Willmar tribune., 1910-08-31
In some graduate OF technical <sdAsols O.
college In which he has bsen trained Tor
his life work.
Farmer Needs Technical AdvlcO.

college In which he has bsen trained Tor
his life work.
Farmer Needs Technical Advico.
In just the same way the farmers
should benefit by the advice Of tho tech
nical men who have been trained In
phases Of the very work the farmer does
am not now speaking Of tho man who
has had an ordinary general training,
whether In school or college. While there
should undoubtedly be such = training ~
foundation (the extent differing accord
ing to the kind Of work each boy intends
to do as = many, it Is nevertheless true
that eur educational system should moro
and moro be turned in the direction Of
educating men towards, and not away
from, the farm and the shop. During
the last half-century we have begun to
develop system Of agricultural educa-
tion ut once practical and scientific. and
we must 90 on developing 1t. But, after
developing 1t, it must be used. The rich
man who spends q fortune upon q fancy
farm, with entire Indifference to cost,
does not do much good to farua1nC: but.
on the other hand. just as little Is done
by the, working farmer who stellday re-
fuses to profit by tho knowledge Of the
day; who treats any effort at improve
ment as absurd on :ts face, refuses to
countenance what hs regards al new
tangled ideas and contrfvances. and jeers
ut all book farming" I wish I could
take representatives Of this type Of farm
er down to Long Island, where live, to
have them see what has been dsne,4 not
as philanthropy but as q plain business
proposition, by men connected with the
Long Island railroad, who believe It pays
to encourage the development Of farms
along the line Of that railway. They have
put practical man In charge Of expert
mental farms, culhvating them intensive
ly, and using tho best modern methods,
not only in raising crops, but in securing
the best market for tho crops when
raised. The growth has been astounding.
and land only fifty miles from New York.
which during our en.lre National lifetime
has been treated as worthless, has within
the last three or feur years been proved
to possess a really high value.
The farmer. however, must not only
make his land pay, but he must make
country life interesting for himself and
for his wife and his sons and daughters.
Farmers should learn how to combine
effectively, as has been done in industry.
I am particularly glad to speak to tho
Grange, for 1 heartily believe in farmers
organizations; and we should all welcome
every step taken towards an increasing
cooperation among farmers. The inpor-
estimated: and through such intelligent
joint action 1t will be possible to Improve
the market just as much rs the farm
Country life should be as attractive
as city life, and the country people
should Insist upon having their full
representation when It comes to deal
ing with all great public questions. In
other words, country folks should de-
mand that they work on equal terms
with city folks In all such matters.
They should have their share in the
memberships. of commissions and coun-
ellis; in short, Of all the organized bod
les for laying plans for great enter
prises affecting all the people. am
glad to see OIL such bodies the names
that represent financial interests but
those interests should not have the
rieht-of-way, and In all enterprises
and movements In which the social
condition of the country is involved,
the agricultural country-the open
country-should be as we'll represented
as the city. The man Of the open
country is apt to have certain qualities
which the city man has lost. These
qualities Offset those which the city
| man has and he himself has not. The
two should be put on equal terms, and
the country talent be given tho same
opportunity as the city talent to ex-
press itself and to contribute to the
welfare Of tho world in which we live
The country. church should be made
| true social centre, alive to every need
OF the community. standing for broad
individual outlook and development.
taking the lead in work and in recrea-
! dogma, more for ethical, spiritual,
| practical betterment than for merely
| formal piety. The country fair. offers
| far greater possibilities for continuous
| and healthy usefulness than 1t at pres
ent affords. The country school should
\ 81 49,
| social. and educational cooperation; it
is naturally fitted to be such center
| for those engaged in commercial farm
ing. and still more for those engaged
| in domestic farming. for those who live
on and by the small farms they them
| selves own. The problem OF the farm
! is really the problem OF the family that
| lives on the farm. On all these ques-
tions there is need Of Intelligent study,
such as marks the books Of Professor
| Bailey, Of Cornell, and Of Sir Horace
| Plunkett's book on tho Rural Life
| Problems Of the United States
Condition. Of Farm Life.
One feature Of the problem should
| be recognized by the farmer at once.
| and an effort made to deal with it. It
! 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.
! 1t cannot be really satisfactory when
| the labor system is SO managed that
there is for part Of the year a demand
| for labor which cannot be met, 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
ment It is exceedingly difficult to
make a good citizen out Of man who
can't count upon some steadiness and
continuity in the work which means
to him his livelihood. Economic con-
ditions on the farm-tn variety and
kind Of crop-growing, especially az
distributed in time, and in housing for
the men-must be so shaped as to rem
der it possible for the man who labors
for the farmer to be steadily employed
under conditions which foster his self
respect and tend for his development
Above all, the conditions of farm
life r,ust always be shaped with a
view to the welfare of the farmers
wife and the farm laborers wife, quite
Oh much rs to the welfare of the farm
er and the farm laborer. To have the
bad as to have the man mere drudge.
It is every whit as important to intro
duco new machines to economize her
labor within the house. as 1T is to in
| troduce machinery to increase the ef-
fectiveness Of his labor outside the
house. I haven't the slightest sympn-
thy with any, movement which looks
| to excusing men and women for tho
non-performance of duty and fixes at
tention only on rights and not on du-