions of its volume ; some of the merchants felt very bitterly that farmers should send away at all, and were apparently sincere in their declarations that they had no moral right to do so. Others were more temperate in their attitudes, and said they didn't blame farmers for sending away if they could buy things more cheaply elsewhere. The parcel post had apparently not made any appreciable dif- ference, for most farmers had not had occasion to use it during the first six months of its operation. Some even had to have it explained to them. Merchants had evidently found much more use for it than had the farmers. The Sawmill By far the most important manufacturing establishment is the saw and planing mill, originally built in 1897, destroyed by fire in 1906, and rebuilt in 1907. The logs that feed this mill are floated down the Wild Rice River from a region in the White Earth Indian Reservation about fifty or sixty miles due east of Ada, but probably twice that distance by river. The Wild Rice River is small and has but little water for floating logs, and much difficulty is encountered in bringing them through. The lakes at the sources have to be dammed in order to collect sufficient water to float the logs. A large and experienced crew is necessary to make the most of the water when it is let out of the lakes. During the summer of 1913 over one hundred men, mostly Indians and half-1)rceds. were employed in this way, the drive finally reaching Ada not until August, although it had started from the head of the river in the spring. Fortunately this crew did not tarry at Ada after the drive reached that point because that town had voted out the saloons in the previous spring. The supply of timber which has kept this mill going COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 67 for several years is nearly exhausted. The management announces that it will run one more season and then either dismantle or sell the mill. The sawmill runs only during the spring, summer, and fall ; the planing mill the year round. During 1912 the sawmill ran from April 15 to November 15. That the mill plays an important part in the economic life of the village is apparent from the following statement of the average number of men employed at different periods during the year : Men January 1, 1912 to April 15 30 April 15 to July 15 150 July 15 to November 15 90 November 15 to January 1, 1913 30 The total wages paid in 1912 amounted to $43,260. In that year about 12,000,000 feet of lumber were turned out, and about 11,100,000 feet were sold. At $12 per thousand, this would amount to $133,000. The company buys supplies in large quantities from local stores when the drive approaches Ada, and large quantities of hay and oats the year round. Waste wood is sold to village people and farmers at low prices, and this furnishes a large part of the fuel consumed in the community. About 70 per cent of the output is shipped to Chicago and east thereof ; the rest is shipped to Minnesota and North Dakota points. The company sells direct to lumber yards and to manufacturers who use lumber. The principal products are surfaced lumber, rough lumber, laths, and molding. On account of its manipulation of the water flow of the Wild Rice River, the lumber company has incurred the enmity of the farmers, w^ho believe that these manipulations have been partially responsible for floods that have occurred in recent years. Without question the stoppage of the water has seriously affected two small roller mills, one considerably above Ada, and one between Ada and the Red River, and the proprietors of these establishments have been awarded damages. Many other lawsuits have re- sulted from the operations of the company, and as farmers generally act as jurymen, the cases are pretty generally decided against the sawmill. Economically the sawmill is of no importance to the agricultural community ; it is only through giving employment to people in the village, and stimulating the business of the stores, that it is of importanee. In addition to permanent inhabitants in the village that it employs, it brings in laborers from outside when the sawmill is in operation. The Flour Mill The inhabitants of Ada were eager to have a flour mill from the very earliest days of settlement. Inducements were offered outside parties to 68 L. D. H. WELD erect a mill, but it was not until 1895 that one was finally built. Its capacity was only 75 barrels per day until the spring of 1913 when it was increased to 150 barrels per day; the capital stock is $25,000, owned by seven share- holders ; it operates by steam power, using soft coal which is obtained from Duluth in carload lots ; there are usually eight employees. For several years the mill has been running 15 hours a day on one shift, which makes a pretty long work day. The mill sells its product over the northern half of Minnesota, only about one quarter of the output being marketed in and about Ada. The principal market is the towns of the Iron Range. When flour can not be sold elsewhere at regular wholesale prices, Duluth jobbers stand ready to take it, but this has to be sold at a close margin. Flour is shipped only in carload lots, and one man is kept on the road about half his time drumming up trade. This flour mill has to compete with the large Minneapolis millers even in Ada; Gold Medal, Pillsbury, and Occident flour are all handled by the local storekeepers. Although many small mills in neighboring towns have gone out of business during recent years, the management of this mill be- lieves that the establishment is not in danger as long as it uses up-to-date machinery and methods. The total output of the flour mill in 1912 was 10,067 barrels of flour, as well as large quantities of bran, shorts, etc. The mill did some custom grinding, about $1,000 in 1912. The total value of the output in 1912 was about $70,000. The importance of the mill as a market for the farmers has been described in the description of grain-marketing. The Cigar Factory The cigar factory started in 1901, and has apparently built up an established and profitable business. It buys its leaf in Chicago and Mil- waukee, including some Pure Havana which goes into ten-cent cigars, and good quality domestic leaf for five-cent cigars, which form the bulk of the output. The output in 1912 was 329,000 cigars; at an average of $40 per thousand, this output was worth $13,160. This establishment sells its goods to the stores in Ada and to towns in the surrounding country. The proprietor spends about half his time on the road, and covers many towns lying east and west of Ada in his automobile. At first he relied on journeyman cigar-makers, but they were hard to get and keep continuously, so he has followed the practice of teaching local people the trade. In this way he holds them longer and labor costs him less. He employs from seven to nine people much of the time, including young girls of the village. The shop is an open one, although it was at first run as a union shop. COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 69 The Tow Mill The tow mill is one of eight or ten such mills owned by a large cor- poration which takes the flax fiber from these mills to its main plant in the southern part of the State and makes it into a packing that is used for insulation in cold storage plants and refrigerator cars, and also for stuffing furniture. The mill in Ada was started in 1903. A bonus of $500 was pro- vided among the business men, each giving $25 apiece. This is the only bonus that Ada has ever given to an industry, although the city gave the sawmill certain privileges when it first started. The mill takes flax straw, as brought in by the farmers, runs it through eighteen pairs of corrugated rollers to break it up, and a shaker to clean out the waste. By this process the straw is reduced just about one-half in weight, and is then shipped to the central plant where the process is com- pleted. The principal object of the mill is, therefore, to reduce the weight and save transportation costs. Steam furnishes the power and the waste is used for fuel. The mill operates only in winter; during the season of 1912- 1913 it ran eight months from the middle of October to the middle of June. In this time it used 1,050 tons of flax straw, for which it paid $2.50 per ton or $2,625. The output was 527 tons, valued at about $4,500. The mill employs fifteen men while in operation, most of whom are paid only $1.75 a day. Wages are very low in Ada during the winter, and there are many people who can not get employment at all. The total pay roll is but little over $2,000. The mill is an old "shack" which cost only about $700. The value of the machinery is about $1,300. Other Industries In addition to these more important manufacturing establishments there are some of minor importance which deserve mention. These include the bakery, harness shop, two newspaper and printing plants, a broom factory, and a creamery. The bakery and harness shop have been included under stores. The bake shop is a most interesting establishment, inasmuch as it does a surprising amount of business for a small country town, where the inhabitants might be supposed to have little use for bakery products. And yet this bakery makes each day about 150 loaves of bread (there are about 25 regular customers for bread), 20 dozen of doughnuts, 300 buns, and about 12 pies. A part of this output is sold over the lunch counter, where from 100 to 150 cups of coffee are served per day, together with lunches running from 10 to 25 cents in value. There are no regular boarders, but the pro- prietor says there is a steady stream of customers from early morning until late at night, most of whom have homes or regular boarding places but want lunches at odd hours. Auto parties and traveling salesmen also supply part of this trade. Besides this bake shop there are two other lunch rooms, each doing considerable business. 70 L. D. H. WELD There are two newspapers published in the vihage, each having a cir- culation throughout the whole county. One is a Republican paper, and the other a Democratic. The subscription of each is $1.50 per year and the gross circulation of each from 1,200 to 1,500. The paid circulation, however, is considerably under 1,000 for each. Advertising is a more important source of revenue than subscriptions, and job printing is another important item of revenue. Of the advertising, about 90 per cent is local and 10 per cent foreign. Both papers use "patent insides," but one prints all but two pages of its issue. The combined business of the two newspaper plants, including subscriptions, advertising, commercial printing, and county and legal work, is approximately $10,000 a year. The broom factory is a little shop run by a blind man. This man is an old resident of Ada, and lost his eyesight some years ago. He learned how to make brooms at the Minnesota State School for the Blind, and per- forms unassisted every operation from the selection of his straw to the finishing-oflf of the broom. He can not find a market, however, for all the broom? that he can make ; comparatively few people in the village buy his wares. The stores do not carry his brooms, but sell large numbers of factory brooms that are brought in from the outside. They claim that such brooms have a better appearance and finish than those made by the blind man, and that therefore the people in town prefer them. As one merchant said, "It is purely a business proposition" ! While the survey was in prog- ress there was a movement on foot among the stores to agree not to handle brooms from the outside, and it seemed that there were at least a few citizens of the village who were heartily ashamed of their neighbors for not patronizing this home industry. CHAPTER V HOW THE VILLAGE PEOPLE LIVE Ada is far more attractive than the ordinary prairie village. The railroad runs through the center of the town ; the two main business streets run parallel to it, one on either side. Between the railroad and the street on the west side there is a little park with lawns and walks. There are a number of well-kept brick buildings on the business streets, and there are mature trees which improve the appearance of the village. The better stores are on the west side of the railroad ; the more attractive residence section is on the east side. The streets are broad and fairly well kept ; there are cement walks along many of the principal streets. A Village Scene On the whole the villagers live in comfortable and attractive houses. Of the 201 families visited, 72 per cent own their homes. The average number of rooms in all houses is 6.9 ; in houses occupied by owners alone, 7.4; by renters alone, 5.6. The monthly rent paid by renters ranged from $4 and $5 to $12 and $15, with an average of $8.44, or an average per room of only $1.51. Many of the rented houses are very small, and very few have any modern improvements. The yards of the village homes are large, and 74 per cent of the residents keep their lawns mowed. 72 L. D. H. WELD One huiKlrcd sixty-six of the 201 families visited, or 82.5 per cent, heat their houses with coal or wood stoves. All but a few of these use coal. There are 16 houses w^ith hot-w^ater heat and a like number with hot-air furnaces. The hot-air furnaces are mostly crude brick casings built around an iron fire box. In addition to the heating apparatus 79 families, or 39 per cent of the total, reported oil stoves which they used for cooking dur- ing the summer. The number of comforts and conveniences in the houses is rather sur- prising. Sixty per cent of the houses are lighted by electricity, and 91, or 45 per cent, have electric flatirons. There are 16 families, or 8 per cent of the total, that use vacuum cleaners. Fifty-eight per cent of all families visited have telephones. Fifty-five per cent have running water in the house ; The Court iiuuse about half of the remainder get their drinking water within five rods of the house, while others have to go some distance. Thirty-six, or 18 per cent of the total, have bathrooms in the house. Half of the famiUes report washing machines, but many of these have fallen into disuse. Washing machines are not used so much in the village as on the farm. About 15 per cent of the houses have screened porches. Most of the housewives of the village do their own work. There were 37 families, or 18.4 per cent of the total, who reported employment of a hired girl during the year 1912. The average number of days that these Z7 families had help was 190, or only a little over a half year. The average expenditure of these 37 families for hired help was $93.83, and the average COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 72> wages per week were $3.57. Twenty-eight families, or 14 per cent of the total, hire women to do their washing. Ninety-six families, or 48 per cent of the total, hire dressmakers to do at least a part of the sewing. Social Life in the Village In the early days Ada was undoubtedly a lively little town. An item in the local paper in 1883 informs us that traveling men said that Ada was the "liveliest town on the road." Another item states that "Ada is fast be- coming the Paris of the Red River Valley. For music and pleasure her people take the lead and all the surrounding villages dance to her music." Dances, card parties, church socials, and home entertainments were of very frequent occurrence. The brass band was in great demand not only in Ada, A Village Church but in surrounding towns. Pinafore was given by local talent in 1884. A sportmen's club was organized in that year, mainly to enforce the game laws. Shooting prairie chickens always has been and still is one of the principal recreations for the men. Roller skating became the rage in 1884 and a "large new rink" was built in 1885. This same rink to-day serves as a very poor excuse for an opera house, the only one in town. This great social activity lasted until about 1887 ; numerous organiza- tions had been formed, such as a dramatic club, a toboggan club, and a military company. Frequent masquerades were held ; the town had a suc- cessful baseball team ; elaborate Fourth- of-July celebrations were held. As trade languished during the latter eighties, however, the gay life and spirit 74 L. D. H. WELD also of the place apparently languished. In 1888 Ada failed to celebrate the Fourth of July for the first time ; social events became less frequent ; even the band disbanded. An "old resident" returning in 1893 said, according to the local paper, that "Ada is going backward. Her sidewalks are getting dilapidated. The buildings need painting, and everything looks old." There have been two noticeable changes in the development of social life in the village since the early days. These are, first, whereas formerly the village people and the farming population mixed freely in the social activities of the village, to-day there is very little social intercourse between the village and the country; and, second, while the people of the village formerly got together for general good times, to-day they are split up into groups or cliques, each group having its own social activities. The High School It is said that in the early days there often used to be as many farmers as villagers at the dances in Ada ; that the country people frequently drove as much as ten miles w^ith the thermometer well below zero to attend these village functions. The stratification of social groups in the village has un- doubtedly had something to do with the change that has come about. Country people seldom attend more than one or two dances a year in the village now ; such dances as they do attend usually occur on days like the Fourth of July, and are not heavily attended by certain classes in the vil- lage. There is of course much social intercourse between certain families in the village and their relatives in the country, and villagers sometimes venture forth to church suppers in the country. The social ties between COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 75 village and country that result from church activities are largely among the Norwegians. The splitting-up into groups within the village has been developed to such an extent as to be unfortunate. Church affiliation is the principal factor that determines these groups ; nationality plays its part. Although the social life revolves largely about the churches, there are numerous societies and lodges, certain details of which are shown in the following table : TABLE Vni Village Social Organizations Rural Number Total memb ership of Average Societies member- ship meetings during atten- dance Purpose 1913 1908 year Young Ladies' Read- ing Club 16 1 18 12 Study and social Twentieth Centurv Club 25 15 18 18 18 9 Study and social Study and soci Schiller-Verein 3 3 Ada Gun Club 20 * * Recreation Lodges: Modern Woodmen. . 68 20 17 1 12 Insurance and fraternal Yeoman 16 6 6 2 7 Insurance and fraternal L S. W. A 16 2 4 8 8 Insurance and fraternal Odd Fellows 15 3 3 2 8 wSick benefits and fraternal Masons 57 1 2 15 12 Fraternal Royal Neighbors. . . 24 4 5 18 10 Insurance and fraternal Rebekahs. ... 12 30 6 3 18 10 20 . Fraternal Eastern Star Fraternal *Not known. It will be seen from the table that these organizations have a comparatively small membership, and that some of the lodges hold very few meetings, w4iich are also poorly attended. The insurance feature is the only thing that keeps some of these in existence. There should also be mentioned in this connection the Commercial Club, a thriving organization of bttsiness men organized for both social and promotive purposes. This club has large and well-furnished quarters in the City Hall, a brick Ijuilding, the lower floor of which is occupied by the fire-fighting apparatus, the city offices, and the city jail. The Commercial Club occupies the second floor. It maintains a 76 L. D. H. WELD small but neat rest room for the accommodation of women visiting the village from the country or surrounding towns. The Young Ladies' Reading Club was organized in 1891 and has had continuous existence. The active membership is sixteen, and it meets every two weeks during the winter at the houses of members. It usually holds at least one function during the year to which it invites non-members, and it has two club picnics during the summer. At the meetings some member reads a paper or gives a talk on an assigned subject. One season was spent in studying France, its history, literature, art, etc. During the last two years it devoted meetings to the initiative and referendum, woman suffrage, the schools, and subjects in home economics. It is the only organization that has taken up the study of subjects of this nature. Following the dis- cussion, a lunch is served. The Twentieth Century Club has been in existence since 1901, and be- came federated with the State Federation of Women's Clubs in 1904. The membership is limited to twenty-five, and the average attendance at meetings in 1912-1913 was eighteen. It meets every two weeks at the houses of members, and meets in the evening to permit the attendance of school teach- ers. It is primarily a study club, and carries out a regular program at each meeting. Each member responds to the roll call with an account of some important event of general interest that has recently occurred. For the season 1913-1914 this club was planning a study of the modern drama. That this organization is sincere in its wish to be a purely study club is evident from the fact that it allows no refreshments to be served at its regular meetings. It holds at least one gentlemen's evening each year, and generally a social gathering to which non-members are invited. It sends delegates to the annual convention of the State Federation, and also to the District Federation meetings. The Schiller- Verein was also organized in 1901 among ladies of Ger- man descent, with the object of becoming more proficient in the German language and of studying German literature. This club, however, has de- veloped more into a social organization. Originally conversation at the meetings had to be carried on in German, and there was a fine for speaking English. This requirement is not lived up to now. Some of the subjects studied during the last few years have been German musicians, the art of Germany and other countries, and great inventions and inventors. This club always has German refreshments and entertains the men at German suppers about three times during the season. Card-playing is the form of entertainment usually employed. This club is very exclusive and limits its membership to fifteen. Other organizations which play an important part in the social life among the ladies of the town are the ladies' aid societies of the churches, and the W. C. T. U., which has an active chapter. The extent to which the COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 77 people of the village belong to the various organizations is shown in the fol- lowing table, which indicates the proportion of the 201 families visited which have one or more members in the organizations listed : I'er cent Sunday schools 44.8 Ladies' aid societies 41.2 Young people's societies 29.3 Lodges 27.3 Literary societies 14.9 W. C. T. U 13.9 Although social functions are of frequent occurrence in winter, they are confined to the various groups and clubs. Some of the people frequently entertain each other informally at dinner. There are almost no formal calls made, except on new people. It is said that formal calls were made more frequently a few years ago than to-day. Many people complain that there is a surprising amount of snobbishness in this little town ; that the people seem very self-centered ; that new people often have great difficulty in getting acquainted and in gaining entrance to the social life. These criticisms came not only from people who had been residents for only a short time, but also from old residents who were leaders in the social life. Recreation Although 93 per cent of the families report reading as a form of recrea- tion, the reading matter in the village is neither very abundant nor very substantial. There is no public library, although one was started during the eighties and lasted for a few years. The Commercial Club receives books from a traveling library, but these do not have a very wide circula- tion. Although the matter was not inquired into during the investigation, it was apparent that there are but few private libraries of substantial value. Fifty-eight per cent of the families are regular subscribers to city daily papers (principally from Minneapolis and St. Paul). Eighty-three per cent take at least one of the two local papers, and 36 per cent take both. Fifty- three per cent have first-class magazines, and the average number of mag- azines per family for those who take them at all, is 2.8. About 22 per cent take the cheaper magazines, those having a subscription price of thirty- five cents a year or less, with an average of 1.3 per family. Thirty-eight per cent of the families take religious publications, and 37 per cent, agri- cultural papers. The commonest forms of recreation besides reading are card-playing, dancing, moving-picture shows, and music. Of all the families visited, 47 per cent reported card-playing as a form of diversion, although some of these families play but little. Thirty-three per cent of the families were opposed 78 L. D. H. WELD to card-playing. Thirty-seven per cent had members who attend dances, and 2^ per cent were opposed to dancing. In a few famihes, daughters had begun to dance in spite of the oposition of parents, and the opposition had died out. This probably accounts for the greater proportion who are op- posed to card-playing than to dancing. (This situation is interesting when compared with that in the German-Lutheran settlement of farmers northeast of the village where the preacher is unalterably opposed to dancing, but sanctions both beer-drinking and card-playing.) Moving pictures were shown at the opera house at least twice a week during the year, and four times a week part of the time. There were about 68 per cent of the families which reported that parents or adults attended the ''movies," an average of 18.7 performances per family during the year. There were about 56 per cent that had children or young people who at- tended, with an average of 33.4 during the year. Very few theatrical com- panies come to town, partly because of the inadequacy of the opera house. Fifty per cent of the families reported that adults had attended the two or three shows that had visited the village, and 39 per cent that young people had attended them. The lyceum course is held in the schoolhouse each winter, and is well attended. The brass band gave a series of three or four concerts in the opera house during the season of 1912-1913, and 47 per cent of the families reported attendance at one or more. One hundred thirteen families, or 56 per cent of the total, reported musical instruments in the home. This proportion is a bit misleading, be- cause in many houses the instruments are used but little. Thirty-eight per cent of the families had pianos; 15 per cent, organs; 17 per cent, violins; 14 per cent, phonographs; 8 per cent, banjos, mandolins, or guitars; and 16 per cent, band instruments. The brass band has a paid leader who also teaches music in the school and who plies the trade of a tailor on the side. There has also been organized a juvenile band, the members of which were industriously attempting to learn to play their various instruments during the summer that this investigation was under way. During the summer the most noticeable recreation is motoring. Of the families visited, 34, or 16.9 per cent, own automobiles. The total number in the town reaches 50 or 60. Besides daily rides out on the prairie, parties frequently take long trips over Sundays. There is no good lake near at hand and auto parties often go 60 to 70 miles south into the lake region near Detroit, for a week-end outing, and for a little fishing. Most of the people who can afford it spend vacations of two or three weeks during the summer at the lakes. The continual absence of a large proportion of the inhabitants and the constant use of automobiles by those who own them practically preclude social activity during the summer. The coming of the automobile during the past few years was assigned as a reason for the segregation of the villagers into distinct social grouDS. The COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 79 number of villagers who keep driving horses was found to be 34, the same as the number that own automobiles. About half of these keep teams; the others, single horses. Other out-of-door sports are not much in evidence. Baseball is played a little, and occasional games are held with surrounding villages on Sundays during the summer. Eleven per cent of the families of the village have boys who play Sunday baseball. There are two or three tennis courts, but only one is kept in good condition and used frequently. The high school has football, baseball, and basket-ball teams. Means of Livelihood of Town People The following table shows the occupations of the heads of 182 families. This table does not give an adequate idea of the importance of the sawmill as a source of employment, because many of the mill hands are temporary residents living at boarding houses, and were not included in the survey. Heads of families Retired farmers 21 Merchants 21 Professional men 15 Laborers 12 Sawmill 12 Contractors and carpenters 11 Government positions (federal, county, and city) 10 Liverymen and teamsters 9 Railroad work (including station) 8 Real estate 6 Active farmers 5 Banking 4 Clerks in stores 4 Elevator managers 4 Retired from business 3 Saloon keepers and bar tenders 3 Threshing outfits 3 Manufacturing (other than sawmill) 3 Barbers 2 Butchers 2 Tailors 2 Painters 2 Automobiles (garage and repairing) 2 Blacksmiths 2 Engineers and machinists 2 Janitors 2 80 L. D. H. WELD Heads of families Newspaper publishers 2 Tinsmith Hotel clerk Cement business Well-driller Insurance Photographer Butter-maker Plumber Pool room Mason 182 By '"retired farmers" is meant those who have actually retired from active life. They constitute only 11 per cent of the families reported, although 127, or 6Z per cent, were raised on farms. Government positions are im- portant in this town because it is a county seat. It should be remembered that the figures apply only to families visited during the survey ; that they include about four fifths of the permanent residents ; and that there are always a number of temporary residents, especially while the sawmill is in operation, that are not included at all. Employment in the less skilled occupations is not very regular, owing not only to the shutting-down of the sawmill in winter, but also to the fact that other out-of-door occupa- tions are suspended during the cold months. For this reason wages are much lower in w'inter than in summer. Only 62.2 per cent reported that they had worked full time during the previous year. The average ntimber of days of work for all was 270. There is but little opportunity in Ada for the younger generation to find profitable employment, and this accounts for the noticeable efflux of sons and daughters to other places. This is clearly shown with regard to sons over 18 years of age by the following statement: Per cent Number of total Sons living at home and working in Ada 37 20.0 Sons working in country 29 15.6 Sons working in cities and towns other than Ada 86 46.2 Sons farming in home commtmity 19 10.2 Sons farming at a distance 15 8.0 Total 186 100.0 COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 81 Of the 2)7 sons living at home and working in the village, 12 are clerks, 4 work in the sawmill, and 2 are carpenters ; the others are in a variety of occupations. There are also 9 daughters living at home and working in the village. Three of these are in the cigar factory, 2 in the hotel, one is a barber in her father's shop, and the others are clerks or stenographers. The 86 sons working in other cities and towns represent 55 families, or over 25 per cent of those visited. Their principal occupations, with the number in each, are shown in the following table: Clerks and salesmen 9 Merchants 7 Engineers 5 Lawyers 5 Contractors and carpenters 5 Common laborers 5 Banking 4 Printing and publishing 3 Machinists 3 The foregoing statement accounts for but little over half of the sons work- ing in other cities. The remainder are in too great a variety of occupations to enumerate. It should be mentioned, however, that there is one of each of the following: doctor, professional ball player, grand opera singer, and artist. Only 14 girls were reported as away from home and working in cities. Eight of these were clerks, 2 were nurses, 2 were telegraph operators, one a milliner, and one was doing housework. There were also 28 daughters representing 25 families reported as teaching, which therefore forms the principal occupation of girls who are gainfully employed. Annual Incomes The annual income of the head of the family was ascertained from about seven eighths of all families visited. In some cases the returns were estimated, and are only approximately correct. The following table shows the number with incomes in five-hundred-dollar groups: Per cent Annual income Number of total Under $500 31 17.6 From S500 to $999 77 43.7 From $1,000 to $1,499 19 10.8 From $1,500 to $1,999 14 8.0 From $2,000 to $2,499 12 6.8 From $2,500 to $2.999 7 4.0 From $3,000 to $3,499 7 4.0 $3,500 and over 9 5.1 Total ^76 100.0 S2 L. D. H. WELD Sixty-one and tliree-tenths per cent have incomes of less than $1,000, and 43.7 ])er cent have incomes between $500 and $1,000. There were nine people among those visited wlio claimed incomes of $3,500 or over. The average income means but little, owing to the fact that a few large incomes raise it inordinately. By eliminating the two largest incomes, both well over $5,000, the aggregate income of 174 heads of families was $202,300, or an average of $1,162. The mode, or point of greatest frequency — and this is more significant — mav be said to lie between $700 and $(S00. Incomes of Heads of Village Families (Per Cent of Total in Eacli $500 Group) In addition to the incomes of heads of families, housewives and sons and datighters living at home reported considerable incomes. The princi- pal methods by which housewives add to family incomes are the selling of milk and eggs, renting of rooms, and taking-in washing. There were 49 families in which the housewife added to the income in these ways, with COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 83 average annual earnings of $109.20. There were also 36 families with children living at home who earned on the average $557 per family. There were 62.2 per cent of the families having vegetable gardens, many of which are small, and the value of truck raised ranges from $5 to $50 ; 28.4 per cent keep chickens; 11.4 per cent, cows; and 6 families living on the out- skirts of the village keep hogs and thus raise part of their own meat supply. Socialism Ada has a little body of socialists who are affiliated with the Socialist Party and who have been holding meetings since 1902. They began as a club which made a study of socialism and most of the members soon be- came socialists. This organization meets once a month, and has two special meetings each year. There are thirty-two members of the local organization, ten of whom are farmers, Init the average attendance is only about eight. It has no president and elects a chairman for each meeting. At the meetings general discussions of socialism are held, and there are generally two or three social meetings during the year. A holiday supper or dance is generally given, and an annual picnic is held during the summer. These functions are exceptional in that the farmers and town people mix freely. As one of the leaders put it, "Socialism seems to be the only bond that brings coun- try and town people together socially." Occasionally arrangements are made to have some outside speaker address open meetings. Since its organization in 1902 socialism has not gained in Ada ; it has been gaining steadily, however, in the country, and in other villages in the county. In fact there are eleven locals in the county, some of which are fairly strong. SUMMARY 1. The farmers of this community depend mainly on grain crops. Wheat is still the most important crop in value, but the greatest gains of recent years have been in the production of barley and oats. At present the culture of corn is increasing very rapidly. Cattle-raising and dairying are developing, but not so rapidly as one might wish. The dependence on grain crops means a more or less fluctuating income from year to year and has resulted in partial exhaustion of the soil. These facts have an important bearing not only on the economic well-being and standard of living of the farmers, but also on the social activities of the community. 2. The long distances between farmhouses, the mixture of nationalities and religions, the coming and going of renters, the cold winters, and the long hours of work all stand in the way of the development of social in- tercourse among farmers. The lack of sociability in this community is very noticeable, except in a few small sections. The organization of the Farmers' Club was a move in the right direction, but one of the principal things that the community needs is something to bring the farmers together to a greater extent so that they may learn to know each other better and benefit from the broadening influence of contact with their fellows, and thereby make farm life more interesting and attractive. 3. On the whole the farmers are not well organized economically. The creamery is about the only organization of importance, but this does not play as important a role in their lives or add as much to their economic well-being as creameries in communities where dairying is more important. The "Farmers' Elevator" is not a farmers' elevator ; no live stock had been shipped cooperatively when this survey was made ; there had been no cooper- ative purchase of supplies. No general rule can be laid down as to how far the farmers of any single community should go in these respects, but it should be borne in mind that the activities enumerated above have been developed in scores of other communities to both the economic and social benefit of all farmers concerned. 4. Although the facilities for marketing farm products are fairly ade- quate, there are certain weak points in the present system. The flour mill has an important and beneficial influence on the local wheat market. The local elevators ofifer a satisfactory market for grains, although some sav- ings might be attained through a cooperative company, especially as such a company could purchase supplies in carload lots for farmer members. In the marketing of butter, too much butter is made on the farm, and not enough cream is hauled to the creamery. If more were hauled to the creamery, that institution could make a better quality of butter at a lower cost per pound, and therefore pay more for butter fat than it is now paying. Conditions are ripe for cooperative marketing of live stock. Eggs are still COMMUNITY SOCIAL SURVEY 85 traded at the village stores, with little attention to production, grading, etc., a situation from which but few communities of the State have begun to emerge. 5. The school situation is improving, but there are still comparatively few children who ever finish the eighth grade, and the number who go beyond that is almost negligible. The people feel that farms are too far apart and the population too sparse to make consolidated schools possible. It is only through education that advancement along other lines can be attained, and for that reason the subject should be given even more atten- tion than at present. TABLE IX Comparison of Village and Country Per Cent of All Families Visited In village In country 16 3 60 45 8 55 2 58 67 18 1.5 50 61 15 3.5 18 26 48 32 41 40 45 23 29 19 27 14 14 14 58 43 83 84 53 22 22 34 38 35 27 76 47 46 ii 25 37 *41 25 27 50 14 39 20 38 6.5 15 2,3 14 24 17 6 Hot- water, steam, or hot-air heating plant Electric lights Electric flatirons Vacuum cleaners Running water in house Telephone Bathroom in house Washing machines Screened porches Employ maid for house work Average weekly wage: village, $3.57; country, S4.16 Hire dressmakers. Represented in ladies' aid societies , Represented in vSunday schools. Represented in young peoples' societies . Represented in lodges. Represented in literary societies Represented in W. C. T. U Subscribe to city daily paper Subscribe to local paper Subscribe to first-class magazines Average number per family: village, 2. 8; country, 1.9 vSubscribe to cheap magazines Subscribe to religious publications Subscribe to agricultural papers Play cards Opposed to card-playing Attend dances Opposed to dancing Adults attend theatricals Children attend theatricals Have pianos Have organs Have phonographs Have Automobiles *Most members of farmers' familiea attend dances very seldom, perhaps only once or twice a year. 86 L. D. H. WELD 6. The number of stores in the village is much larger than is necessary to supply efficiently the population of the section. No store has as much as $40,000 annual business, and the cost of doing business is high. Some of the stores are neat and attractive, however, give good service, and a few carry surprisingly complete and attractive stocks of merchandise. 7. The feeling among the merchants against the mail-order business is largely unwarranted, because it appears that only 52.5 per cent of all fami- lies visited ever buy from catalogue houses, and that their average pur- chases amount to only $42.04 per year. The whole mail-order business amounts to only about three per cent of the total business of those stores which are open to this sort of competition. 8. In many ways the social life of the village is very pleasant, and the people form close friendships. They are divided, however, into well- defined groups, with the result that each group is rather self-centered and self-sufficient. In view of the lack of contact with the outside world, a more general social life in the village would undoubtedly aid in developing wider interests. There is very little social mingling between the ^■illage folk and the farmers. 9. On the whole the village people have a surprising" innnber of com- forts in their homes, and live in attractive houses. The cost of living is decidedly low as compared with city life and people with moderate means enjoy certain comforts that would be impossible with the same incomes in larger cities. This is one of the principal conveniences of small-town life, although, on the other hand, the small town ofifers but little employ- ment for the young people, thus forcing them to move to larger cities to gain a livelihood. There is a much more noticeable movement of young people from the village to the city than from the farm to the city. DATE DUE A j 1 i V J V w^ OAYLORO PRINTED IN U S A ^B Ill's m?il,^,Mm'i REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITy D 000 304 836 o