The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-04-10
PRESIDENT

Sioux City, s. D., April 6.-President
Roosevelt here today delivered al
speech on 1.-The Wage Worker and the
Tiller of the Soil" An immense
heard him speak. The presi-
dent said:
There are many, many lesser prob
which go to make up in their en-
tirety the huge and complex problems
of our modern industrial life. Each
of these problems is, moreover, con-
nected with many Of the others. Few
indeed are simple or stand only by
themselves. The most important are
those connected with the relation OF
the farmers, the stockgrowers and
soil tillers, to the community at large,
and those affecting the relations be-
tween employer and employed. In a
country like ours it is fundamentally
true that the we'll being of the tiller
the soil and the wageworker is the
well being of the state. If they are
we'll off, then we need concern our
selves but little as to how other
classes stand, for they will inevitably
be we'll off too; and, on the other hand
there can be no real general prosper
ity unless based on the foundation OF
the prosperity of the wageworker and
the tiller of the soil.
But the needs of these two classes
are often not the same. The tlller OF
the soil has been of all u citizens
the one on the whole the least affect
ed in his ways of life and methods OF
industry by the giant Industrial
changes of the last half century.
There has been change with him, too,
of course. He also can work to s
advantage if he keeps in close touch
with his fellows; and the c OF
the national department OF agricul-
ture has shown how much can be done
for him by rational action of the gov
eminent. Nor is it only through the
department that the government can
act.
Zone of the greatest and most bene-
fcent measures passed by the last
congress, or indeed by any congress
in recent years, is the irrigation act,
which will do for the states of the
Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain
region at least as much as ever has
been done for the states of the humid
region by river and harbor improve
ments. Few measures that have been
put upon the statute books OF the
nation have done more for the people
than this law will, I firmly believe
directly and indirectly accomplish fol
the states in question.
The Farmers Welfare.
"The department of agriculture de
votes it's whole energy to working tol
the welfare OF farmers and stockgrow
ers. In every section of our country
it aids them in their constantly in
creasing search for a better agricul
tural education. 1t helps o only
, them, but all the nation, in seeing
that our exports of meats have clear
bills OF health, and that there is rigit
, inspection Of all meats that enter into
interstate commerce. T~hirty-elgh'
million were inspected dur
ing the last fiscal year. Our stock
growers sell $40, 600, 900 worth of live
! stock annually, and these animals
! must be kept healthy or else II PEG
ple will lose their trade. Our expor
of plant products to foreign countrle:
amounts to over 5000. 900, 900 a year
and there is no branch of it's work tt
which the department of agriculture
devotes more care. Thus the depart
ment has been successfully introduc
ing macaroni wheat from the head
waters of the Volga, which grows sue
cessfully in ten inches of rainfall, ant
by this means wheat growing ha'
been successfully extended WESTWARD
into the semi-arid regions. Two mil
lion bushels of this wheat were grow
last year, and being suitd to dry con
ditons it can be used for forage a
we'll as for food for man.
Helps the FruitgroWer.
"The department of agriculture ha
been helping our fruit men to estat
lish markets abroad by studying meth
DDS of fruit preservation through re
frigeration and through methods Q
handling and packing. On the Gul
coast of Louisiana and Texas, thank
to the department of agriculture,
rice suitable to the region was import
ed from the Orient and the rice GRO
is now practically equal to our need