Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1904-06-30

onr people upon the existence of q
body such 40 this, having it's con.
nections in every state in the coun.
try, and bent upon the eminently
practical work of making the con.
ditions of life easier and better for
the people whom of all others We
can least afford to see grow discon.
tented with their lot in life-the
people who live in the country dis.
tricts. loud applause.l
The extraordinary, wholly uu.
heard.of rate of our industrial de.
velopment during the past seventy.
FIVE years, with the good phases,
has also had some bad phases. II
10 a fine thing to see our cities build
up, but not at the expense of the
country districts. [Appiause.l The
healthy thing is to see the building
up of both country and city 60 on
hand in hand. We can not expect
the ablest, the most eager, the most
ambitious young men TO stay in
the country, to stay on the farm,
unless they have certain advaut.
ages. Farm life is in too many in.
stances q life of isolation. of men.
tai poverty, life In which II 10 q
matter of great and real difficulty
for one man to communicate with
with his neighbor. You can rest
assured that. unless this 10 chang.
ed, there will be a tendency to leave
the farms on the part of those very
people whom we should most wish
to see stay there. 1t 10 a good thing
to encourage in every way any
movement which will tend to check
an unhealthy flow from the coun.
try to the city. There are several
such movements in evicence at
present. The growth of>electricity
as applied to means of transporta'
ton tends, to a certain degree, to
exercise Q centrifugal force to Offset
the centripetsl force of steam. Ex-
actly as the use of steam has tend.
ed to gather men into masses, 80
now electricity as applied to trans
portation tends to scatter them.
The trolley lines that 60 through
the country are doing a great deal
to render II possible to live in the
country and yet not lose wholly the
advantages of the town.
The telephone is not to be mini.
mized az an instrument with ten.
dency in the same direction.
Rural free delivery is playing its
part along the same lines.
But no one thing can do so much
to OBJECT the tendency towardsian
unhealthy drain from the country
into the city as the making and
keeping of good roads. Loud ap-
plausel They are needed for the
sake of their effect upon the indus-
trial conditions of the country die.
tricts, and I am almost tempted to
cay that they are needed more for
their effect upon the social condi.
tions of the country. TApplause.j
If winter means to the average far.
mer the existence of q long line of
liquid morasses through which he
has to move his goods If bent on
or to wade or swim If
bent on pleasure; If an ordinary
rain means that the farmers girl
and boy can not use their bicycles;
If little heavy weather means the
stoppage of all communication, not
pnly with the industrial centers,
but with the neighbors, then you
must exdect that there will be q
great many young people of both
sexes who will not find farm life |
very attractive.
It 10 for this reBson, among many
others, that I feel that the work you
are doing to be 80 pre-eminently |
one-for the interest of the nation az |
= whole. l Congratulate you upon |
The fact that You ars doing II. In
our American.life It would be hard |
10 overestimate the amount of good |