The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-03-28
An AGRICuL TuRaL
SCHOOL FOR BEnIDJl
At : Meeting Of Board Of Directors
Of Commercial Club That Body
Set Ball Rolling.
) lis OF MEsTmABLE VALUE

All That is Needed to Obtain Depart
ment isSa United Effort Upon the
Put Of Citizens.
At meeting Of the board of di-
rectors Of the Commercial club, held
yesterday, the proposition of secur-
ing "a Agricultural Department for
the Bemidji schools was discussed at
considerable length.
Graham NJ. Torrance, at the re-
quest of some of the members of the
Commercial club, presented the mat
ter, and resolution was introduced
and unanimously adopted request
ing the school board to me their
best endeAvors to secure such a de-
partment for our schools. The
Commercial club will ah bend its
energies along the same Hines, and
it is now confidently expected that
Bemidji will be one of the favored
few to secure for itself the benefits
OF what is know as the Putnam
Act" establishing Agricultural de-
partments In the public schools of
the state.
: Some time ago the school board
took under consideration the advis-
ability of adding such department
to the schools, but dropped it for the,
time being, because there appeared;
to be opposition on the ground that
It would be an added burden on the
and -matterzof extraxas
gance. As matter OF fact It would
not cost the district Of Bemidii any.
thing, but would be an actual saw
ing to the taxpayer. =
The Bemidji schools now have a
manual training department and a
domestic science course in actual
operation, and the estimated cost of
maintaining these two courses for
the next year is. 5000. 90
The estimated cost of MAIN
tanning an agricultural
department for year Is 1900. 90
Making a total yearly ex- - =
penditure for the three
departments OF. =. -. $3777. 90
IF Bemidji spends this
amUuntEon these thnu
departments, under TIE
PutnamzActz the staea
Will pay the district,s
each year. $500. 90
Which waIld deerease=----
the cost of maintaining
the agricultural depart
ment, manual training
and domestic science
courses TO-. $500. $1Z17.OO
Or an actual saving to the
district, per year, of ....$ 1890
1t is seldom that an individual or.
a community gets something for
nothing, but the above figures clear
.ly show that If Bemidjt secures an
Agricultural department for its
schools it will be not only without
expense to the district, but that an
actual cash premium will accom-
pany it.
Aside from the direct benefit to-
our schools, q course of this kind
would be OF inest1mable value to the
community generally. The advan-
tage of having trained agricultur-
list in charge of the experimental
farm at Bemidji, where prospective
settlers could learn, by actual OBJ
seryation, of the fertility of our soil
and the most approved methods of
farming, would forever set at rest
any question of the desirability of
locating In the vicinity Of Bemidji
to engage in farming. It would
tend more to develope the county
than anything else could do.
This year fifteen agricultural de-
partments are to be added to the
schools Of this state, and applica-
tions will be made by more than one
hundred and Twenty-Five Of them for.
an. agricultural school. Only those
schools that en- show the state high
school bosrd fhat they are properly
equipped for such department,