The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-06-18
Splendid Opportunities
For Helping Forward North
Carolina Agriculture-The
Department of Agriculture
and College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts, and
What They Mean for the
Development of the Agri-
ricultural and Industrial In
terests of the State-Men
That Are Needed.
Raleigh Progressive Farmer.

RaieIgl progressive dFIutT
Two splendid opportunities for
helping forward North Carolina agri-
culture are now before our people.
In the first place, new State Com
missioner of Agriculture is now to be
chosen, and to this position should
be called the very strongest man the
State affords. "There are greater
opportunities to-day in the office
OF Commissioner OF Agriculture
than in the office of Governor itself, !"
thoughtful farmer declared to
us the other day; and he is right.
We need a man of force, ability,
energy, enterprise, progressive
ness: a man whose whole heart is in
the work of uplifting agriculture and
agricultural conditions, and no man
can be true to his State and vote for
any candidate for this position solely
because of personal or sectional or
factional considerations. F. D. Co
burn, of the Kansas Department OF
Agriculture, by his aggressiveness,
energy, enterprise and whole-souled
devotion to his great task, has been
worth millions OF dollars to the farm
ers of that State, and we should
choose a man for Commissioner here
who will set himself to be the COburn
Of North Carolina.
In saying] this we are advocating
the claims of no one candidate, and
with no one candidate in mind; but
we are urging upon our people the
dignity and Importance of the office.
Our farmers are going Wholesome OF
them-about the candidates for Gov
ernor, while this vastly more inn
portant position Ito them) is not
getting it's share OF attention. The
thing to do is for every farmer to de-
eide who will make the strongestand
most efficient Commissioner, land then
impress that candidates claim upon
his delegates to the State convention.
And when the Republican primaries
are held, we hope our Republican
readers will also see to it that the
dignity and Importance of the Office
has the same full recognition in their
party also.
A second and no less notable OPP
portunity for helping forward North
Carolina agriculture is afforded by
the election of a new President of the
A. I'm. College at Raleigh.
These State Colleges of Agricul-
ture and Mechanic Arts" as the
name indicates, were established
primarily to foster agricultural edu-
cation; secondarily, industrial educa-
ton, and with the third distinct idea
that they would be fundamentally
different in spirit and purpose from
the regular literary institutions of
the country.
Yet in too many cases they have
become primarily literary colleges,
secondarily, mechanical, and with just
enough of agricultural training to
get the heavy appropriations for this
purpose from State and National
Governments. This condition of az
fairs has gone on in many States
until the farmers have risen in their
might and demanded and secured
the establishment of separate Agri-
cultural Colleges in which the me-
chanical and classical branches can
not fatten at the expense of the agri-
cultural.
Our North Carolina A. & NJ. Col
lege, along with others, has suffered
in this respect. For a long time
until three years ago, in lfact-there
was no Agricultural Building, and
even then this was built, not at the
expense of the general public as all
other buildings have been, but out OF
special tax levied on the farmers
themselves.
Another serious drawback has been
that the Boards have also seemed
unable to realize the folly of the fat
salary scheme. Because there are
thousands of men trained (turned
out for two, Or three generations
past) in literary institutions, now
branches, against only hundreds OF