The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-06-04


ing the distance between burrows nro-
clalms it; so do his tall, rugged. but some
"hat stopped figure, his lined, wind-swept
countenance, his steel blue ewes. their
singular brightness eloquent of life in the
open telds, the lids habitually drawn to-
gether by lifelong evasion of the glar-
ing prllllance of the harvest sun. The
honors ne has gained have been thrust
upon him; literally by physical force he
was dragged from the farm to the forum.
NOW, summoned from the dictatorship of
an iowa agricultural college to the head
Oh the national agricultural institution,
he SUN processes to be nothing more than
a man in his shirt sleeves. working for
tne advancement of men similarly divest-
In his labor-acquired physique, his
speech, his manner, his movements. ev-
cry one OF Mr.. Wilson's seventy three
ihches unmistakably proclaims him
FARMER; he is a fne-looking, generous,
sturdy-looking figure of man who knows
What the dome of heaven looks like at
sunrise. When the torch of civil war
gave forth it's first red illumination, young
FARMER Wilson was all for seizing mus
ket and rushing to the front. But the
A"A1iis " w WulCIl ue UelOuSeu was large,
poor, and needed it's men, who were strap
ped to the plough; moreover, his brother
Peter, an older man, wanted to go, and
had the law of primogenture, observed
by the Scotch. on his side. The two men
drew lots, and Peter went to the war,
and died in it. The younger man re-
turned to his plodding of the fields to be
seized upon as parliamentarian by his
nelghbors few years later.
Among the men with their coats off,"
said Mr.. Wilson the other day, "are the
dairymen Of this country. They are just
setting about to tackle one of the biggest
Jobs they have ever undertaken, and, if
have any kind of gift of prophecy, they're
going to win. The problem is this: Eng
land is buying $65,00O,0CO worth of for
'eign butter a year. The United States
supplies perhaps 1 per cent of it, or little
over 100000 worth, while little Denmark
supplies nearly $30,00OOOO worth, buying
American COW feed for the purpose Of
holding this immense business. We make
the best butter in the world Then why
can't we sell at least as much of it to the
British people as a little country like
Denmark? That's one of the things 1 am
going to find out, If it takes all of the spe-
clal agents in this department to get me
the facts; and it will be one of the sur.
prlses of my life if at the end of three or
Iour years we are not furnishing Great
Britain with at least one-half the butter
she Imports"
secretary Wilson puts in from nine to
ten hours day at his department. He be-
longs to the careful, plodding type of
Workmen. He likes to make the drafts in
his own handwriting of the more impor-
tant letters and documents to which he
appends his signature. Disaster befalls
him when, as often happens, his old farm
er friends from Iowa walk in upon him
at his office, for single visitation of this
sort eats considerable hole in his work
ing day; and 1t does not console the Sec
retary to be aware that it is his own fault
he will not let such visitors depart with
In reasonable time, much as they pro-
test that they fear they are trenching up-
on his Indulgence. He lines up on a leath-
er sofa alongside couple of these pros
porous looking elderly agricuturists, and
there ensues a canvassing of farming
matters, treated either theoretically. tech
nically or practically.
Being scientific farmer. as we'll as
practical one, Mr.. Wilson saws that he
feels as much compelled to keep I'D with
the latest writings Of scientific farming
as the ambitious physician is obliged to
follow the current Developments in his
profession. Hundreds of pamphlets and
publications of all sorts relative to mat
ters Of the farm reach him every week,
and he looks through them all. He has
one pet hobby, which, however, is an emf
nently practical and praiseworthy one,
viz, the fostering of the sugar beet indus
try in the United States "Why should
the United States pay out $1OOOOO,OOO
year for its sugar, when we can easily
raise it at home?" is an inquiry he puts to
his friends constantly, and before long he
intends to make a personal inspection of
the most important fields in the country
where the sugar beet industry is growing.
Probably next year." said Mr.. Wilson,
Il shall make tour of the farming dis
tricts throughout the South and South
west. I am peculiarly farmer of the
temperate region in the Northwest, and
must own to a considerable lack of infor-
nation as to the requirements Of the men
with their coats off in the sub tropical re-
gions of the country. But am going to
find out as much about them as can, and
shall probably proceed as far as Califor-
mia in the effort"