Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-16
Crop Statistics Gratifying.

tary Wilson. land probably exceed the
records of every nation for all time
How many failures of crops have we
had since the beginning of the Mckinley
administrations I asked.
Not one. There has not been a fail
ure of crops in this country for twelve
years at least. We do not anticipate crop
failures nowadays in this country. Every
year there is some locality where some
crop is not good as usual. Corn and
grass suffered on account of the drought
in a good many localities this year. but
there will never again be any general
failure of crops. They may be short here
or yonder, but science has taught our
farmers how to defy the weather as far
as crop growing is concerned"
do you attribute these great crops to
republican administrations / asked.
Republicans Help the Farmer.
well, we don't quite claim that, but
we do claim that the republican admins
tration. with liberal appropriations made
by a republican Congress, has been able
to encourage and instruct the farmers in
producing new crops and better crops, and
to make the most of their labor, and the
republican party since Mckinley came in
has protected labor and kept labor at
work SO that the working people OF the
country have had money to buy the
products of the farm. In that sense no
one can deny that the republican admin
istration has helped the farmer.
How much of our meats are export
ed?' l asked.
II have not the figures for the last
year at hand said Secretary Wilson,
but the amount is very large. The meat
product does not increase; the herds of
cattle do not grow as fast as the popula
ton We do not raise enough meats for
ourselves and yet large proportion of
the product is exported, because wealthy
people in foreign countries will have our
beef no matter what 1t costs. They are
willing to pay more for it than people of
this country, and very naturally 1t seeks
the highest market. Our finest meats
and grains go abroad for that reason"
Who Raises Price of Meats.
rs the high price of meat due to the
packers or the butchers or the ranchmen,
or is it due to the natural laws Of trade?'
Now when you come to inquire wheth-
err those who deal in meats contribute to
high prices, l can recall something that
occurred between me and a city butcher
here. was asked that question once,
and replied that l thought the retailer
added considerably to the cost of meat.
| The next day a butcher in this city an
swered me in one of the daily papers by
saying that the retailer added only 40 per
/ cent 10 the price of meats to the consum-
er and that was all the profit he got.
us the prosperity of the farmers at
| tracing people back to the farms?" 1
| asked.
| 1--WE are now nine years away from the
| last census, and when it was taken the
| drift of labor was very strongly toward
| the cities because of social reasons, the
excitement of city life, amusements and
| other attractions, but the mos 1ntelli-
gent farmers have remained on the farms
and have been we'll repaid for doing So"
How about their sons?'
Education and the Farm.
| 1.-The education of young men and young
| women in the United States in the past
has been away from the farm. They
have been educated to do anything under
| heaven but farming. In the past you
| could study science along any line except
agriculture. Now they are being educat-
| ed.toward the farm. There is a demand
for teaching the elements of agriculture III
| the common and high schools SO as to
| educate the children toward the farm. In
| some states like Texas, they have COM
| manded 1t. Texas ordered 1t to be put in
| her four thousand common schools, for
getting that the school teacher could not
I teach what she had never studied her.
| self There is a movement in all the
| states of the Union now toward education
| of that kind. Georgia and Alabama are
| prominent examples among the Southern
states Their legislatures have appro-
| priated money to establish an agricultural
school in each congressional district. En-
| terprising localities in those states bid for
i No civ he 1op md