The Falls City tribune., 1910-05-13
Rural Ideals.

iutdlS eAttpl perhaps lcIHpOIdfll or
by accident. The farmer who does
not have before his minds eye an
ideal seed bed gives his crop "A fair
chance only by accident or ina very
favorable season. When q man tries
to prepare a seed bed for any kind of
grain without the proper ideal he al
ways quits too soon. He hopes to
grow a twenty-five bushel crop of
wheat. for example. on a fifteen
bushel seed Led. Our wretchedly
poor average yields of all grains are
largely due to lack of proper ideal
for the seed bed.
The breeder cannot hope to sue
ideal of his fayorite breed. His ideal
must be his own creation. Until he
has Il distinct object ahead of him,
something he has thought out tor
himself, he will be the victim of
fads and f%aneies, unstable in his
breeding and feeding, and very likely
unstable in all his ways
Unless the boy forms a high ideal
Of what a man ought to be, he is not
likely to be very much of a man him
self. lie will either drift along and
be the product of his surroundings. or
he will initiate this or hat boy or
man with whom he comes in contact
and will be more apt to initiate his
weak points than his strong enes. his
vices than his virtues.
One of the great troubles with eoun
try life in America is the lack of high
ideals. Farm folk have been so long
accustomed TO looking to the city for
their ideals in character, in dress
and in behavior, that they have lost
to a great extent the proper ideals
of rural life, and lost to as great an
extent the proper ideals of \ rational
human life, either rural or urban.
They have heard so much about
null -millionaires and men of great
wealth that they are apt to imagine
that without great wealth life must b
more or less of a failure. No great
er mistake could be made. The pos
session of great wealth a not of
itself bring happiness. The ambition
to secure it by hook or by crook will
most certainly bring crookedness to
the character of the man himself, and
is likely to ruin his family. The
essentials of success are a clear con
science, good health, the love and
esteem of our fellowmen, and a reas-
enable competence, with the ON
fort which it brings. Agur. the son
of Jakeh. was dead right when he
prayed; Remove far from me false
hood and lies; Give me neither pow
erty nor riches"
The country, if farmers would only
thiuG so, can furnish the thin9s worth
Ia ing better than the city. Good
heath depends largely upon good
IL ed, proper exercise and a comfort
able and SAINT AIRY home. All this can
be had easier and cheaper in the
country than in the city. A comfort
able and sanitary home, with all mod
ern improvements can be had as
cheap in the country as in the town
or city, The farmer does not need
massage, or Turkish baths, or golf.
These are the city mans substitutes,
expensive at that, for the farmers
exercise. A good conscience can be
had in either town or country, but
much easier i'm the country than in
he will have the confidence of his
fellows in either place.
But. you say we have no society in
the country. What do you mean by
society? If you mean display in
dress, late hours. bridge. aud head
aches in the morning,you are not like
ly to get it In the country; and you
are all the better for not getting it.
If you mean the fellowship of men
and women with similar tastes. EN-
plyoment and recreation, the friend
ship of really good people for one
another, with an intelligence abov
the average, then all you need is to
quit looking downward and look aroun
you in the countary.
The material for good society is
wherever there are good farmers. men
who put brains into the work. All
that is needed is organization, what
we have called the specialization of
country life We do not find this
word specialization in our dictionary.
1t ought TO be there. NoW We do
not mean by this the teachings of the
doctrines of socialism, but simply the
organization of farmers into groups
with kindred aims and tastes. for
improvements or for social purposes