The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-08-24

SnOuiQ DenenC 0y the ddNlCC u t.Ae
technical men who have been trained IN
phases of the very work the FARMER
does. am not now speaking OF the
man who has had an ordinary genera
training, whether in school or coiese-
While there should undoubtedly be
such a training as a foundation, the
extent differing according to the Nnu
of work each boy int - 90 as d
mani, 1t is nevertheless true lnal ~
educational system should more anu
more be turned in the direction or edu-
eating men towards, ana not aMaS
from, the farm and the shop Durlis
the last half century we nave pesuN
to develop a system of agricuitur.al ~.
cation at once practical and scientlnc'
and we must go on developing II. Dus'
after developing it, 1t must pc useu.
The rich man who spehus 80
upon a fancy farm, with entire lnollIe
ence to cost, does not do much gooo 10
farming but. on the other hand just
as little is done by the WORK." dii NJ,
VINO stolicly refuses to pront py tIe
knowledge of the day; VINO treals any
face. refuses to countenance what ne
regards as newfangled IDEAS ana con
trivances and jeers at all DOCK Iarn-
ing 1. wish 1 could take representa-
tives of this tyne OF FARMER oowiL "
Long Island where live, to nave them
see what has been done, not as pnliah-
thropy, but as a plain business pro
position, by men connected with the
Long Island railroad. who beheVe II
pays to encourage the oevelopineilt OF
farms along the line of that railway.
They have put practical men in charge
of experince ntal farms, cult1vatlng thern
intensively, and using the best modern
methods, not only in raising crops, Dut
in securing the best --7"r'rat Tor the
crops when raised. The growth has
been astounding, and land only % miles
from New York, which during our en-
tire national life time has been treat
ed as worthless, has, within the last
three or four years, been proved to pos
sess a really high value.
Profitable and Pleasant.
1.-THE farmer, however. must not
only make his land pay, but he must
make country life interesting for him
self and for his wife and his sons and
daughters Our people as whole
should realize the infinite possibilities
of life in the country: and every eff
fort should be made TO make tnese
possibilities more possible. From the
beginning of time it has been the man
raised in the country-and usually the
man born in the country-who has
been most apt to render the services
which every nation most needs. Turn-
ing to the list of American statesmen,
it is extraordinary to see how large
proportion started as farm boys But
it is rather sad to see that in recent
years most of these same boys nave
ended their lives as men living in
cities.
1T often happens that the good con-
ditions of the past can be regalned,
not by going back, but by going for
ward We can not recreate what is
dead; we cannot stop the march of
events but we can direct this march, |
and out of the new conditions develop
something better than the past Henry
Clay was a farmer who lived all his
life in the country; Washington was a |
farmer who lived and died in the |
country; and we of this nation ought |
to make it our business to see that the |
are made such that farm |
life in the future shall not only develop |
men of the stamp, of Washington and |
Henry Clay, but shall be so attractive |
that these men may continue as farm |
ers: for remember that Washington |
and Henry Clay were successful farm |
ers / hope that things will so shape |
themselves that the Farmer can have
a great career and yet end this life as |
a farmer; so that the city man will |
look forward to living In the country
rather than the country man living in |
the city
Farmers should learn how to COM
bine effectively. as has been done in
industry. 1 am particularly glad to
speak to the Grange, for 1 heartily be-
lieve in farmers organizations; and we
should all welcome every step taken
towards an increasing cooperation
among farmers The Importance of
such movements cannot be over-estim-
ated; and through such intelligent
Joint action it will be as possible to i'm
prove the market just as much as the
farm.
Country life should be as attractive
as city life, and the country people
should insist upon having their full
when 1t 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
of commissions and
councils: in short, of all the organized
bodies for laying plans for great en-
terprises affecting all the people. 1
am glad to see on such bodies the
names that represent financial inter-
ests, but those interests should not
have the right-of-way, and in all en-
terprises and movements in which the
social condition of the country is in
volved the agricultural country-the |
open country-should be as we'll rep
resented as the city. The man in 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 should be given |
the same opportunity as the city talent |
to express itself and to contribute to
the welfare of the world in which we
live.
1.-THE country church should be made |
a true social center, alive to every |
need of the community standing for a |
broad individual outlook and develop |
ment, taking the lead in work and in |
recreation, caring more for conduct |
than for dogma, more for ethical, spir-
itual, practical betterment than for |
merely formal piety. The country fair |
offers far greater possibilities for con- |
tinuous and healthy usefulness than it |
at present affords. The country school |
should be made a vital center for econ |
omic, social and educational corpora
ton; it is naturally fitted to be such |
a center for those engaged in CONNER |
cial farming, for those who live on and |