Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-04

preference but also education rom tne
outside, as with all other men-s peculiarly
| necessary here in the United States. where
| the frontier conditions even IN the newest
| states have now nearly vanished, wnere
| there must be q substitution OF more m.
| tensive system Of cultivation for the Old
| wasteful farm management, and wnere
| there must be better business organiza-
| ton among the farmers themselves
| Several factors must cooperate In the
| improvement OF the farmers condition. He
must have the chance to be educated In the
widest possible sense-in the sense Wnicn
keeps ever in view the intimate relationship
| between the theory OF education and the
| facts Of life In all education we should
| widen our aims. 1t Is good thing to pro-
| duce certain number OF trained scholars
and students; but the education superin-
| tended by the State must seek rather to
produce q hundred good citizens than mere
! ly one scholar. and it must be turned now
| and then from the class book to the study
| of the great book OF nature ITSELF This is
| especially true of the farmer. as has been
pointed out again and again by all observers
| most competent to pass practical judgment
| stuuents. now, realize that education must
seek to train the executive powers OF young
people and to confer more real significance
| upon the phrase dignity Of labor, !. and TO
prepare the pupils so that In addition to
each developing in the highest degree his
| individual capacity for work they may to-
gether help create right public opinion,
and show In many ways social and co.
| necessary. in the business world; and 1T has
accomplished much for good in the world
of labor 1t is no less necessary Tor
| farmers. Such a movement as the grange
/ movement is good In itself andis capable
of well-nigh infinite further extension
FOR good so long as 1t Is kept to It's own
legitimate business. The benefits to oe
| derived by the association of farmers for
mutual advantage are partly economic and
party sociological - -, go
| Moreover while in the long run voluntary
I effort will prove more efficacious than gov
! eminent assistance while the farmers must
prima rily do most for themselves, yet the
| Government can also do much. The De-
partment of Agriculture has broken new
ground In many directions, and year by year
I 1t finds how it can improve its methods
and develop fresh usefulness. Its constant
effort is to give the governmental assist
ance in the most effective way; that is,
! thru associations of farmers rather than
| to or thru individual farmers. 1t is also
| striving to coordinate its work with the
agricultural departments of the several
States, and so far as it's own work is educa-
| tional, to coordinate it with the work of
I other educational authorities Agricultural
education Is necessarily based upon general
education, but our agricultural educational
institutions are wisely specializing them
selves, making their courses relate to the
actual teaching of the agricultural and
kindred sciences to young country people
| or young city people who wish to live in
the country.
Great progress has already been made
among farmers by the creation of farmers
| institutes, of dairy associations, of breeders
associations, horticultural associations, and
the like. striking example of how the
Government and ---e farmers can cooperate
is shown in connection with the menace
offered to the cotton growers Of the South
ern States by the advance of the boil
| weevil. The Department is doing all it can
to organize the farmers in the threatened
districts, just as it has been doing all 1t
can to organize them in aid of Its work to
q dio9f 70 no Ia n
The Department can and will cooperate
with all such associa tonss and 1t must have
| their help if its own work Is to be done IN
the most efficient STYLE
Irrigation and Forest Preservation.
Much Is now being done for the States
Of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains
thru the development of the national policy
of irrigation and forest preservation; no
Government policy for the betterment OF
our internal conditions has been more
fruitful of good than this. The forests of
the White Mountains and Southern Appa-
lachian regions should also be preserved;
and they can not be unless the people of the
States in which they lie thru their repre-
sentatives in the Congress, secure vigorous
action by the National Government.
Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington.
invite the attention OF the Congress to
the estimate of the Secretary of War for
an appropriation to enable him to begin the
preliminary work for the construction of
memorial amphitheater at Arlington. The
Grand Army of the Republic in its ma
tional encampment has urged the erection
of such an amphitheater as necessary for
the proper observance Of Memorial Day
and as a fitting monument to the soldier
and sailor dead buried there. In this l
heartily concur and commend the matter
to the favorable consideration of the Con-
gress.
Marriage and Divorce.
I am well aware of how difficult it is to
pass a constitutional amendment. Never
theless in my judgment the whole question
of marriage and divorce should be rele-
gated to the authority OF the National Con-
gress At present the wide differences in
| the laws of the different States on this
subject result in scandals and abuses; and
surely there is nothing so vitality essential
to the welfare of the nation, nothing
around which the nation should so bend it.
self to throw every safeguard as the home
life of the average citizen. The change
would be good from every standpoint. In
particular it would be good because it
would confer on the Congress the power at
once to deal radically and efficiently with
pOiygamy, ana this SnOulQ Do zone Wnelner
or not marriage and divorce are dealt with.
1t is neither safe nor proper to leave the
question Of polygamy to be dealt with by
the several States. Power to deal with it
should be conferred on the National Gov
eminent.
When home ties are loosened; when men
and women cease to regard a worthy fam
lily life, with all its duties fully performed,
and ali it's responsibilities lived up to, as
the life best worth living; then evil days
for the commonwealth are at hand. There
are regions in our land and classes Of our
population, where the birth rate has sunk
below the death rate Surely it should
need no demonstration to show that wilful
sterility is, from the standpoint of the ma
ton, from the standpoint of the human
race the one sin for which the penalty Is
national death, race death; sin for which
there is no atonement; a sin which Is the
more dreadful exactly in proportion as the
men and women guilty thereof are in other
respects, in character and bodily and mem
tai powers those whom for the sake Of
the state it would be'well to see the fathers
and mothers Of many healthy children, well
brought up In homes made happy by their
presence No man, no woman, can shirk
the primary duties of life. whether for love
of ease and pleasure, or for any other cause,
and retain his or her self-respect.
American Shipping.