The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-04
DEVELOP MENT in
. IMPORTANT LINES
.F arm Demonstration
Work Is w ellShown in
Annual Conference.
OLD MEN COMING
TO MEET THE BOYS
Good Roads Enthusiasm Become
ing State-Wide-Southwe
Leads-One Good Thing
Leads to Another-Pro-
gress Along All Lines.
People Waking Up.
BY FRANK $. wooDsoN.

BY FRANK 8. WOODSON.
1t is rather hard to keep right up
with the Industrial and agricultural
development of Virginia and the South,
the same being rushing along with
such gigantic strides a man who has
a considerable amount of office work
to do can't be with the giants who
are making the strides all the time.
Last week the cooperative farm DEM
onstrators had their fall conference
in this city. The daily papers have
told of what they did and the good
things they talked about in their va
rious meetings at Murphys auditorium.
They told about the Improvement in
the matter of corn-srowing, in the
matter of better hay-making and bet
ter wheat-growing and better sheep
raising, and all that kind of thing,
and in general way these demon
strators brought the goods right along
to show the wonderful advantages
demonstration work has been to old
Virginia. T. O. Sandy, the chief dem
onstrator and DR.. Eggleston. the edu-
cation man. and whole lot of other
folks, attended the meetings. and
among the whole lot were about
thirty-five actual demonstrators. and
every mothers son of them had some
thing good to tell about the new ideas
that are getting into the noodles of
the Virginia farmers SO far as they
have gotten under the influence of this
demonstration work.
Old Men Coming Up.
have been watching this demon
stration work a good deal in various
parts of the State. and. Ii / remember
Alright. have told how hard it was TO
get the old dodgers to catch on. 1
think II has been made plain in tho
Industrial Section that the demonstra-
| tors have had no trouble in getting
the boys and the younger farmers in
tcrested in the great subject of max
| ing many BLADES of grass and many
ears of corn grow where only one o-
two grew before. The argument Was
advanced that 1t was some thing of a
waste of time to try to convert the old
| fellows who we're "sot in their ways
and / advised the demonstrators 10
! let the old fellows alone and work
only on the boys and the youngsters.
That was good argument IS far as it
went, and the demonstrators followed
the advice to great extent One OF
| the finest things brought out In last
weeks conference is the testimony fur
nished by many OF the demonstrators
that their good work on the boys has
had reflex action on the old fellows.
and the facts were brought out sur
everywhere the old fellows who saw
their boys doubling the capacity of the
acres got a move on themselves, and
they, too, are beginning to douhle IN
things.
Good Times Coming.
And the demonstrators are returning
to their good work with the idea that
thousand OF old bacltbones have been
limbered up and that now even the old
y a, T.,
demonstration work is far-reachins,
and it cuts both ways, 1t is growing.
II ought to grow faster Let's see. So
far about thirty counties have caught
on, rrlle law which allows the county
boards OF supervisors to make the
necessary appropriation to insure dem
onstration work In every county is
still in force, and there Is time enough
for the vllest Of sinners to return oven
those old mossbacks in the only two
counties that have yet turned down
the appropriation proposition. Even
they have time to reconsider. Tho
fellows who are yet to take the mat
ter up have the good evidence before
them. l believe the day is not far
distant when there viii be good
demonstrators in every county in the
State. May the good Lord hasten that
day.
SOutnWeStS 1OOu JkOuuS .HtnuSlu3us
But in the meantime something elao
besides farm development is going on
in the old State. The good roads
movement, for instance. Down In the
Southwest section of the State thu
counties are voting money right along
for permanent roads; that is to say.
they are voting bonds that will bring
money and the work of making per-
manent roads is going along, Some
of those Southwest counties are set
Eting a mighty good example for tbs
Eastern and Northern Virginia coun-
| ties.
1t may have been observed that the
Southwest counties that hare tackled
: this subject tackled 1t for good and ALI.
and while they were at 1t they voted
| enough money to see the thing well
done. One county last week voted to
issue 100000 of bonds, The Eastern
counties have been in the habit OF
going 1t at the rate of $4,000 at a
time. What is the sense of making SO
many bites at a cherry? Vote enough
money at once and go ahead and build
! the roads. That Is what the South-
west counties are doing,
When the People Speak.
| The folks can have all tho good
roads and all the good bridges they
want If they will go at II in the right
/ Nay. Up wonder on the Staunton
! River where that vigorous stream di-
vides Campbell county from Plttsyl-
vanla. the folks got tired OF slow
/ ferry and asked for bridge. and
when they got In earnest about 1t they
got the bridge, magnificent steel
structure. a picture of which may be
| seen in another column. The two eoun-
| ties Clipped In a little, the two rail
ways which run together just there.
| that is tossay, at Atlagista, clipped ~
| d little, the Lane Brothers Clipped tn
| some, the people generally paid the
rest, and there You are, Aud what
now2 Well they are raising heaven
and earth 10 make good roads from
eyery direction to the saiendid new