The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-12-04

TO secure, for all decent, hard work.
ing men. equality of opportunity and
equality of burden.
Of Agriculture.
The only other persons whose well
fare is as vital to the welfare of the
whole country as is the welfare of
the wageworkers are the tillers of the
soil, the farmers. 1t is mere truism
to say that no growth of cities, no
| growth of wealth, no industrial devel
opment can atone for any falling OF
in the character and standing of the
farming population. During the last
few decades this fact has been rec
| ognized with ever-increasing clear
ness. There is no longer any failure
to realize that farming, at least in
certain branches, must become a teen
| meal and scientific profession. This
! means that there must be open to
farmers the chance for technical and
scientific training, not theoretical
merely but of the most severely prac-
teal type. The farmer represents
! peculiarly high type of American cit
/ izenship, and he must have the same
! American citizens have.
Several factors must cooperate in
the Improvement of the farmers con-
dition. He must nave the Chance to
be educated in the widest possible
in view the intimate relationship be-
tween the theory of education and the
facts of life. In all education we
should widen our aims. 1t is a good
thing to produce a certain number Of
trained scholars and students; but the
education superintendent by the state
must seek rather to produce a hun
dred good citizens than merely one
scholar, and it must be turned now
and then from the class book to the
study Of the great book of nature it
self. This is especially true of the
and again by all observers most COM
petent to pass practical judgment on
the problems Of our country life. All
students now realize that education
| must seek to train the executive pow
ers Of young people and to confer more
| real significance upon the phrase dig
nifty of labor" and to prepare the pu-
pills so that in addition to each de-
veloping in the highest degree his in
dividual capacity for work, they may
! together help create a right public
! opinion, and show in many ways So
cial and cooperative spirit. Organic
| alton has become necessary in the
| business world; and it has accom-
| plished much for good in the world of
labor. 1t is no less necessary for far
mers Such a movement as the grange
movement is good in itself and is ca
pable of a well-nigh infinite further
extension for good so long as it is
kept to it's own legitimate business
The benefits to be derived by the as
ISOLATION of farmers for mutual ad-
vantage are partly economic and
partly sociological.
| Moreover, while in the long run vol
| untary effort will prove more efica-
cius than government assistance, While
the farmers must primarily do most
for themselves, yet the government can
also do much The department of ag-
riculture has broken new ground in
many directions, and year by year it
finds how it can improve its meth
DDS and develop fresh usefulness. Its
constant effort is to give the govern
mental assistance in the most effective
way: that is, through associations Of
| farmers rather than to or through in
dividual farmers. 1t is also striving
to coordinate it's work with the agri-
| cultural departments of the severai
states, and so far as it's own work is
educational, to coordinate it with the
| work of other educational authorities
| Agricultural education is necessarily
based upon general education, but our
AGRICULTURAL educational institutions
are wisely specializing themselves,
making their courses relate to the ac-
tua1 teaching of the agricultural and
kindred sciences to young country peo-
pie who wish to live in the country.
great progress has already been
made among farmers by the creation
of farmers institutes, of dairy asso-