Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-11-05
ON THE FARM.
Indiana Soil TiIler Tells Of Its
Great Need.
KEEPS BEST MINDS AT HOME
Farm Hand, Hearing Of Scheme to i'm.
prove Country Life, Sends President
Roosevelt Useful sussestions-says
Farmer Must BE Business Man.

An Indiana farm hand has written
a letter to President Roosevelt about
the work which the country life com
mission Is carrying on. The president
has turned the letter over to the coun-
try life commission, and the commits
sion has asked the farm hand TO write
some more.
Il have been farm hand just long
enough" says the presidents CORE
spondent. ito learn the cause Of so
many sons and daughters and well
meaning, reliable farm hands leaving
the beautiful farm and country and go
ing to the city. A lack of order and
system on the farm and too long hours
for a day are what is driving the best
minds from the farm to the city and
shop. What can we expect Of hand
or the farmers wife and her posterity
In the way of intellectual development
when they get out of their beds at $3.50
ia the morning and work from that
time until s or p. M, and no atten-
ton paid to the sanitary conditions Of
the home and necessary conveniences
on the farm for doing the farm work
with the least labor and timer"
This man has given the country life
commission some very interesting first
hand Information about rural condi-
tons and recommendations based on
long experience in farm work and farm
life. He has worked for all kinds of
farmers. good and bad, he says, and he
has always had his eyes open to detect
the causes OF their success or failure.
He has drawn his own conclusions and
sets them forth In downright. straight
forward fashion. Education pays in
farming, he says. The farmer who
plans out his work and carries it
through in a systematic, businesslike
manner, just as the city man does, will
be able to shorten the hours of labor.
$50 many farmers measure everything
on the farm from the standpoint of
muscle" he continues, "and are ex-
IRENE in some things and slack in 9TH
sers. decided several years ago that
life is too short to work for Peter Tum-
bledown farmers.
Now. Mr.. President" he writes,
"you can take this for what 1t is worth.
l have not given you half Of my expe-
rience." The country life commission
has written him that his suggestions
are so useful that they hope he will
send more.
Compel the farmer to be a business
man." he says. 60 into the homes of
some Of the farmers and the so called
farmers and ascertain how they live
and learn of their methods of doing the
business in which they are engaged,
and you WIN be surprised what a va
riety you will find. Ascertain what
they read and what stress they put on
the literature that comes into their
homes Of any comes) bearing ON the
business they are engaged in. See
what per cent study their business.
"Give me the educated farmer as a
boss and the educated farm hand as a
hand. When come in contact with
hand or farmer that studies his bust
ness / find him advancing, and it is a
pleasure to work for such men
"The majority Of the farmers are
eight hour men-that is, eight hours in
the forenoon and eight in the after
noon. Eight or ten hours on the farm
cannot well be adapted In all cases, but
II need not be from fourteen TO sixteen
hours. II the family arise every morn
ing at O'Clock and the wife and
daughters attend to the household du-
ties and the farm hands and sons at
tend to the chores and go to the field at
Z o'clock and work until IL or 1880