Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-09-29


drained of its precious metals to settle
our foreign obligations. and we would be
on the verge of national bankruptcy.
Lands in England that have been farmed
for more than thousand years produce
more than twice as much wheat per acre
on the average as we do in the nat
urally better lands of the Mississippi
valley This demonstrates the difference
between farming and merely mining the
soil fertility.
This condition has been greatly has
tened by our statesmen. The gift of an
empire of land to railroads to enable
them to furnish speedy and cheap trans
portation for a vast continent, together
with the homestead law, so extensively
stimulated agricultural production that
the farmer was often, and in fact gen.
orally until about II years ago, forced to
sell his products at and often under the
cost of production. This gave the world
cheaper food than it will ever see again,
and made possible the wonderful growth
of great cities the world over.
A HOME MARKET.
1.-THE anxiety of the farmer to find
home market instead of having his prices
fixed in foreign market under competi-
ton led to the continuance of the sys-
TEEN of high tariffs long after the rea-
son for it had ceased to exist, thus Won
derfully stimulating the growth of the
cities of our land, cities which with all
our boosted ability we have never been
able to govern decently When this un-
due stimulus is removed, as 1t will and
must be sooner or later, our manufac-
turers will have to take the same med
icfne which sickened the farmers in the
70's, so and the early COS.
"Inasmuch as there are no more
Mississippi valleys to be opened up we
are now near the turning of the lane.
We must from henceforth learn how
to farm. We cannot greatly increase
our acreage, will in fact be compelled
by the return of normal climatic con-
ditions over our western territory to
reduce it. The only thing left to do is
to grow more. grainf per acre, bette,
stock in greater numbers per quarter
section Only in this way can we re-
duce the cost of living. t'f'
"Our great problem, as I said to this
congress a year ago, is how to produce
food for our own people at prices which
they can afford to pay. But how? Part
ly by putting more brains into our
farming. Many farmers have more
faith in moon signs than in agricul-
tural colleges and experiment stations,
more faith in ordinary politicians than
in college professors and scientists,
more faith in yellow journals than in
the best agricultural papers.
THE farmer complains that he can
not employ the labor necessary to grow
full crops on his land. There is just
ground for his complaint. The factory,
the store. the railroad, the trolley line
outbid him for the labor, even that
which is farm born and farm bred.
Therefore the very root and kernel oil
our modern farm problem is how to
retain on the farm all the boys and
girls born there who are fit to be farm
ers or farmers wives This can be
done only by making farm life worth
living.
'AIl over the country there is the
beginning of a great social and indus
trial awakening. The farmer is be-
ginning to magnify his office. to cut
loose from partisan bias, to do his own
thinking and act for himself He is pay
ing better salaries to his school teach
ers and insisting that the teaching have
some relation TO the life on the farm.
He is buying his own automobiles, and
paying cash for them. He is begin
ming to realize that farm life is essen
,aiahlv different from the life of the
town. The movement to organize coun-
try life clubs is spreading. The boys
and girls are organizing for games
The country church is beginning to re-
alize its mission, and in several states
country preachers are taking short
courses in agricultural collegs in on
der that they may teach morals and
religion to farmers in terms of theil
daily life.
''In conclusion permit me to say that
the ultimate prosperity of the city, its
ability to govern itself wisely and well.
depends on the development of rural
manhood"