Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-12-07

most vital to the welfare Of the nation,
and therefore to the welfare Of all 9TH
does manual labor and the tiller of the
soil, the farmer. There are, of course,
kinds Of labor where the work must
kinds Of labor labor where herr Under are Existing sting
conditions, very little demand indeed is
made upon the mind, though I am glad
sa in tsy f kind ro 81 wopR IS
solid, healthy qualities which make up
really great nation the bulk Of the
people should do work which calls for
the exercise Of both body and mind
Progress can not permanently exist in
the abandonment of physical labor but
so that it shall represent more and
more the work OF the trained mind in
the trained body. Our school system is
: premium ypop mere literary train ain
Ing and tends therefore to train the
boy away from the farm and the work.
shop. Nothing is more needed than the
best type of Industrial school, the school
for mechanical industries in the CITY,
the school for practically teaching agri-
culture , IN the country The calling Of
Of the skilled mechanic. should alike
be recognized as professions, just as
smphatically as the callings OF lawyer.
should recognize this fact and it should
equally be recognized in popular opin-
ion: The young man who has the far
sightedness and courage to recognize
a difference whether what he earns Is
called salary or wages, and who refuses
to, enter the crowded field of the so
structive Industry instead, is reasonably
sure Of an ample reward in earnings,
in health. In opportunity to marry early,
and to establish a home with fair
should be one of our prime objects to
put both the farmer and the mechanic
on higher plane of efficiency and re-
in the economic world and therefore the
dignity, the remuneration and the power
of their positions in the social world
MUST PRESERVE FARMS
No growth of cities, no growth Of
wealth, can make up for any loss in
fhd the number or ro the CHARACTER Of
United States should realize this above
almost all other peoples. We began our
existence as a nation OF farmers and In
dependence has had 10 be placed upon
pendence has hitherto been justified.
But it can not be justified in the future
scale as compared with other employ
ments. We can not afford to lose that
pre-eminently typical American. the far.
farm. TO have his place taken by either
class of small peasant proprietors, or
by a class OF great landlords with ten
ant. farmed ,, estates would be veritable
good thing but only in so, far as 1t does
not mean growth at the expense Of the
country farmer: We must welcome the
cation to agricultural practices, and we
must do all We can to render country
conditions more easy and pleasant
brns about e bofh these resuts but sfd thes
are, as yet in their infancy. The ma.
tlonal government through the depart
ment of agriculture should do all it car
by joining with the state governments
and with independent associations OF
farmers to encourage the growth In the
open farming country of such institu
the demand OF the best type of farmers
both for the Improvement Of their farms
and for the betterment Of the life itself
The department Of agriculture has ir
many places perhaps especially in Ger,
tain districts Of the south. accomplish
ed an extraordinary amount by cooper
ating with and teaching the farmers
through their associations on their ow.
soil, how to increase their income by
managing their farms better than they
were hitherto managed.
The farmer must not lose his independ
| ence, his Initiative his rugged self-re
| lance yet he must learn to work in thu
! heartiest cooperation with his fellows
exactly as the business man has learned
! to work: and he must prepare to use tc
| constantly better advantage the know.
ledge that can be obtained from agricul
tural colleges. while he must insist upor
a practical curriculum In the schools ir
partment of agriculture and the depart
ment of commerce and labor both dea
with the fundamental needs of our PEG
pie in the production of raw matera
manufacture
and, therefore, with the welfare Of those
who produce it in the raw state, anc
of those who manufacture and distribute
it,
has but recently been founded but has
already justified its existence: while the
department of agriculture yields to nc
benefits which it produces in proportion
to the public money expended. 1t mus
continue in the future to deal with grow
ing crops as it has dealt in the past
OF usefulness hereafter by dealing with
live men, through far-reaching study
and treatment Of the problems Of farm
nomIc and social standpoint. Farmers
must cooperate with one another anG
with the government, and the govern
ment can best give Its aid through as
to the farmer the large body Of agricul
tural knowledge, which. has been .ac.
| Cumulated by the national and state
governments and by the agricultural
colleges and schools.
| The grain producing industry Of tht
country, one of the most important ir
the United States. deserves special" con.
sideration mt the hands OF the congress
Our grain is sold almost exclusively by
grades. To secure satisfactory results
In our home markets and tc. facilitate
our trade abroad, these grades should
approximate the highest degree of uni.
! formity and certainty. The present
diverse methods of inspection and grad
ing throughout the country under differ,
ent laws and boards. result in confusion
and lack of uniformity. destroying that
! confidence which is necessary for health,
| full trade. Complaints against the pre-
sent methods have continued for years
and they are growing in volume and in.
tenslty. not only in this country but
abroad. I therefore suggest to the con
gress the advisa bility of a national sys
tenn of inspection and grading Of srair
entering into interstate and foreign com.
merce as remedy for the present evils
IMPROVEMENT OF THE RIVERS
Mississippi and Its Tributaries Arr
First in Importance