Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-11
GILL GIVES TIP TO FARMERS
Tells Them to Use Their knowledge
to Make Profit.
RAPs SUBSIDY AND THE CANAL
Disparuses the Former and Has No
Compliments 20 Pay the Great
Enterprise Along the
Zone.


The necessity OF better farming was
the message voiced by James J. Hin, known
as the builder Of the northern empire"
in two speeches in Omaha Thursday. Be
fore the Commercial Grub at a banquet
given in his honor last night, Mr.. Hill
spent two hours Of earnest appeal for bet
ter agriculture. urging immediate steps
and proposing a plan for the state OF
Nebraska to carry the science Of the col
leges out to the farms.
There is but one way to educate the far
mer-that is on his farm. 1t looks like a
hard proposition to 20 out onto the farms
to do all that is to be done. Now II Ne
brsska will appropriate $4,000 a year, s10,-
900 OF thai for seeds OF the right kind, and
will hire 200 young men from the colleges
and send them out ten days before the
planting time with this seed TO carry their
message 10 the farmers something can
be done. Each man can reach ten farmers
at least. Now that would mean 1000 farm
ers in the state Of Nebraska. Let them
by an actual demonstration show how
crops can be improved, let them increase
thet>farmer's crop for him and that farmer
will have been taught a lesson that he
will never forget. Let me tell YOU $4,000
spent IN that way will do more good than
all the lectures in the world.
You have got to have your colleges,
but let them be the places OF scientific
experimentation and study, and let the
formers have the results.
Don't shoot over the farmers head
Show him how to double his crop and
you won't have to teach him again"
Wizard with Statistics.
Mr.. Hilrs speech was a searching an
alysls from his point Of view Of the social
and economic conditions and to back up his
assertions he delved (into his own exper-
iepce and the financial history OF many
nations. With startling ease he quotes
figures and facts from the industries and
trades Of races and nations from every
corner Of the globe.
"Our total gold production amounts to
$50, 900, 0e," he said, Tess than one-eightieth
Of a single year of our agricultural pro-
d%uction. When you dig out the mineral
wealth It is gone. There is just a hole left.
II we plant wisely we can look forward to
the future with confidence.
What you want to do to make Omaha
great is to preserve and enhance the value
Of the soil on which we live. All prosperity
will com to you out of the ground and out
Of the care of the ground"
II was with much of mixed humor and
sarcasm the Mr.. Hill related in kindly
words something OF his own experience in
his campaign for the improvement of agrl-
culture in the northwest.
Il have been occupied with this move
ment for twenty-six years." said he, try
ing to teach the farmers of the north to
play with more than one string to their fid-
die. Their string up there was wheat
farming and they found it easy to work for
four months out Of the year and sit on a
- -uAa44lgru tba raut ~ fha tyyelya When
the drouth of 1888 came l decided to add
another string to the fiddle and spent $3.50,
900 in importing and distributing cattle and
hogs of superior breeds. They. sold these
high bred animals to the Iowa and Me-
braska farmers because they could get a
little more than for natives. Now they
have got their reward for this, for they
all want those cattle back.
LET me know when 1 give another
100000 in cattle to them" he added in an
amusingly whimsical tone"
Mr.. Hill declared that Great Britain had
seen its best days and that the great ma
ton was now on the verge Of a radical
change in government. He uttered q word
Of prophecy, declaring the United States
was fast following in the steps Of Great
Britain and that decisive measure must
be taken to make this nation secure.
Subsidies and the Canal,
There was much in Mr.. Hin speech, ex.
pressed as having a bearing on his agri-
cultural lesson, that involved affairs Of
large Importance in the worlds doing #
today. In no uncertain terms Mr.. Hill dis.
paraged the ship subsidy, and he offered
no compliments to the Panama canal
Meanwhile he took occasion to express
himself as favoring deep water ways, but
straightway proceeded to circumscribe mis-
approval by sharp structures.
'The most that might be expected as an
appropriation for ship subsidy would be
10000, OO0," declared the speaker. THAT
wouldn't be enough to go around among