The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-08-24

other words. country folks should de
nand that they work on equal terms
with city folks IN al such matters
They should have their share n The
memberships Of commissions ard coun
els: In short. Of all the organized bod
les for laying plans for great enseErris
Is affecting Ell the people ! an glad
70 see on such bodies the names that
represent financial interests. but those
Interests should not have the right-of
way. and in al enterprises and move
ments in which the social conditions
OF the country is involved. the agrf
cultural country-the open country
shoul dbe as well represented as the
city. The man OF the open country is
apt to have certain qualities which the
city nan has lost. These qualities off.
set those which the city nan had and
he himself has not The two should
be put on equal terms. aud the country
talent 0e Eissn Sfs szEss o7S7Ses- oEisiiiii EEisiiiiisii-
" as the city talent . express itself
and to contribute to the welfare Of
the world in which We live.
The country church should be
made a true social center. alive to
every need Of the community. stand
ing for a broad individual outlook and
development, taking the lead in work
and in recreation. caring more for
conduct than for dogma, more for
ethical spiritual. practical betterment
thar for merely formal piety- The
country fair offers far greater posi-.
bilities for continuous and healthy
usefulness than it at present affords.
The country school should be made a
vital center for economic, social. and
educational cooperation; it is natural
u fitted TO be such a center for those
engaged in commercial farming, for
those who live on and by the small
farms they themselves own. The prob
lem of the farm is really the problem
OF the family that lives on the farm.
On all these questions there is need Of
intelligent study. such as marks the
books of Prof. Bailey OF Cornell and OF
Horace PIunkett's book on the Rural
Life Problems Of the United States
.sOne feature Of the problem should
be recognized by the farmer at once,
and an effort made to deal with it. 1t
is our duty and our business to con-
slider the farm laborer exactly as we
consider the farmer. No country life
can be satisfactory when the owners
of farms tend. for whatever reason. to
go away to live in cities instead of
working their farms; and, moreover,
it cannot be really satisfactory when
the labor system is so managed that
there is for part of the year demand
for labor which cannot be men, and
during another part of the year no de-
mand for labor at all, so that the farm
ers tend to rely on migratory laborers
who come out to work in the country
with no permanent interest in it and
with no prospect of steady employ
ment. It is exceedingly difficult to
make a good citizen out of a man who
cant count upon some steadiness and
continuity in the work which means
to him a livelihood Economic condi-
tions on the farm-in variety and kind
of crop growing, especially as distrib-
uted in time, and in housing for the
men-must be so shaped as to render
It possible for the man who labors for
the farmer to be steadily employed un-
der conditions which foster his self
respect and tend for his development.
above all. the conditions of farm
life must always be shaDed with a
view to the welfare of the farmers
wife and the farm Iaborer's wife,
quite as much as to the welfare OF the
farmer and the farm laborer. To have
the women a mere drudge is at least
as bad as to have the men a mere
drudge. It is every whit as impor-
tant to introduce new machines to
her labor within the house
as it is to introduce machinery to in
crease the effectiveness of his labor
outside the house. l haven't the
slightest sympathy with any move
ment which looks to excusing men and
women for non-performance of duty
attention only on rights and
not duties. The woman who shirks
her duty az housewife. as mother is
a contemplate creature; just as the
corresponding man is contemplate
creature. But the welfare Of the wom-
an Is even more important than the
welfare Of the man; for the mother is
the real Atlas. who bears aloft in her
strong and tender arms the destiny OF
the world. She deserves honor and
consideration such as no man should
receive. She forfeits all claim to this