So far the ... settler's only means of protection has been the county agent. From the county agent the settler gets the true condition of the land, climate, and possibilities in general, of the particular region into which he is going. Too often, though, the settler is met at the train by the real-estate agent, and this agent does not let his prospective buyer get in touch with anyone else until after he has been sold a piece of land. After the settler has bought his land the real-estate man thinks that his connection with him has ceased, and he is no longer interested in him other than to see that the promised payments are paid when due.
THE PUBLIC-SPIRITED LAND DEALER
The second group of the ordinary type of land dealer, though not so large as the first group, consists of men who have a broader outlook upon their business and work. While they also are after personal profit, they understand that they are rendering, in return for their profit, a service not only to the land buyer, but also to the public. Accordingly, they are considerate of the settler, try to make him successful, and, having the social point of view, they promote education, welfare work, and other community interests among the settlers.
The writer has met a number of such broad-minded and public-spirited land dealers. Some of them were so modest as to deny that they were interested in or were keeping in mind any public or social end in their business.
Well, I am after profit, nothing more. By helping the settler to make a success through extension of credit to him, through demonstrations, through finding a market for his products, and through organizing community work, I am only advertising my land and attracting new settlers. That is, I am applying a little bit of Henry Ford's methods to the land-settlement business, that's all!
This explanation was given by a large land dealer in one of the Middle Western states. Further conversation with him showed that he took great pride in the fact that the settlers on his land esteemed him highly and had confidence in him.
It is land men of this type that a county agent from the North Middle West speaks of in these words:
The land men in this county all believe that it is to their own interests to have every settler a satisfied settler. They are getting away from the idea that they are done with the settler as soon as they sell him a piece of land. They now believe that they are just starting their relations with the settler when he buys from them.
Another county agent writes that he believes that
the real-estate men are beginning to try to see that the settlers to whom they sell land make good. They are doing this by being lenient with their conditions and by picking only the better types of land for settlement.