Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-08
MR.. DAVIS ON AGRICULTURE.
Vice Presidential Candidates Address
at State Fair.

WHEELING. w. Va, September San
immense crowd attended the West Virginia
state fair at Morgans Grove yesterday af-
ternoon the occasion being the presence OF
ex-senator Henry G.. Davis, the democratic
vice presidential candidate, who was sched-
uled to make a non-political address SEN
ator Davis was accompanied by National
Committeeman John T. McGraw and John
]. Cornwell. the democratic candidate for
governor. Mr. Davis was enthusiastically
received when he entered the grounds and
when he arose to speak was heartily cheer
ed. In the course of his short talk on agri-
culture Senator Davis referred to this as
mans natural occupation and the most i'm
portant and useful to mankind. The agri-
culturist has always been found in the
advance guard of the march of civtliza ton
Nearly all who worked and fought for our
independence and liberty were tillers of
the soil; nearly all of our early Presidents
had been farmers; the majority of our
successful men of today Lave come from
the farms; farmers as class are liberty
loving people.
Continuing Mr. Davis said: I'm the
early days of the republic of Rome
much attention was paid to agriculture.
Cato Cicero and Cincinnatus and many
of the great Romans were farmers
and man could not hold office unless he
owned and farmed many acres OF land.
When Rome commenced foreign conquest
and negrected agriculture she commenced
to decay. and it is always so with nauo1S.
Agriculture started England on the high
road to prosperity and the commercial SUI
premacy which she has maintained In the
world for five hundred years.
Agricultural products feed US at nome
and pay much of our foreign debts Be
tween 60 and 20 per cent of all our exports
are from the farm.
The total value of the farm products or
the United States in 1903 was $4,000, 00o, Ooo
or about four times the value OF all our
mineral products. The value of the corn
crop alone was about equc1 to the entire
mineral production
"Our government eXpends annually Tor the
War Department 1921 100000 and for agri-
culture $1,000, 00O-over twenty times more
for war than for agriculture, and the farm
ers pay a larger share of taxes than any
other occupation.
'There has been most gratifying IN
crease in the agricultural interest in west
Virginia In 1880 there were 62,6I4 farms;
in 1900 the number increased to 92,S74, an
increase of more than 80 per cent. In 1880
we had 3,S00.0OO acres in farms; In 1900.
) .j00,O0 acres an increase of 40 per cent.
The average acreage of our farms de-
creased from 1872 in 1880 to ia in 1900. The
value of our farm property increased from
S154. 900 900 in 1880 to S204. 100000 in 1900,
an increase of SO per cent. The value of our
farm products annually IS about $4,000 900.
When l was a member of the United
States Senate L znh-- speech calling at
tention to the neglect of the agricultural
interest by the national government, and
upon my motion a bill passed the Senate
making the agricultural bureau a depart
ment- ...-
THE farmer live well and prosper
without the towns cities, but the people
of the towns cities soon starve if the
farmer does not feed them