The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-03-29
FARMERS INSTITUTES.

| VIEWS OF MIR. WILLIAM $. POWELL FOR
MERLY OF THIS COUNTY, WHO WAS
| PRESIDENT OF THE LARGE AND WIDE
LY-NoTICED FARMERS INSTITUTE RE-
| GENTLY HELD AT BELTsvILLE, PRINCE
| GEORGES : COUNTY, MARYLAND.
In conversation on the subject of State
appropriation for Farmers Institutes, Mr.
| Powell said: "As soon as Prof. Sylvester,
the president of the Maryland Agricultu-
raj College, offered the resolution at the
Beltsville Institute, favoring State aid in
holding Farmers Institutes in all the coun-
ties, | Immediately recognized that such
meetings would be productive of great
good, and it is but just that the farmers
should have some of the money back which
they SO literally pay to the State in taxes
| for dissemination of information which
| would assist them in learning how to make
| their burdens as citizens less heavy, and
their comforts as individuals greater
"1f quote correctly the report Of the
State Bureau of Statistics, recently pub
| lished, says: In the State we have, approx
| imately, 800 manufactures, using capi-
tai of $119OO0,OOO, employing 100000 peo-
pie who earn $4l 900, 600, working up ma
terial costing $92, 900, ,0O0 whose products
have value of $112 100000. If you will
add the wages and material together you
will have $133, 900. Deducting this
sum from the products ($172 200, ,000,) you
will have left $37, 800, 900, or about 30 per
cent. gross profits on the capital invested.
On the same basis, when we look into
agricultural matters, it will be found that
we have about 10000 farms, or over five
times as many farms as factories. These
farms, including live stock and Implements
all of which pay taxes (there being no ex-
emptions as there are for certain causes in
the stocks of corporations,) are valued at
$20l ,000, 900 and they only produce $685.,
O00, 900 in values of all kinds And enor-
nous capital OF over two hundred million
dollars, and the combined work of over
two hundred and two thousand families,
or with double the capital and at least five
times the people the agricultural classes
are only making about onesxth as much
money as the manufacturing classes. This
stupendous difference in favor of the lat
ter over the former can not be traced to
production, because, with the eNcep
ton of a few trucking crops and fruits,
Maryland consumes more than she pro-
duces. Then what is the cause? frankly
believe it is legislation Any intelligent
man looking at the work of our Legisla-
lures for the past twenty years will find
that all their efforts have been towards
fostering the the corporate and manufac
turing interests and comparatively moth
ing has been done for the farmers who pay
most of the taxes. Nor is this to be Won
dercd at when we look at the composition
Of our Legislative bodies. How few intel
ligent farmers they contain; mostly COM
posed of professional men and others di
rectly interested in what is known as ''busi
ness" The farmers interests must natu-
rally, under these conditions, suffer. Why
this is the case is largely due to the apathy
of the farmers, because the average farmer
avows he has not time to bother with poll
tics, read, or do anything but follow in the
same old ruts of his fOrefathers, forgetting
that the sciences (and true agriculture is
science,) are going forward, and he must
know what they are doing or the ruts will
grow deeper the work harder, and the pay
less
1T is the object of these Farmers lnsti
tutes, after bringing neighbors together i'll
social conclave, through intelligent, stud
ious and progressive men, to tell those as
sembed of improvements in fertilization,
cultivation, feeding, road-making, and the
proper marketing of crops. In fact these
Institutes are a necessity and at any rea-
sonable cost would certainly be an econo-
nv to the State by awakening a new inter
est in agriculture. Our people are not a
reading people and there are fewer agri-
cultural papers circulated in this State
than in anv other State in the Union. My |
own idea of these Institutes is that they
should be conducted under non partisan |
board of agriculture and immigration,
which should work in connection with our
Agricultural Experiment Station and our
Agricultural College. The board suggest
could have one executive officer, who could
arrange all the details, programs, &c, for
the Institutes, holding them in the winter,
when work is slack with the farmers, and
thereby insure large attendance. The bal
ance of the time this officer could be prof
tablv employed in inducing immigration,
which our lower counties are so badly i'll
need of. | believe $4,000 annually for
two years would be a wise appropriation
to be made for this work, and | feel that
two years experience, provided practl-
cal, energetic man, having agricultural
knowledge, (not broken-down politician,)
is put in charge of the work under the
proposed board of agriculture and immi-
grafton. that Farmers Institutes will be-
come a permanent feature Of our State and
its agricultural classes greatly benefited
by them.
If this plan is considered the proper
one, now is the time to commence the pre-
liminary work. Let the farmers hold
meetings and the first resolution they pass
should be that part of each delegation to
the Legislature from the country districts
shall be composed of intelligent farmerD