Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-13
TO IMPROVE FARM CONDITIONS.

TO IMPROVE FARM CONDITIONS.
President Roosevelt has taken a
stand to stop the exodus from the
farm to the city. He believes that
farm life can be made so attractive
and so profitable that the farmers
boys and girls will be ambitious to
spend their lives on the farm, and to
this end he has appointed commits
sion of five experts on country life to
make an Investigation of the matter
and report to him before the close Of
the year. The men appointed on this
commission are Professor L. H. Bailey
OF the New York College Of Agricul-
ture, Henry Wallace of Wallace's
Farmer, Des Moines, Ia; President
Kenyon L. Buttertield of the Massa-
chusetts Agricultural college; Clifford
Pinchot Of the United States forest re-
serve, and Walter H. Page, editor of
the Worlds Work, New York.
In letter to Professor Bailey. who
is to be chairman of the COMMITTEES.
President Roosevelt makes plain his
belief that while Americans are max.
Ing great progress in the development
OF agricultural resources, the social
and economic institutions of the open
country are not keeping pace with the
development Of the nation as whole.
The president says:
Il doubt If any other nation can
bear comparison with our own in the
amount of attention given by the gov
eminent, both federal end state, to
agricultural matters. But practically
the whole Of this effort has hitherto
been directed toward increasing the
production of cropr. Our attention
has been concentrated almost exclu-
s1vely on getting better farming. In
the beginning this was unuuestionably
the right thing to do. The farmer
must first Of all grow good crops in
order to support himself and his fam
lily. But when this has been secured
the effort for better farming should
cease to stand alone. and should be
accompanied by the effort for better
business and better living on the farm.
1t Is at least as important that the
farmer should get the largest possible
return in money comfort and social
advantages from the crops he grows.
as that he should get the largest pos
s1ble return in crops from the land he
FARMS. Agriculture Is not the whole
OF country life. The great rural inter-
ests are human interests, and good
crops are of little value to the farmer
unless they open the door to good
kind of life on the farm.
1T Is especially important that
whatever will serve to prepare country
children for life on on the farm. and
whatever will brighten home life IN
the country and make it richer and
tfroo P~,,
and daughters of farmers, should be
done promptly, thoroughly and gladly.
There is no more important person,
measured in influence upon the life
Of the nation than the farmers wife,
no more important home than the
country home, and it is of national
Importance to do the best we can for
both.
The farmers have hitherto had less
than their full share Of public atten-
ton along the lines of business and
social life There is too much belief
among all our people that the prizes
of life lie away from the farm. / am
therefore anxious to bring before the
people of the United States the cues
ton Of securing better business and
better living on the farm, whether
by cooperation between farmers for
buying, selling, and borrowing: by
promoting social advantages and op-
portunities in the country; or by any
other legitimate means that will help
to make country life more gainful
more attractive, and fuller of oppor-
tunities, pleasures and rewards for the
men, women and children Of TIL,
farms.
President Roosevelt has asked that
report be made before the end of
next December. He realized that in
the short time given to the commission
1t will be impracticable to undertake
extensive investigations, but there is
time to prepare summary of what is
already known, a statement of the
problem and a recommendation of
measures tending toward its solution.
This report it is expected will be in
Guided In message which President
Roosevelt will probably send to CON
gress early next year.
w