The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-09-10
FARM BOYS IN TOWN.

The National Grange and many OF
| The most influential farm journals
/ Of tho country are seriously concern
cd In finding u remedy for the an
/ nually increasing number OF young
men leaving the life Of the farm for
| that Of the cities and towns. If the
tide turning cityward is not checked
there must be set up u counter tide
| from the cities to the farm lands
or there will within a very few years
be- such lack OF labor with which
to work the farms that with our
Increasing population We. instead OF
exporting food stuifs, shall be rails
ing barely enough for home consump-
tion.
Perhaps the best advice which can
be- given the farm.ralscd boy TX that
which is offered by the Maine Far.
MGR when It's ays 10 him, Don't go
to town unless you have some bus
mess In view there for which YOU
are better adapted than you are to
/ farming" The answer To such "A pro
posal would almost Inevitably be-
that the boy would remain on the
/ farm The farms of American pro
ducc annually an amount equal To six
times the wealth of the national
banks, Yet the boys turn from this
sure source of income to the life of
the cities. There are many reasons
given for this, but none of them
seem sufficiently strong To offset the
position In which the farm hoy finds
himself when he comes into compcu-
tion with the town raised boys.
Many of he couutry's greatest men
have come from the farm. hut new
crthclcss the proportion of those who
have achieved great success through
dcscriion of farm life as compared
with those who have not is very
small The farm hoy has quite like
ly received no more than rudimen.
tary education. for though regrctta.
BILE. it Is true that the boys on the
farm are not kept In school as close.
. Is rs they should be. And he has
. received no trade training of any
. sort. Thus he must when he gets tc
town. take the first thing that offers
and at u misorlbly small wage. II
he's particularly apt and bright. he'll
} get ON In spite of all handicap fol
handicaps are not handicaps to th'
man who has the stun for success
within him. hut the hoy who lcovc'
, the farm for the town and succeeds
, is the boy who would have made
, successful farmer.
q Unskilled as ne Is, he works Il
4 town for $50 to $40 a month, pay
u board ana must be better drcssc
than ne would be- ON the farm, whcr
he would be getting from $50 to 81
- month aud his board. Hen fin
L that he can't save II cent In tow
i from what he receives. but ON tn
f. farm he can save practically hi
y whole income. ii he's any good rs
, farmer il will be but short tim
+. before he win be able to at lcas
i. rent farm where his income vi
be much greater. and then how Ion
y IL will require him To be- able I
buy a farm is but matter of ho'
j good a farmer he is willing to max
- Of himself And he will have bee
able 10 buy a farm long before h
would have been able to get an h
tcrcst in business in town or eve
10 have become a skilled tradesmal
There's money, and a great de;
OF il, in intelligent farming. The go'
crnmcnt is spending vast sums {
n money every year to help the farmo
!. To a knowledge of better method
b. aud greater income and the youn
4 man who takes to farming cQuippo
J. with fair education, sound hedlt
e aud a determination 90 make su
10 ccssfIl business undertaking. of IA
Pc ming. has made despite all that ma
= seem distastotul in farm life, an II
d. ycsumcut OF his time and onergi,
rs which ne will not have cause to n
n grcl- Fort Worth Record.
b..
-o-fo--
u \ judge at St Paul, Ninn., has o'