Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-24
TALKED TO FARMERS
SECRETARY WILSON'S ADDRESS
AT SYRACUSE CONVENTION.

SYRACUSE. N Y, October 23.-More
than one hundred farmers. representing
about one-half the counties Of the state.
were present yesterday at the convention
cailed by The Chamber of Commerce of
syracuse to consider the agricultural sit
uation in the state of New York. F. n.
Godfrey. master of the State Grange pre-
SIDED. and Mayor Alan c. Fobes of SYRIA
cuse made brief address of welcome.
me principal speaker was Secretary
James Wilson. He said. In part:
The American people are prosperous:
labor Is all employed at the highest
wages paid in our history: skill Is in de-
| mand In all lines of Industrial activity:
capital Is increasing and active; every
industry In the land is extending: labor
from other lands looks to us and comes
TO us; schools are overlooking: our trans
portatlon systems, the best in the world
are unable to meet the requirements of
commerce; our manufacturersmoren near
iy supply home demands than at any
time IN the past and sell heavily abroad.
The farmer feeds the people as no peo-
pie ever before were fed. and sells in
foreign markets a surplus of $l.14s. OO0 600
worth OF his products. Prosperity quite
up to the average Of human success at
tends intelligent management of farm
affairs nowadays. No class of people live
better. enjoy life more, or contribute as
much to the wealth of the republic. These
are the strong things to be said. SYRIA
cuse asks US to consider q weak link
in the chain-r!nproductive farms. 1t is
wise move. and it would have been
commendabfe in every state to make such
inquiries at any time during the last CEN
| fury The call comes late: the evils to
be remedied have travelled far In all the
states
Have Wasted Inheritance.
The people of the United States have
| wasted their inheritance Of land and
woods. of fish in the waters and minerals
in the earth. The soil has been robbed
in the east and south and west. We
have reached very high prices for farm
products: we see a wood famine and very
high prices for fuel. Prices Of lumber
have doubled in less than a decade This
convention has been called to consider de-
creased productveness of the soil near
the great centers of population. Such
conventions might we'll be called in all
the states of the Union. They are all
soil robbers and wood robbers and water
robbers and mine robbers.
There Is an awakening elsewhere along
this line The southern states are in
curing: they have grown one crop too
long. The newer states of the west are
looking into soil deterioration and its
remedies; they find that continual drafts
Farm Publications by Millions.
I'VE send out 100000 pieces of farm
publications a year, the results of the
work of our scientists OF these, g. 4OO,O 600
are farmers bulletins, many of them
pamphlets Of a few pages. The govern
ment sells the publications of all the
departments at cost and 10 per cent added
The people do pay money for what they
want Last year they bought u, 784 docu-
ments Of the Department of Agriculture
from the superintendent of documents,
and paid s10.SSo 20 for them. II these
documents were on sale at the post offices
the people would buy them freely and l
am of the opinion that this would be the
correct way to distribute government
publications. The citizen could then buy
what he wants, and complaints that much
Is printed that nobody wants would cease
The demand Is now SO great for farm
matter that we cannot print 1t as 1t Is
called for. The congressman send out
documents, and we learn of the public de-
mand by their requests for more.
'One of our great problems Is the utili-
cation Of our light-rainfall lands west of
the Tooth meridian. The soil Is generally
good, and, when irrigated. good crops
that cannot be irrigated. They are above
the water bitches. The old world has
had the same conditions and has suited
plants to them. or. during the ages. plants
have suited themselves by delevoping
strains that exist and yield well In light
rainfall. We grew $4,000. 600 bushels OF
such wheat in 1903 and more during the
present year. Our eastern people are
eating this wheat.