The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-07-12
A SERMON FOR THE PANHANDLE

In my experience, preaching I,
grown people is a mighty poor way !,
teach them anything. Nevertheless,
am going To preach to the grown peo
Pile OF the Oklahoma Panhandle for .
| little while, because | have no better
way OF getting at them | cant yer.
| we'll spank them.
And am going 10 taSe as my text
the following: Consider the Russian
thistles of the field and how the
grow; they toll not. neither do they
spin, but they get there just the same
Now, am not just sure that yon vii
find this text in the ST james vei
sion OF the scriptures, but it sk0uie
be In every farmers version, and h'
should consider it twice each day
before dinner. and after IT,
Yes, Beloved BrethrenI mean mel
OF the Panhandle there is some
mighty good srciptare written IN the
plants which naturally grow oHt there
Nature is trying to teach you how g.
farm there by means OF object les
sons But a great many people dom
guage OF course, Ii they can read
they are like the old fellow who be
lieved the Bible from kiyver to Xiv
yer lett the carrying out OF II
lessons to his wife. Look about you
Are the grass aud weeds Of the sam
kind that you found back Ia Missouri
or Illinois2 Did you find much 'soai
weed cactus or Russian thistle bacl
there? Even the grass Is short in til,
Panhandle, and produces it's seed dit
terently from the grass back East
Does that teach you anything? 4
should teach you that certain types Q
plants are naturally adapted to chat
section, and other types are not. Ma
ture tells you that you must not tr'
to grow the same crops In the same
way chat you did In Missouri, or even
In Oklahoma. Ii you disobey hel
command, she is not as coDsiderate 4.
am; she gives you spanking, II
the shape of crop failure Have
you been getting that kind OF spank
ing for the last two or three years
You have? Well, are yon going T.
mend the error of your ways ane
plant crops adapted to that countr,
hereafter, or are you going to "cuss
the country and 80 back to your wife,
folks" In Missouri or Illinois?
Look here, lets be plam on this
subject. No part OF No Mans Land
was ever intended by nature for tht
growing OF corn, and but very little
OF 1t was ever intended for the grow
ing of wheat and oats. Now, don't
lose your temper and tell me that J
am trying to ruin the reputation oi
your country by attempting to grow
crops that are not adapted to the
etc, out there, and so max
ing failures. The people who see your
failures won't know that You are
growing the wrong crops; they vii
simply decide that the country Is NJ
good. What does man naturally
think when he goes through a country
and sees nothing but failures on every
hand? Then who is doing most TO
hurt the reputation OF the Panhandle
you or myself ] would not wiltully
hurt the reputation OF that country by
the least jot or title, for every foot
of land that / own is situated in the
and / believe that it Is a
good country, but not for corn, wheat
and oats. Yes. know that sometime.
after we have learned more about the
dry farming SYSTEM and after we
have developed seed adapted to that
section, we will be able to grow
wheat successfully perhaps corn,
but in the meantime, what are we so
ing To do for a living. now?
am continually running across men
who say Il know this country viii
grow wheat. Why. three years ago
made fourteen bushels per acre!
don't doubt it. but you can't buy this
years bread and bacon with the wheat
crop of three years ago No coun-
try can be prosperous as long as II is
devoted to raising crops that give