The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-07-22
THE EFFECT OF AGRICULTURAL
TRAINING ON RURAL LIFE

made public by DIR. A. M. Souie presi-
dent State College Of Agriculture
Athens, Ca;
Education has transformed the in
dustries of the world. Why should II
not exert as benehcent an influence on
agriculture? Those who have studied
the situation realize that it will ulti-
mately confer as great a benefit on the
farming interests OF the country as II
has on industry, though the results will
not be obtained in so short time. The
reasons for this are not hard to appre-
ciate since industry tends to concen-
trate in large factories and to develop q
population by education and long expe-
rience best designed to serve it's inter-
ests. The farmer still remains an indi-
vidual unit and it is difficult to extend
have been OF such substantial value in
promoting our industries.
| In the hurry and rush OF the present
generation we lose sight of the marvel
GUS benefits which education has con-
ferred on industry. One hundred years
ago manufacturing, IL 1t could be called
such, was performed chiefly in the
homes Of the people. For instance, If
sheep were raised on the farm the wool
was very likely worked up on a hand
loom and sold in a finished form. The
process of manufacture was slow and
costly. Sometimes the quality was
good; sometimes Indifferent, depending
on the skill and patience of the individ-
ual worker. The output at most was
very restricted. Commerce and a de-
veloping civilization demanded a larger
supply Of goods of more varied char
acter. The leaders in thought and in
dustry pondered this question, and saw
that only in the association of workers
under one general direction and the
utilization of improved machinery could
the desired end be obtained. Man bent
his intellect to the study OF these prob
lens. Technical schools were estab-
hshed everywhere; trained artisans
turned out by the thousands; research
and investigation in given lines encour-
aged; invention became almost an in
dustry in itself and machines were
made to do the work formerly per-
formed by thousands of persons less de-
pendable than the mechanical instru-
ments which superseded them.
This, in brief, shows why industry
has made such tremendous strides in
the past few years, and that education
has been its mentor from the begin
ming, while there is a tendency on the
part Of the population to crowd into
towns and cities and desert the coun-
try. Apparently, we have forgotten that
the source of raw materials for indus
try is being endangered by these
changes, and great part Of the peo-
pie seem to have concluded that the
farm offers no facilities for satisfying
life, and no opportunities for making
money.
If industry has been able to make
such marvellous growth through the
development of technical education.
why not agriculture as well? 1t has
taken us a long time to realize this
truth, and as yet 1t is only appreciated
In cursory sort of fashion. The stu
pendous nature of the problem has
probably been one Of the causes why A.
has not been more earnestly considered
IN the past, and probably 1t would not
De so gravely discussed at the present
time were it not for the fact that
industry sees probable curtailment in
the raw materials needed for the oper-
alton or its factories. We have en-
dangered the prosperity of the nation
by developing the town at the expense
or the country. We have neglected
shamefully the education OF those who
produce, after all, the sinews of war
so far as industry is concerned. We
must now turn our attention and the
whole energy Of the nation to rehabili-
tating the life of the farm. This can
only be done efficiently through the
medium Of a type of education which
will make possible the development of
a system Of farming intended to build
and preserve the fertility Of the land. to
give man dominance in his dealings |
with nature and point out effectively a |
method Of procedure by which larger
return may be secured from his effort. |
1t is not surprising that the farmer |
should frequently be a pessimist. BY |
our present system of practice the fer |
tility Of the land virgin 100 years ago |
has steadily deteriorated. The cost of |
production has accordingly risen. The
farm has made, when well managed a. |
dividend possibly of to 10 per cent. |
while the manufacturer has taken the
same product and reaped a harvest of |
almost 35 to so per cent. The town has |
been distinctly out Of touch with the |
country and out Of sympathy with it. |
1t was hardly to be expected, therefore, |
that the farmer would be an optimist |
under the circumstances; yet until he |
becomes an optimist we can not hope
for change in rural conditions which
will place the country on a proper eco
nomic basis and make possible the de-
velopment of cooperative enterprises.