Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-02-14
FARMERS INSTITUTE
The Most Successful Ever Held.
VERY LARGE ATTENDANCE.
Absorbing Interest in its Proceedings.
FRIDAY MORNING.

enlarged.
Because of the tardy gathering of the
people, the Institute was not called to or
der until 10 o'clock. President Young
and Secretary McMechan were on hand
promptly, and throughout the two days
and two nights sessions kept things NOV
ing and the audiences constantly inter
ested
The morning session was opened with
prayer by Rev. DR.. HollingShead, of the
VI. E. Church, who returned thanks for
the recurring seasons, the prosperity and
comforts which crowned the work of the
farmers, and the splendid heritage afford
ed all the people of this great state. At
its conclusion, Mr.. R. f. Giffen moved that
the Institute organize by electing the Off
GERS of the Farmers Club, and that, in ad-
ditiOn, Smith Hirst, Theodore Neff, VIM.
Nichols, George NJ Wise, and Robert J.
Pollock be elected Yice-PreSidents. The
motion was unanimously adopted.
Thereupon Mr.. J. F. Young, the Presi-
dent of the Institute, delivered the fol
lowing address.
PRESIDENT YoUNG'S ADDRESS.
We have again assembled in the ca
/ pacity of a Farmers Institute We have
come together for the consideration and
/ discussion of questions of interest to us
! as farmers and as citizens This is our
! eighth annual Institute in st. ClairsvilIe
and they have been growing better every
year. We hope this will not prove an
exception. The management of our In
| stitute in st. Clairsville has been criti-
cised to considerable degree. Some say
! there has been too much levity, too much
! amusement and entertainment, and not
enough rigid agricultural discipline
/ teaching. People sometimes forget that
the farmer is a citizen as well as farmer;
that he is social and moral being as
well as farmer A farmer needs intel
! lectual and moral culture as well as agri-
culture. God never intended farmer to
be one idea man, He never intended
! farmers life to be all prose and no poetry
to be all work and no play. We think
the highly intellectual and moral and
| scientific lectures and the entertaining
recitations have been profitably mingled
with the practical agricultural lecture and
! discussions at our institutes. Progress
in agricultural life has been wonderful in
the last half century. The life of a farm
er was ever thus considered an indie
pendent life and his condition a happy
one, but it was a life of unremiting toll
and rigid frugality. 1t was only indepen-
dent in that he was almost self sustain
| ing. Nearly all the neceSsaries Of life
were the products of the soil and of his
| domestic animals. The farmer was indie
pendent because his wants were few and
simple. He had little dealings with the
world. He could produce and manufac-
ture what was needed for the SuStenance
and comfort of his family, but any sur
plus productions were of little value to
him. There was no home market and no
railroads to convey it to those who might
need it. Some of the causes of the better
condition of agriculture to-day are the
discovery of better methods of operation
the invention of improved machinery
and the building of RAILROADS. We can
! all remember when there was no steam
threSherS. Some of you can remember
when there was no horse power threSh-
erS nor harveSters, nor grain drills, nor
planters. Some of you can remember
when there was no railroads. Especially
to st. Clairsville). Now they are being
built by the 1000 miles annually, and
along the lines of these railroads are
| springing up towns peOpled with manu-
! facturerS and tradeSmen, and these togeth-
er furnish means of conveyance and
create demand for the products of the
farm, and there is no reason why these
causes should not continue to operate in
favor of agriculture The discoveries
and inventions of the past have been so
marvellous as to make us confidently ex-
pect still further discoveries of the mys-
terieS of Divine creation. | think in the
| light of the application of steam and
electricity to lOcomOtiOn, and that steam
is the motive power in all kinds Of man
ufacturlng, and in threShing and cutting
silage and making cider we may reason
ably expect its further application in
farming operations. Do not be SurpriS-
ed friends if within a very few years our
plOwS and reapers and mowers are run
with traction engine. But. with all
our progress, we have not kept pace with
some other branches of business. Man
ufacturing and commerce has made
greater progress and has made money
Colossal fortunes have been made in
merchandising, manufacturing and in
mining. Farming has never proved a
very lucrative business. Fortunes are
not made on the farm. The accumula-
ton of wealth is slow. vet there is a COM
petence, a sure good living in farm well
managed. To be good farmer a man
must like the occupation. There is gen
uine pleasure in farming for those who
like and take interest in the business.
There is so much variety as to break the
monOtony of routine. But there are
some things for the farmer to give atten-
ton to besides farming operations. He
must watch legislation and taxation, and
E lr1NNz ffArN- hf Tc Of, TOD
keep posted as to his relation to other oc-
cupations and branches of business
the changes in values and public ex-
penseS. We fear the tendency of the
times is to unnecessarily increase public !
expenses, and consequently taxation.
ears ago when prices were inflated and
living high, officers salaries were increaS-
ed to suit the demand of the times. |
When produce was high and everybody
making money we did not feel the bur !
den of taxation. But now that values
have shrunk, all kinds of produce cheap,
why are salaries not reduced? The spirit
of the times seems to be to continue to
increase salaries and to encourage ex-
trayagant expenditures of money. Our
officers are not to blame for accepting
big pay. Ali of us would do the same
! thing-take all the law allows Neither
10 OiIO SlSdI army OI OIllce Se6heTS 10
blame for wanting these fat Offices. But
the salaries of most of our public officers
are too high. The pay of our Judges are
not too high-cOnsidering the qualifica-
| tons and duties of our Judiciary, the
salaries are very moderate. But why
should we pay the Governor of our State
$1,000 per annum, more than $3.50 per
day. Nobody claims that the duties of
the Office are in any degree commensurate
with such salary. Some say it is neces-
sary to sustain the dignity of the office.
1t was not so considered in the days of
| COrwin, Chase, Shannon, Todd, Brough.
! Allen and Others. When the salary was
! only $500 per annum, we had no trouble
to secure the best talent in the State. and
the Office was considered honorable and