Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1910-07-14
DON'T LIVE UP TO OPPORTUNITIES
Farmers in the East Are Not Progressive Western
Brethren Con gresham Higgins Interests orwich
Grange Members and Guest

Sixty-fourth congress viii go down IL!
history as the greatest of all con-
crosses because of the vast amount of
important legislation that was passed.
They did not pass the parcels Oost
bill, but they did pass a postal savings
bank BILL And all of the states have
one system of savings banks, and
this later bill was passed to meet
one can pretend to know.
Criticisms of Parcels Post.
Personally, the speaker continued, he
favored a parcels post. The only OBJ
lection to it is in respect to the great
cost that it would entail. The deficit
in the United States postoffice is al
ready $20,000.000. and to equip the post
office for parcels post system would
mean an additional expense. For the
benefit of the audience a few criticisms
were read: which did not, however,
represent criticisms the speaker would
make. In the first place. it would Gre
tie an additional enormous deficit in
the United States postoffice system,
and would therefore be improcticabIe
and unprofitabl Second, it would rev
olutionize the comm ercial system in
the United States. for thereby vast
number of the present business men
would be eliminated. Third, the evils
caused by congestion in our large
cities would be aggravated, as it would
destroy the population in the country
towns (This same argument was
through the rural districts) Fourth,
in every country town there would be
agents representing large mail order
houses who would use this system fOr
their own gain and would not furnish
corresponding additional revenue. and
in addition would injure the country
merchants
The Soil Survey.
Congressman Higgins said that he
could not furnish anything especially
new in respect to the subject OF SOL
survey. He has had several long talks
with Professor Whitney, chief of the
bureau. and also with Secretary of
Agriculture Wilson, along these Illness,
and he believed that the government
wa spending too much money for SOILS
that were believed to be productive. 1t
was a waste of money to make surveys
of the productive corn belts in Iowa,
Indiana and the other states in the
middle west. After many months of
hard work he had at last succeeded in
getting an order for a survey of Wind
ham county. and a good sized sum of
money has already been appropriated
for this purpose
Farmers Don't Take Opportunities.
Brief reference was made to the high
cost of living or rather the cost of
high living, the great influx of foreign
population to our shores. who usually
go to swell the population of the large
cities, and to the question of providing
the speaker observed that the farmers
in New England had not lived up to
their opportunities and had allowed
the western farmers to forge way
ahead. 1t is all wrong that our soils
here are all worked out and If the
western farmers only knew of the con-
ditions that surround us they would
sell their lands that bring $50 an acre
and there would be a great migration
eastward. We must do more to feed
the consuming masses. was urged
Much is being done to improve the
arid regions in the way of irrigation
and in other ways. and we, too, should
Just as there are experienced and care
fully trained experts in other lines of
business, so there should be experts on
the farm. We should study how they
do things out west, such the won
derfuIly successful treatment of or
chards in Oregon. and instead of al
lowing our capital to go out there, di-
rect it to the improvement of cOndi>
tions at home.
A unanimous vote of thanks was ac-
corded Congressman Higgins for his
and instructive talk fol-
lowing which action Worthy Past Mas
ter Rogers called upon some of the
visiting Patrons of Husbandry for a
few remarks. Worthy Past Master
Billings r. Avery of Ledyard grange,
Luther X Zabriskie of Preston City
grange and Edward Cook of the Nor
wich grange responded and spoke
briefly along the lines of the talk of
the evening.