The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-02-09
MESSAGE ON
FARM LIFE SENT CONGRESS
Continued from First Page

crop growing is tie essentiaT f0unda,
ton, but it is no less essential that the
farmer shall get an adequate return
Tor what he grows, and it Is no less
ssential-indeed, it is literally vital
that he and his wife and his children
shall lead the right kind of life
For this reason it is of the first i'm
portance that the United States depart
ment of agriculture, through which as
prime agent the ideas the commission
stands for must reach the people,
should become without delay in fact
department. Of country life, fitted to
deal not only with crops, but also with
Ill the larger aspects of life in the open
country.
Three Needs Of Country Life.
From all that has been done and
learned three great general and imme-
Aiate needs Of country life stand out:
First-Efective cooperation among
farmers to put them on level with
the, organized interests with which
they do business.
Second.-A new kind of schools in
the country, which shall teach the
children as much outdoors as indoors,
and perhaps more, so that they will
prepare for country life and not, as at
present, mainly for life in town.
Third.-Better means Of commun1ca-
lion, including good roads and par
tells post, which the country people
are everywhere, and rightly, unani.
nous in demanding. ~>
To these may well be added better
sanitation, for easily preventable dis
eases hold several million country PEG,
pie in the slavery Of continuous Ill
health.
Organization ls Necessary.
The commission points out-and ]
concur in the conclusion-that the
most important help that the govern
ment, whether national or state, can
give Is to show the people how to go
about these tasks Of organization, ed
ucation and communication with the
best and quickest results. This can
be done by the collection and spread
Of information. One community can
thus be Informed Of what other com
munities have done and one country
Of what other countries have done.
Such help by the peoples govern
ment would lead to a comprehensive
plan Of organization, education and
communication and make the farm
ing country better to live in, for in
tellectual and social reasons as well
as for purely agricultural reasons.
The government through the de-
partment Of agriculture does not cul-
tfvate anysman's farm for him, but 1t
does put at his service useful knowl-
edge that he would not otherwise get.
In the same way the national and
state governments might put into the
peoples hands the new and right
knowledge Of school work. The task
Of maintaining and developing the
schools would remain, as now, with
the people themselves.
Money For Expenses Asked.
The only recommendation submit
is that an appropriation of $4,000 be
provided to enable the commission to
digest the material it has collected
and to collect and to digest much
more that is within it's reach and thus
complete its work. This would enable
the commission to gather in the har.
vest Of suggestion which is resulting
from the discussion it has stirred up
The commissioners have served with
out compensation, and I do not recon.
mend any appropriation for their serv.
fees, but only for the expenses that
will be required to finish the task thai
they have begun.
To improve our system of agricul
ture seems to me the most urgent OF
the tasks which lie before us. But II
cannot, in my judgment, be effected
by measures which touch only the ma.
terial and technical side Of the sub