New-York tribune., 1910-08-24
ROOSEVELT. TO FARMERS
Conservation and Betterment of
Rural Life Go Hand in Hand.

Utica, n. Y, Aug. 23-Ex-Presldent
Roosevelt in his address before the Her
kimer and Oneida Grange to-day, said:
There are no two public questions OF
more vital Importance to the future OF tins
country than the problem of conservation
ne; moreover, these two propieiis al
really lnterdependent, for neither OF tnem
can be successfully solved save on condi-
t1on that there is at least measurable
success in the effort to solve the other III
any great country the prime physical as
set-the physical asset more valuable tha1
any other-is the fertility of the SOIL All
our Industrial and commercial WelIars, an
our material development OF every klno, ue-
pends IN the last resort upon our preserti1
ing and increasing the fertility of the soli.
This, of course means the conservation
of the soil as the great natural resource
and equally of course it Furthermore I'M
plies the development of country life, for
there cannot be a permanent improvement
of the soil if the life of those who 1--WE on
it, and make their living out OF II, Is sur
fered to starve and languiSh, to become
stuuted and weakened and inferior TO the
type of life lived elsewhere we are nov
trying to preserve, not for exploitation py
individuals but for the permanent oeneitI
of the whole people, the waters and tne
forests, and we are doing TINS primary .t.e So
a means of adding to the fertility OF the
soil, although in each case there Is greatt
secondary use both of the water ana OF
the forests for commercial and 1nduslrldi
purposes. ~
In the same way it is essential for the
farmers themselves to try to broadeh lLe
life of the man who lives in the open coun-
try; to make it more attractive. to give II
every adjunct and aid to deyelopHleilt
which has been given to the life or the man
of the cities.
An educational system should more an
more be turned IN the direction or educat-
ing men toward, and not away from INC nc
farm and the shop During the tast llan
century we have begun to develop s's-
tenn of agricultural education at ouce
practical and scientific, and we must, mnsI 70 t
after developing tt
it must be used.
The farmer. however, must not only make
life interesting for himself and for his vile
ard his sons and daughters. our eopie
as a whole should realize the minnie 90
sibilties of life in the country, ana eseIS
effort should be made to make these poSst
bilities more possible From the bes,nil..uus
CT time it has been the man raised m M tne
country-and usually the man born IN SiIe
country-who has been most apt to renoer
the services which every nation IiCss
needs Turning to tie list of American
statesmen, it is extraordinary to see now
large a proportion started as farm eoys.
But it is rather sad to see that IN re-
cent years most of these same boys nave
ended their lives as men living in cities
After approving the work of the grange
Mr.. Roosevelt continued:
Country life should be as attractive as
CITY life and the country people should m
sist upon having their full representation
when it comes to dealing with all great
folks should demand that they work on
equal terms with city folks in all such
the memberships of commissions and conn-
cils-in short of all the organized bodies
for laying plans for great enterprises al
The country church should be made
true social centre. alive to every need OF
the community, standing for proad IN
Gividual outlook and development, taking
the lead in work and in recreation, eaflnS
more for conduct than for dogma more tof
for merely formal piety. The country far
offers far greater possibilities for continu-
Gus and healthy usefulness than it at pres
ent affords. Fhe country school shauid be
made a vital centre for economic, socia
and educational cooperation. 1t is natu-
rally fitted to be such q 1 centre for for those these
themselves own The problem of the farm
is really the problem of #, the nf family that
there is need of intelligent study, such as
marks the books of Professor Bailey. of
Cornell, and of Horace Plunkett's book on
one feature of the problem should be rec
effort made to deal with it. 1t is our duty
and our business to consider the farm
Ia borer exactly as we consider the farmer
the owners of farms tend. for whatever
rea SON. to go away ~ live in cities instead
of working their farms; and, moreover, ii
cannot be really satisfactory when the
Ia Dor system is so managed that there is
for part of the year demand for labor
which cannot be met, and during another
part of the year no demand for labor at all.
so that the farmers tend to rely on migra-
tory laborers who come out to work IN the
with no permanent interest In it
and with no prospect of steady employ
ment 1t is exceedingly difficult TO make a
good citizen out of a man who can't count
upon some steadiness and continuity i'm the
work which means to him his livelihood.
Above all, the conditions of farm life
must always be shaped with view to the
welfare of the farmers wife and the farm
laborer's wife quite as much as to the vel
fare of the farmer and the farm laborer