The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-08-30
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
A Return 10 the Soil from
the Grow ded Cities

SlSSlppi valley STATES was the principal
factor In the elevation of our great mia-
die class which made of the American
nation a people Of intelligent thinkers
ready and able in time of crisis to de-
eide right and to do. Higher education
has followed and new systems ana meth
DDS have ~supplanted the "Hoosier school,
master" and the birch rod. identified
with the little red school house. The ed
ucationai level of the country has I'M
doubtedly rised many degrees, but with
this advance have come problems more
perplexing than those which troubieo
the p~edagogues of our fathers. The
trend of the co~untry-raised boy Is all too
is no countervaillng current impelling the
young people Of the cities to fill his place
In the country The problem is one for
the most serious consideration of our
best statesmen. this constant and cen
tripetal movement which Is overcrowding
our centers of Industry. where men work
for day wages. and which is steadily
drawing from our rural c~ommunities
where men own the land they live upon
and get their sustenance from the soil.
TO STEM THE DRIFT.
Yet there are quiet forces at work. year
by year becoming better organized ana
of broader power. whose tendency is IT,
overcome this hurtful condition and in.
duce a migration back to the land ano
away from the overcrowded centers. In
dustrial and agricultural educations are
playing an important part. and nature
study courses, and city school garden.
where children are taught to know some
thing of the soil and plants and the rea,
wonders Of nature working around us a
every hand. are no longer looked upon
as fads. An interesting move In this d.
rection was made the other day in the
organization of the American League fol-
such national characters for officers ano
sponsors as N. o. Nelson of st. Louis.
who has founded the village and schoo.
of Le Claire. adjacent to his factories al
Edwardsville. ILL.,: Thomas Kane. pres
ident of the Winona Assembly. which /
establishing an institution for the teach
ing of agriculture in indianapolis; ]. II
Krauskopf. founder and president of tn,
now noted national farm school at
Doylestown, Pa: John H. Patterson
president of the National Cash Registe
company. whose school, gardens an.
model factory equipments at Dayton. O..
have awakened a widespread interest.
General r. S. Tuthill. through whose ef-
forts the St. Charles Home for BoyS a
Chicago was founded: o. j. Kern. super
intendent of schools for Winnebago
county, H., who has done a great WORK
and perfected plans for ENGRAVING o.
them methods for the practical teaching
of improved agriculture In experimental
gardens: E. b. Butler. president of the
board of trustees of the Illinois Manua.
Training School Farm. n Milton
George. the founder of that school: Jan.
Adams. head assistant Of the Chicago
Hull House Social Settlement. and other.
of note In his movement.
TEACH THE DIGNITY OF WORK.
The league is working for an industrial.
public school system which will include
the teaching of domestic science ana
both agricultural and manual training In
all the public schools. so that children
shall be taught to work with their hanas
and farm as they are taught in the pub
lie schools of France and Denmark. /.
maintains hat every school should have
a school garden where every child shouio
be aught to be a lover of nature and OF
the country and trained toward the lano
as a source of honorable livelihood.
rather than away from it.
Such a system of education would un
doubtedly tend to very largely check thu
constant movement toward the cities.
The farm boy who receives a fair schooi
or h 'gh school education naturally turns
toward the place where he can best ap-
ply 1t. His training has not been such
as would help him to farm better OF
make of farming an interesting science.
And so he goes to the city. On the o..ei
hand, the city boy. as he grows up anc
marries would like to have a home o,
his own on the land. but he knows oni,
the trade he has learned. He knows
nothing of farming and he would no,
know what to do on a piece of land If he
had II. 1t has been often said that it is
useless to put the poor of the great cit
les out In the country because they W..
not stay there. They cannot be expect
ed to. for to them II Is a strange ano
barren story. The experience of the Sal
walton Army, however. found In its many
yrricatad colopiao chouya fhaf man ~