Willmar tribune., 1909-12-01
WEDNESDAY, DEC. /, 1909.
ssAGRlCULTURAIISTS'' BUSY.

4
The agricultural committee of
the Minnesota Bankers Association
has taken the initiative in a mo-
ment to attempt to compel the
Board Of Regents to appoint a dean
for the Agricultural College to sup
plant the present incumbent, John
w. Olsen. To accomplish this re-
suit the bankers committee pro-
ceeded to Investigate" the status
of the Minnesota School and found
to their horror that Minnesota
Schoosl of Agriculture was not up
to the standard of the Wisconsin
school and that the development of
agriculture in Minnesota generally
is tagging behind woefully because
there is not a high-priced dean at
the head of the agricultural school.
This investigating committee had
a fine junket to Madison, attended
the football game, heard Aldrich as
the apostle of big central bank,
and incidentally were loaded up
with figures regarding the Wiscon-
sin agricultural college which they
proceeded to publish broadcast ap-
parently without making even so
much of an investigation of the COL
lege of their home state. They en-
bodied their "findings'' in letter
to the Board of Regents addressed
to the president, John Lind, and Sc
cured it's publication with great
emphasis in the daily press. Copies
of this letter were sent to the local
bankers to be handed to the local
press. and in this way the Tribune
was asked to assist these "agricul-
turists" to save the state. The
purported facts contained in this
letter which was sent broadcast
thruout the land, were so astound-
ing that The Tribune secured an in
terview with the Willmar member
of the Board of Regents. the Hon.
A. E. Rice, to get his views regard
ing the justice of the charges made.
We found this gentleman quite be-
ligerent in the matter and ready to
give what information he had.
When asked as to the COMPARE
sons made between the Wisconsin
and Minnesota schools which were
so favorable to the former, the
Governor said:
"Some statements while plaus-
ible are certainly misleading. Af-
ter stating that Wisconsin has a
law providing for teaching agricul-
ture in rural schools and in Minne-
sofa has not, it adds, as a result
practically nothing is being done in
our rural schools along these lines.
This last statement is not fact.
Rural School bulletin No. issued
by the Minnesota institution was
the first ever issued by ANY agri-
cultural school or college giving de-
finite exercises for agricultural
work in the school. Bulletin No. l
with Rural School Bulletin No. 2
which was issued three years ago
has reached wider distribution than
any other publication of similar
nature.
The industrial contests for rural
schools started by the Agricultural
school three years ago has brought
agricultural instruction into more
than half the counties in the State,
superintendents and teachers volun-
tarily aiding in the good work, al
though no law has been placed on
our statute books. The American
Association of Institute Workers,
after an examination of our plan
by a committee, gives it high
praise and gives Minnesota the cre-
dit of heing the leader in that line.
In no other State in the Union has
so much been done to extend agri-
cultural instruction in the rural
schools without aid of special law.
and this work was initiated by the
School of Agriculture and carried
out by those connected with it.
The Bankers committee, to en-
phasize the efficiency of Wisconsin
states that the course in agriculture
for farmers vas attended by some-
thing over 800 farmers as against
the attendance of a similar course
at our own school of 169.' This is
an unjust comparison. Wisconsin's 8
short course for farmers, their wives