The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-11-01
A Square Deal For
the Country Boy
PRESIDENT n G. Mcdonald Of the North Dakota Educaona
Association Made Strong Charges Of Neglect Of
Country Boy IN His Annual Address

AT the general session OF the North
Dakota Educational association this
afternoon Pres. N. c. Mcdonald out
lined the work OF the association and
made some predictions for the future.
He then delivered his annual address
as follows:
Permit me now to invite your at
tention to the case Of the country boy.
under the title A Square Deal for the
Country Boy. At the beginning wish
two things to be well understood. First.
am anxious that the best of good
things may be done to Improve in
every possible way the condition of the
countEy girl, the city boy and the city
girl. But insist that much as their
condition may need improving the
country boy has been the more neg
lected, and is in the greater need OF
attention. Second. lest any impression
gain ground that / am an ONCE chair.
country life faddist, or that / speak
from inexperience or a limited one
with country life conditions or that my
knowledge Of country life is from hear
say or books only, I ask your indul-
gence when reply that I cannot lay
longing to any one or all of these
classes. for have lived twenty five
years on a farm. and more than twen-
ty-flve years In this state. which IN
cludes an experience Of a country child
and laborer, country school pupil and
teacher, and county superintendent OF
schools.
The title. A Square Deal for the
Country Boy, implies that he has not
been treated fairly. And such Is the
case. What then, is the bill Of par
ticulars? The general charge is that
he has been overworked, deprived Of
rest, play and school on the farm, that
he has been driven. brfbed, jeered, flat
tered bounded, goaded, ridiculed into
leaving the farm home poorly equipped
for the town and city At any rate, to
the city he has come In ever increas-
ing hundreds in the last decade, there
to exc out q precarious existence, or to
fall prey to designing and unscrupu-
lous rnoney-mad men, or to add to the
great army Of the city unemployed, or
to increase the already large number
of poverty stricken In mind and body
or the depraved and lawless. Here and
there II is true. but In q decreasing
ratio, he has been able to fit into the
scheme of city life, and to rise to po-
aitions OF power. great opportunity and
responsibility.
In North Dakota these conditions do
not exist Of course to the. degree that
they do in some OF the older states and
larger towns and cities OF the country.
But they do exist, and they are on the
increase. It needs no extended obser-
walton In the towns and cities to be
convinced OF this fact. 1t Is too pain
fully evident. The shacks that fringe
the towns and the lettering boys on the
streets tell the story. But to return
20 the bill Of particulars: The never
ending drudgerx on. the farm, the long.
lonely days o@mard work on the farm
in addit This bounding and goad-
ing hav> sn more than enough TO
complete his ruin as far as interest In
and for farm life is concerned.
The Overworksd Boy.
Then there Is the attitude OF the
careless parent, as shown In this comic
tragedy. The 13-yeRr-old son has re-
turned from the field after shutdown,
where he has plowed since daylight,
with less than an hour at noon for rest
and dinner. The well intentioned but
thoughtless father talks to his offspring
something after this fashion: "Jinnie,
I must go to town tonight right after
supper; so, besides your !. regular
chores don't forget to milk Spot and
Brindle, slop the hogs, haul barrel Of
soft water from the slough feed and
bed all the horses, split the wood,
churn for ma and be sure to fill the
oat bin. Don't forget"
The hoy, with already more than q
full days work for man to his credit.
gets through by III o'clock to fall into
a restless sleep In the coolest and ug-
Hest room in the house. He dreams OF
town, and, to him, it's endless rounds
Of pleasure and never-failing supply
CT luxuries; then of the visit of his
town cousin last Sunday, three years
his junior, and yet three grades ahead
OF him; then to be rudeIy awakened at
s a. m. by the stentorian tones OF the
sire roll out" The deluded father
spent the evening in town taking part
in debate on the subject. How to
Keep the Boys on the FARM One can
easily understand how easily home ties
are sundered when scuh cases are only
Too common the country over,
On the grim humor to be found In
Tama Jirn's pet story. A country boy
was found by a city resident vainly
trying to right rack Of hav that had
upset. He invited him home with him
In his car to have dinner. promising
to help reload the hay The boy de-
cllned repeatedly by saying that dad
would not like 1t. Finally the city man
after several efforts to get the boy