The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-18
SKILL IS WHAT COUNTS.

, The wrathful remarks made by Mr.
: Mcpherson, Director of tho Expert
ment Station al Twin Falls, Idaho, dur
. ing the recent horticu,turiSts conven
} tion in this city, were no doubt inspired
,, primarily by whit he supposed TO b,
an attack upon the fruit tree raisers
Of tho region where his chief activities
are displayed, His remarks were di
rccted chiefly against Dr.. f. c. Ball OF
the Agricultural College Of Utah and
were distinctly aniagonistic, not to say
contemptuous
DR.. Ball had been pleading for scion
tific methods in fruit raising under tho
direction and according TO the expert
knowledge of educated men. In his
review of the fruit growing in the diff
ferent States of this western region,
he spoke of finding hundreds of trees
dying from seepa2e in the Paycttc-
Boise region. He said that he found
there fruit both good and bad and could
duplicate both the good and the bad
with Utah fruit Mr.. Mcpherson
seemed TO think that DR.. Ball IS state
ments applied TO one distinct farm in
the Payette region, owned by Mr.. Will
son, who had at first an illiterate man
in charge of il, hut man who was
able to do excellent work and get good
results in the raising of fruit. Wilson
discharged this iIliteratc man. put in a
college graduate and suffered accord
lngly. Much apparently 20 the salts
faction of Mr.. Mcpherson, he tri-
umphantly announced that the college
graduate had been discharged and the
illiterate man had been restored to
his position. and now Mr.. Wilson S or
chard would be all right.
But Mr. Mcpherson S own talk an
swered the very contention he made;
for it appears that the college grad
uate did not know his business, but the
illiterate man did know what he was
doing, understood orchard methods
and under his care the
trees throvc and bore good fruit.
Now, that is the very matter at is
sue 1t is simply question Of knowl'
edge and ability 10 produce results. The
fact that this man was illitcrate, from
1 college standpoint, cuts no figure in
he case. He was thoroughly educated
n his business. knew how to grow
rees. TO take care of them, and TO make
hem produce the best possible fruit.
That is tho whole matter. The man who
an do this is not an illiterate man in
he business which he engages in. He ,
s an expert. and must be treated as !
uch !
1t does not follow. of course, that
very college graduate is an expert
ruit grower; but college graduate, ,
nd especially graduate from an agri i.
ultural college, who has made fruit
aising the subject of his study, ought !.
ertainly to be expert in his work. If 9
c is new from college, perhaps he viii
lake some mistakes, which experience :,
lter on will correct. This is true III
ny sort of work. 1t is true In book \
coping; it is true in any form Of busi-
ess. Yet, no one would say that
)llcge education is detrimental to any
,rm of business or activity The main
ling is that the man in charge, wheth .
he be called illiterate from one stand a.
pint or another, or not. should know u
,rfectly the business that he has IN u
large- That is all that experts, col al
ge mon or otherwise, contend for; and Sc
e fact remains true all the time, that ~
e college man who claims TO know u
C practical business of fruit raising is =
II less likely to fail therein than is "
e illitcrate man who makes the same W
aim. b