The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-12-20
Or. sLkGLE's ADDRESS
Bookings College President Address
ed the Members of the oorn
Show Wednesday.

1t "a a good audience which
greeted DR.. Robert Slagle. president
OF the state agricultural college. at
Brookings, Wednesday evening in
the city ball building, when he de-
livered an address before the men,
bers of the state corn show. His
subject vas "The Mission of the
Land-Grant College,"
His address began with the time
when President Lincoln signed the
bill, forty-fye years ago, for the
establishment OF colleges to teach
such branches Of learning as are re-
lated to agriculture and the ne
cnanic ants. The speaker Showed
tie misconception in placing men
in these colleges who were TO impart
the necessary knowledge desired,
and for men who we're taken from
the farm because of their under
standing of certain phases Of agricul-
ture just because they were practical
men. He compared the situation of
the Instructor in the agricultural
college today with those Of forty-tive
years ago.. and showed how much
nearer the present agricultural col
lege was meeting the demands Of the
country than those Of earlier days,
because of the fact that the men on
the faculty had something else to
impart aside from the mere rudi-
ments of the farm. Touching On
the idea OF keeping the boy or girl
on the farm or sending them back to
the farm, DR.. Slagle said that it
would he useless to preach this doc
trine, unless they can be given the
training and power to make life
thereon appear as valuable to them
from an economic and social stand
point as life In the town. The
speaker declared that "there must
be a change of front i'm the old
haphazard methods of farming. 1t
is not merely a question of increas-
lag the crop production. Greater
Than this is tile problem Of conserv-
ing the fertility of the soil, the
forests and other agricultural re-
sources. And still greater is the
problem Of overcoming the se9rega-
tion and isolation Characteristic Of
agricultural people. The rural popu-
lation as a whole needs opportunities
to come lnto touch With the pro-
gressive and scientific spirit of the
aye, a new and broader outlook, a
greater knowledge of economic con-
dltions. a tirner hold on the prob.
lens related to their own VOCATION"
DIR. Slagle urged the rural popula-
tion to Learn to cooperate by effec-
tive organization, and should lot
remain as an economic unit when all
other Interests have combined. He
suggested the increase in school
facilities in the country by doing
away with the district school at
every four and substitute
the consolidated school, where the
elements OF agriculture can be taught
theoretically and practically. He
suggested that the children Of the
farm should be educated along the
lines Of their life-work instead of
being educated away from it. DIR.
Slagle's address was a most excellent
one and he offered much that was of
Importance to the life on the farm
in lifting it beyonc the pale of mere
drudgery.
President Chamberlain made a
brief talk along the lines suggested
by the address of DR.. Slagle, in
which he took up the subject of
making the farm a place where the
boy and girl would perfer to live
rather than desert it for the life in
town.