The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1911-10-13
Farmers Wives
Should Enjoy Life
Monotony of Farm Life Should Be
Broken Up By Women's Clubs
Or Societies

w ull0 ldTuS anu ldTueFS Eo-
ceived most of the attention of the
delegates to the recent Conserva-
tion congress at Kansas City, says
the St. Paul Dispatch, perhaps one
of the most helpful and encourag-
ing features of the session was the
movement started looking to the
conservation of the farm women
and children. The subject was in
troduced by Mrs. Harriet Wallace
of Des Mosnes, who, in the course
of a paper read before the con.
gress, said: Any movement for
the promotion of the farmers in
terest must, if it is to be a success,
receive the support not only of the
farmer but also of the farmers
wife. The first problem of the
farmer is how to increase farm
products through better farming;
the first problem of the farmers
wife is how to improve the condi-
tions of the farm home. The
mistakes of the husband in his
sphere during one season may be
corrected in the next: the mista k
es made by the wife in rearing her
children are never entirely cor
rected.
Mrs. Wallace urged the union
of farmers wives in country wo.
mems clubs with the object of
breaking up the monotonous rout-
inc of farm life and for the discus
sion of anything and everything
pertaining to the betterment of
farm homes. This, we are con-
vinced, holds promise of being one
of the most important elements in
the advancement of the back.to-
the.farm movement in this count
ry. The lot of the farmers wife,
particularly in the more sparsely
settled countries, is far from be-
ing a happy one. Thousands of
farm-reared men and women shud-
der when they remember the driv-
ing, shaving toll endured by their
mothers on the farm and thou
sands of them have left the farms
because they wanted to escape
such drudgery and to protect their
daughters from it. 1t is true that
conditions of farm life have been
materially improved in recent
years, but there is still too much
Of the hard work and always too
much of loneliness in the lives of
the farmers wives.
When the wives and daughters
and sisters of farmers who live on
the farms get their organizations
effected and learn to throw off the
belief and theory that they cannot
get away from home even for only
q few hours without some dire
disaster coming to the home or to
the farm, a long foreward step
will have been taken for the bet
torment of the condition Of the
farm women and children.
There is no dearth Of problems
for consideration by country wo.
mems clubs. The housing of the
farm family, the selection of books
and music, the planning Of whole
some entertainments ane the study
of the evils incidents to farm life
and the framing Of remedies for
them offer q broader and more for
tile field for club work than is
found in the city.
We have heard much in recent
years about the conversation of
water and timber and coal and soil,
and these are important, but the
conversation Of womanhood and
childhood on the farm is far more
important to present and future
generations. II the country wo.
mems clubs, through cooperation
and organization, succeed in break
ing up the monotony in farm lite,
there will be less difficulty in tho
future in keeping the boys and
Girls nn the farms.