Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1910-08-27
ROOSEVELT TALKS
TO THE FARMERS
First Address OF His Tour Deliv-
cred Near Utica, N. 7.
PROBLEMS OF COUNTRY LIFE
Danger Seen In the Growth Of Cities
plea Made for the Farm
laborer and the Farmers
Wife,

Roosevelt arrived here this afternoon
with his party. in the private car Re
public for the first stop and address
of his tour through the west. A ire
mendous crowd was at the station
to greet the former president and he
was given an enthusiastic welcome.
The entire party boarded trolley
cars at once and proceeded to Orisk-
any. nine miles outside the city. and
thence to Summit park. mile further
on, where Mr. Roosevelt spoke to the
farmers Of Herkimer and Oneida
counties. The agriculturists were out
in great numbers and Brought with
them their entire families, making the
affair a gala event. Mr.. Roosevelt Is
extremely popular with the farmers
because Of the deep interest he has
shown in the problem Of lettering
farm life conditions, II for no other
reason. He was listened to with
closest attention and his remarks were
accorded frequent applause He spoke
as follows:
There are no two public questions OF
more vital Importance to the future OF
this country than the problem of conser-
walton and the problem of the betterment
Of rural life Moreover. these two prob
lens are really interdependent, for mel
ther Of them can be successfully solved
save on condition that there Is at least
. measurable success in the effort to
solve the other. In any great country
tho prime physical asset-the physical as
set more valuable than any other-is the
fertility of the soil Az our industrial
and commercial welfare. all our material
development of every kind. depends In
the last resort upon our preserving and
increasing the fertility Of the soil. This
Of course. means the conservation OF the
sol! as the great natural resource; and
equally Of course, II Furthermore implies
the development of country life, for there
cannot be a permanent improvement OF
the soil II the life OF those who live on
It, and make their living out Of 1t, Is
suffered to starve and languish to be-
come stunted and weakened and inferior
to the type Of life lived elsewhere. We
are now trying to preserve. not for ex-
ploitation by individuals, but for the per-
manent benefit of the whole people, the
waters and the forests, and we are do
ing this primarily as n means of adding
to the fertility Of the soil: although In
each case there Is great secondary use
both of the water and of the forests for
commercial and Industrial purposes. In
the same way It Is essential for the farm
ers themselves to try to broaden the life
of the man who lives In the open country;
to make 1t more attractive; to give It
every adjunct and aid to development
which has been given to the life Of the
man of the cities Therefore. friends, the
conservation and rural life policies are
really two sides of the same policy; and
down at bottom this policy rests upon
the fundamental law that neither man
nor nation can prosper unless, In dealing
with the present, he steadily take thought
for the future.
Problem Of Cities Growth.
In one sense this problem with which
we have to deal Is very very old. Wher-
ever civilizations have hitherto sprung up
they have always tended to go through
certain stages and then to fall No nation
can develop a real civilization without
cities. Up to a certain point the city
movement is thoroughly healthy; vet 1t is
a strange and lamentable fact that al
way. hitherto after this point has been
reached the city has tended to develop
at the expense Of the country by draining
the country Of what Is best in It. and
making an insignificant return for this
best In consequence. in the past, every
civilization in its later stages has tend
ed realv to witness those conditions I'M
der which "the cities prosper and the
men decav" There are ugly signs that
these tendencies are at work In this ma
ton OF ours But very fortunately we
hnF IN
any civilization-an aroused and alert
public interest in the problem. a recog-
milton of its gravity and desire to at
tempt its solution.
The problem does not consist merely
in the growth Of the city. Such a growth
in itself II a good thing and not bad
thing for the country The problem con-
sists In the growth OF the city at the ex
pense Of tho country: and. even where
this Is not the case. In so great an equal
ity OF growth In power and interest as to
make the city more attractive than the
country, and therefore apt to drain the
country Of the people who ought to live
therein.
The human side OF the rural life prob
lem IL to make the career OF the farmer
and the career of the farm laborers as at
tractive and as remunerative as CORE
spending careers in the city. Now, am
well aware that the farmer must himself
take the lead in bringing this about A
century and a quarter ago the wise Eng
lish farmer. Arthur Young. wrote OF the
efforts to improve French wool: "A cult
vator at the head Of n sheep farm Of g. 900
or 1000 acres would IN few years do
more for their woods than all the aca-
hemicians and philosophers will effect In
ten centuries" II IL absurd to think that
any man who has studied the subject on
ly theoretically Is Mt TO direct those who
practically work at the matter But
friends. wish TO insist to you herr--to
you practical men. who own and YORK
your farms-that II Is an equally D mi
cious absurdty for the practical ma to
refuse to benent by the work OF the ,tu-
dent The English farmer have our ted
Young. was practical farmer, but he
was also a scientific farmer One reason
why the great business men OF today
the great Industrial leaders-have gone
ahead, while the farmer has tended to
sag behind others. is that they are far
more willing. and indeed eager. to profit
by expert and technical knowledge-the
knowledge that can only come as A. re-
suit of the highest education From
railways to factories no great Industrial
concern can nowadays be carried on
cave by the aid Of swarm of men who
have received high technical educa-
ton in chemistry. in engineering. in cleo
fricity In one or more OF scores Of spe-
cial subjects. The big business man, the
Dig railway man. does not ask college
trained experts to tell him how to run
his business. but he does ask numbers OF
:n.:n each 20 give him expert advice and
nd or one point indispensable to
iis t''e'"'vs He finds this man usually