The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1909-02-11


to Remove Many Of the Handcaps.
Washington report of the
commission on country life, made to
the president, was read in both houses
of congress. Substantially the re-
port was as follows.
To the President: The commission
on country life herewith presents its
| report. The commission finds that
| agriculture in the United States taken
| together Is prosperous commercially
| when measured by the conditions that
| nave obtained in previous years. al
| though there are some regions in
which this is only partially true. The
! country people are producing vast
| quantities of supplies for food, shelter
| clothing, and for use in the arts. The
| country homes are Improving in COM
| fort attractiveness and healthfulness
| Not only in the material wealth that
| they produce, but in the supply of in
| dependent and strong citizenship, the ag-
ricultural people constitute the very
| foundation of our national efficiency.
| AS agriculture is the Immediate basis
of country life, so it follows that the
| general affairs of the open country
| speaking broadly, are in a condition
| of Improvement
| Most Prominent Deficiencies.
Yet it is true. Notwithstanding all
this progress as measured by his
| torical standards, that agriculture is
| not commercially as profitable as it is
| entitled TO be for the labor and energy
| that the farmer eXpends and the risks
| that he assumes, and that the social
| conditions in the open country are far
! short of their possibilities. We must
| measure our agricultural efficiency by
| the possibilities rather than by COM
| parison with previous conditions, The
| farmer is almost necessarily handi-
| capped in the development of his bust
ness, because his capital is small and
| the volume of his transactions limited;
| and he usually stands practically
alone against organized interests. In
| the general reimbursement of modern
! life due to the great changes in manu-
| features and commerce, inequalities
| and determinations have arisen, and
| naturally the separate man suffers
| most The unattached man has prob
lens that government should under
stand.
The reasons for the lack of highly
| organized rural society are very many,
| as the fun report explains. The lead
| Ing specific causes are
A lack of knowledge on the part of
| farmers of the exact agricultural con-
dtisns and possibilities of their re-
| gions;
Lack of good training for country
life in the schools;
Lack of good highway facilities:
The widespread continuing deple-
| ton of soils, with the injurious effect
| on rural life;
general need of new and active
leadership.
other causes contributing to the
general result are: Lack of any ade-
| quate system of agricultural credit
whereby the farmer may readily Sc
ntI lnDn n ir tnr hn oh
age of labor. condition that is often
complicated by intemperance among
workmen; lack of institutions and in
centives that tie the laboring man to
the soil; the burdens and the narrow
life of farm women; lack of adequate
supervision of public health
Nature of the Remedies.
Some of the remedies lie with the ma
tional government, some of them with
the states and communities in their
corporate capacities, some with volun-
tary organizations and some with in
dividuals acting alone. From the great
number of suggestions that have been
made, covering every phase of country
life, the commission now enumerates
those that seem to be most funda-
mental or most needed at the present
time.
Congress can remove some of the
handicaps of the farmer. and it can
also set some kinds of work in motion
such
The encouragement of system of
thorough going surveys of all agricul-
tural regions in order to take stock
and to develop scientifically and
economically sound country life.
The establishing of a nationalized
system of extension work in rural
communities through all the land
grant colleges with the people at their
homes and on their farms;
thorough going investigation by
experts of the middleman system of
handling farm products, coupled with
a general inquiry into the farmers
disadvantages in respect to- taxation
transportation rates, cooperation or
ganizations and credit, and the gen
eral business SYSTEM
An inquiry into the control and use
OF the streams of the United States
with the object of protecting the peo-
pie in their ownership and OF saving
to agricultural uses such benefits as
should be reserved for these purposes;
The establishing of a highway en-
cheering service, or equivalent organi-
cation, to be at the call of the states
in working out effective and econom-
zeal highway systems:
The establishing of system OF
parcels post and postal savings
banks;
And providing some means or
agency for the guidance of public
opinion toward the development of a
real rural society that shall rest di-
rectly on the land.
Other remedies recommended for
consideration by congress are:
The enlargement of the United
states bureau of education, to enable
1t to stimulate and coordinate the ed
vocational work of the nation;
Careful attention to the farmers
In 10 in ri
on regulation of railroads. control or
regulation OF corporations and Of spec
ulation legislation in respect of riv-
ers, forests. and the utilization of
swamp lands:
Increasing the powers OF the fed
eral government in respect TO the
supervision and control Of the public
health:
Providing such regulations as viii
enable the states that do not permit