Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-12-12
FARM WORK IS
GREATEST KNOWN
Secretary Wilson Reviews Produc.
ton during His 16 Years of
Cabinet Service.

Washington. Dec. 6.--After 1s years, a
record of service in the cabinet. Secre-
tary of Agriculture Wilson submitted to-
day to President Taft the last annual
report h. will make as head Of the Uni
ted States department of agriculture.
The report Is more than n review Of the
past years work. II contains a summary
OF the agricultural advance of the coun
try during tho venerable secretary's
term of public service
1.-THE record of is years has been writ
ten he says. 1T begins with yearly
farm production Of $4,000, 10000 and ends
with $9,532, 600. Sixteen years ago, tho
farmer was a joke of the caricaturist;
now he is like the stone that was RE-
i,cted by the builder and has become
the head stone of the corner The tillers
of the soil were burdened with debts,
he adds, but prosperity followed and
| grew with unexampled speed. Beginnings
hav. been made in a production per acre
! increasing faster than the natural In
crease of population. There has been an
uplift of agriculture and Of country
| life
| During the past Is years the farmer
! has steadily Increased the wealth pro-
duc'on year by year, with the exception
of 1911. During the 1e years the farmers
wealth production increased 14l per
cent
! Most productive Of all agricultural
years in the country has been 1872. The
earth has produced its greatest annual
dividend. The sun and the rain and the
fertility OF the soil needed not the human
OVERSEES, but kept on working In CO.
|
lie them The prices Mt the farm are
generally profitable and will continue
the prosperity that farmers have enjoyed
II recent years The total production Of
farm wealth is the highest yet reached
by half a billion dollars. The grand to-
tai by half billion dollars. The grand
total for 1912 is estimated to be $685.. Do. :
600. This is more than twice the value OF
the farm wealth in 1899
More than sIo5."c. coo.No is tho grand to-
tai of farm wealth production. the report
says during tn. past II years, an amount
equal to about three-auarters of the
present national wealth.
The most effective move toward reduced
cost of living is the production of greater
crops, says the secretary. and this move
he declares. Is due to the work If the de-
partment Of agriculture, the agricultural
colleges and experiment stations and to
the helo OF the press in publishing every
movement to help tho farmers The ma
ton. ne adds. forgot its farmers in the
general scheme of education OF past wears
ard few phianthropists thought NJ them
when giving for education but they are
waking up and thinking for themselves
and Congress has been good - them
The secretary first takes up the
work oe the various bureaus or MS
= department in the past year and th"n
tells Of the growth in some instances
from their foundation. Of these bH-
, reaus Turing the time he has been
e head of the department. He praises
t highly the experts who have workeN
under him.
$ "The great AMI growing movement
! carried on by the department for agri-
a cultural betterment." he declares. has
\ not been sustained solely by one man
nor by n few men. A choice corps OF
scholarly experts in their special lin IS
Iof endcavor has been growing In mem
Lcrship. in breadth Of view and in the
practical application of their efforts
The department Is prepared TO con
4
q During IS years it has progressed iron
q the kindergarten through the primary
middle and upper grades of develop
. ment until now it has thousand ton
CUES that speak with authority"
, From "a department with 2.444 EN-
p ployes in 1897 and an appropriation o
s32129O2 1t has increased to 1888
employees at the beginning of the pres
. ent fiscal year with an appropriation
this year ~ almost S23.oOo,OOo. Where
- AS there are now 1000 requests ever.
week for department publications, th"r
n were but 500 In 1897, and during TN
= period 225 900, 600 copies have been dis
: tributed In soil Investigation an are
of $4,000 square miles. equal to tina
e Of Germany. France. Great Britain
g ireland and Italy. has been covered