The Holly chieftain., 1909-02-12
ON COUNTRY LIFE
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM WHITE
HOUSE TO CONGRESS.
President Suggests Social and Bust
ness Improvements for the Bene-
fits Of the DweIIer in Aeri-
cultural Communities,

the president sent a special message
TO congress- substantially as follows |
To the Senate and House of Represent |
atives: transmit herewith the report |
OF the commission on country life. At |
the outset ! desire TO point out that not |
a dollar of the public money has been
paid 10 any commissioner for his work
on the commission.
The report shows the general condition
OF farming life in the open country and
points out its larger problems; it indi-
Gates ways in which the government. na-
tional and state, may show the people
now to solve some of these problems: and
II suggests a continuance of the work
which the commission began
Those engaged in all other industrial
and commercial cailings have found it
necessary, under modern economic con-
ditions TO organize themselves for mu-
tual advantage and for the protection of
their own particular interests in rela-
ton to other interests.
Now, whatever the state may do to-
ward improving the practice of agri-
culture, ii is not within the sphere of
any government to reorGanize the farm
ers business or reconstruct the social
life of farming communities. 1t is, how
ever quite within its power to use its
influence and the machinery of publicity
which it can control for calling public at
tention to the needs of the facts. For eX-
ample ii is the obvious duty of the gov
ernment to call the attention of farmers
to the growing monopolization of water
power. The farmers above all, should
have that power, on reasonable terms. for
cheap transportation, for lighting their
homes, and for innumerable uses in the
daily tasks of the farm.
Necessity for Cooperation.
The cooperative plan is the best plan
of organization wherever men have the
| right spirit TO carry it out. Under this
plan any business undertaking is man
aged by a committed: every man has
one vote. and only one vote: and every
one gets profits according to what he
| sells or buys supplies. 1t develops in
dividual responsibility and has moral
as well as financial value over any
| other plan.
| l desire only to take counsel with the
| farmers as fellow citizens. 1t is not the
problem of the farmers alone that l am
discussing with them, but a problem
which affects every city as well as every
| farm in the country.
| From all that has been done and
| learned three great general and immedi-
ate needs of country life stand out
| First, effective cooperation among
| farmers, to put them on a 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 per-
haps more so that they will prepare for
country life. and not as at present. main
| ly for life in town.
| Third. better means of communication
including good roads and parcels post.
which the country people are everywhere,
and rightly. unanimous in demanding.
To these may well be added better san
itation: for easily preventable diseases
hold several million country people in the
| q Ia M
To Develop Country Community.
| To improve our system of agriculture
seems to me the most urgent of the tasks
which lie before US. But 1t cannot, in
my judgment. be effected by measures
which touch only the material and tech
nical side of the subject the whole busi-
ness and life of the farmer must also
be taken into account Such considera-
| tions led me to appoint the commission
on country life. Our object should be
to help develop in the country commu-
nifty the great ideals of the community
life well as of personal character. One
of the most important adjuncts to this
end must be the country church. and
| invite your attention to what the COM
| mission says Of the country church and
Of the need of an extension of such work
| as that of the Young Mems Christian as
sociation in country communities. Let
me lay special emphasis upon what the
commission says at the very end of its
report on personal ideas and local leader
ship. Everything resolves itself in the
end into the question Of personality.
Neither society nor government can do
much for country life unless there is vol
untary response in the personal ideals
Of the men and women who live in the
country. In the development of charac-
ter the home should be more important
than the school, or than society at large.
| When once the basic material needs have
4 fpb he
dependent of income: but they cannot be
realized without sufficient income to pro-
vide adequate foundation and where the
community at large is not financially
prosperous 1t is impossible to develop
| high average personal and community
ideal. In short. the fundamental facts
OF human nature apply to men and wom-
en- who live in the country just as they
apply to men and women who live in the
| towns Given a sufficient foundation of
material well being. the influence OF the
| farmers wives on their children be-
comes the factor of first Importance in
! determining the attitude of the next gen
| Grafton toward farm life. The farmer
should realize that the person who most
needs consideration on the farm Is his
wife. do not in the least mean that she
should purchase ease at the expense of
duty. Neither man nor woman is really
happy or really useful save on condition
of doing his or her duty. II the wom-
an shirks her duty as housewife, as
home keeper as the mother whose prime
function is to bear and rear sufficient
number OF healthy children, then she Is
not entitled to our regard. But II she
does her duty she is more entitled to our
regard even than the man who does
his duty; and the man should show spe-
cial consideration for her needs.
Welfare Of Nation at Stake.
warn my countrymen that the great
recent progress made in city life Is not
q full measure of our civilization for our