The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-19
President Roosevelt's Message to
Farmers.
Farmers.

1dent, but Which we nave IOl seen Ill
any other paper. The parts given by
the Farmer are very good, and we
endorse it's favorable comments:
Perhaps the most notable agr1cul-
tural address ever delivered by Pres
ident of the United States was that Of
President Roosevelt at Michigan Agrl-
cultural College last Friday 1t was not
an address of mere platitudes, not
mere rehearsal of oft-told stories con-
corning the strength of body and soul
that comes from living next to the
soil, not mere address Of f1attery
for the most numerous class OF our
country's population. On the contrary,
the wonderful versatility Of the Ma
tons Chief Executive has seldom been
better illustrated than in this splendid
handling of strictly agricultural ques-
tons in this address at Lansing. And
while the whole speech would fill near
1y half of the Progressive Farmer, we
have thought it worth while to select
for the consideration Of Our readers
three passages of especial note-One
bearing on the great benefits to be
derived from more thorough organiza-
ton and cooperation of the farmers;
a second emphasizing the fact that it
is just as important and necessary a
work to add cheerfu1ness, beauty, and
comfort to farm life as it is to add
dollars and b1ooded stock and bank
stock; and third passage in which
a plea is made for a broader life for
farmers wives.
Farmers must learn the vital need
Of cooperation with one another" was
the sentence with which President
Roosevelt began his argument for the
organization of the farmers, and his
clear statement of the case would gain
little by comment of ours We quote:
Farmers must learn the vital need
of cooperation with one another.
Next to this comes cooperation with
the Government, and the Government
can best give it's aid through asso-
Citations of farmers rather than through
the individual farmer; for there is no
greater agricultural problem than that
Of delivering to the farmer the large
body of agricultural knowledge which
has been accumulated by the National
and State Governments and by the
agricultural colleges and Schools
"Nowhere has the Government
worked to better advantage than in
the South, where the work done by
the Department of Agriculture in con-
nection with the cotton growers Of
the Southwestern States has been
phenomenal in it's value The farmers
in the region affected by the boil
weevi1, in the course of the efforts
to fight it, have succeeded in develop
ing a most scientific husbandry, SO
that in many places the boil weevil
became blessing in disguise. Not
only did the industry of farming be-
come Of very much greater economic
value in it's direct results, but it be-
came immensely more interesting to
thousands of families The meetings
at which the subjects Of interest were
discussed grew to have distinct social
value, while with the farmers were
joined the merchants and bankers of
the neighborhood It is needless to
say that every such successful effort
to organize the farmer gives a great
stimulus to the admirable educational
work which is being done in the South
ern States, as elsewhere, to prepare
young people for an agricultural life"
Nor did President Roosevelt pass
over in this connection the great need
of organization of the farmers for pur-
poses Of self-protection. In no other
way, he pointed out, can the farmers
make themselves felt as they should
in getting justice from the commercial
world. 1t is to be hoped that Mr..
Roosevelt's message here will set many
farmers to thinking, who have not
yet been reached by the Alliance,
Farmers Union, and Cotton Associa-
ton organizers. His words are worth
emDhaSizinp.