Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1909-02-09
ROOSEVELT ON COUNTRY LIFE
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Continued from Page Two.)
try life, Crop growing Is the essen
tlal foundations but II Is no less es-
sentIal that the farmer shall get an
adequate return for what he grows;
and 1t IL no less--indeed II IL literally
vItal--that he and his wife and his
children shall lead the right kind of
life.
For this reason. II Ia OF the first
Importance that the United States
Department 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 COun-
try Life. fitted to deal not only with
crops, but also with all the larger as.
poets of life in the open country.
From all that has been done and
learned three great general and Inn
mediate needs of country life stand
out:
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farmers. to put them on a level with
the organized interests with which
they do business.
Second, new kind of schools in
the country. which shall teach the
children IA 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 eommunica-
ton, including good roads and par
cells post. which the country people
are everywhere. and rightly demand.
Ing,
TO these may we'll be added better
sanitation: for easily preyentable dis
eases hold several million country
people In the slavery of continuous
III health.
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 with these tasks for organiza-
ton, education and communication
with the best and quickest results.
This can be done by the collection
and spread OF Information. One com
muntty can thus be Informed of what
other communities have done, and
one country OF what other eountrys
have done Such help by the peoples
government would lead TO a compre-
hensiye plan Of organization. eduea-
ton and communication. and make the
farming country better to live in. for
intellectual and social reasons as well
rs for purely agricultural reasons
The Government through the De-
partment of Agriculture does not cul-
tlvate any mans farm for him. But
II does put at his service useful know
ledge that he does 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 nov with
the people themselves
The only recommendation | submit
Is that an appropriation of SIS. zoo
be provided. to enable the commits
sion to digest the material Il has col
lected, and to collect aud digest much
more that Is within its reach, aud
thus complete It's work, This would
enable the commission to gather In
the harvest of suggestion which Is re-
sulting from the discussion II has
stirred up. The commissioners have
served without compensation. and l
do not recommend any appropriation
for their services, but only for the ex-
pensos that will be- required to finish
the TASK that they have begun.
To improve our system OF agricnl-
ture' seems to me the most urgent of
the tasks which lie before US, But