The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1912-09-18

sense of county pride and loyalty.
Another has been to help with the
spirit of religious federation. Free
dom of belief is one of the foundation
stones of our constitution and he who
teaches any other policy betrays the
letter as we'll as the spirit of our
great republic. Another aim has been
to promote all public and private en-
terprises for the good of the people,
to encourage all churches in the good
work they are trying to do for the
people, to encourage every move for
better morals and for better modes
of life. have felt that the good roads
problem was one of the great ones
before the people and l am glad to
note the advancement that has been
made and the very general interest
which exists throughout the county,
especially since the farmers have dis
covered that good roads" is not an
automobile fad, but real benefit,
more to the farmer than to anyone
else.
The day has passed when a farmer
could grow rich simply by making a
living off his farm and letting the in
crease in value make him wealthy.
The problem now is, how to make
these high-priced lands pay interest
on the investment. If this is not done,
the price of land must decline, for in
the long run no business and no in
vestmenC is worth more than it will
earn fair dividends upon. This prob
lem confronts the farmer readers of
the Review. Scientific farming is not
a fad, any more than good roads. The
farmers of Crawford must learn to
get the most out of every one of the
acres of our fertile soil. They must
learn how to conserve that soil and
build it up, rather than to exhaust it
as the years go by. In few years
believe that every farm will have
it's silo, that the big tracts will be
cut up into smaller farms and that
every inch will be made productive.
This is the Crawford county l hope
to see, when as an old man l revisit
the scenes of my youth and early
manhood.
And with this material growth
must come intellectual growth. We
must have a better system of country
schools. Larger units, better equip
ment, schools where one teacher is
not expected to teach every grade
from primary to grammar. In truth,
we need reform, more in our local
government, in the management of
our schools, our roads, our township
and county affairs and our methods
of taxation than we do in our larger
governmental affairs. These are
some of the problems which would
like to be here in order, if | might,
to help in their solution. But the
will of the gods ordains otherwise,
and l have faith that the ultimate
solution will be wise.
l wish personally to thank the
readers of the Review for their 10y
atty and personal friendship, for their
indulgence over my mistakes and for
the encouragement they have always
given me. hope that l have been
able to say some things through these
columns which shall abide with you
as q pleasant and a helpful memory.
| hope that l have been able to bring
some measure of consolation to the
afflicted, some words of courage to
the weary and overburdened, some
expressions of JOY that have glad
dened your lives, some words of coun'
sci that have borne fruit. | believe
that l carry with me the good wishes
of the Review family, and this
thought is very dear to me.
And now, may God prosper each
and every one of you, may your joys
increase, may you have strength for
all adversely, courage for all good
works, wisdom for all problems and
charity for all. May your lives be
filled with kindness and love, may
you prosper in your undertakings,
may your homes be filled with the
laughter of happy childhood, may sun
and soil continue to pour out their
blessings upon you, may contentment
and peace and love and neighborli-
ness reign in all your hearts, may you
grow, not alone in wealth, but in the
true stature of manhood, in civic
pride, in knowledge, in patriotism,
in grace and in the love OF that
eternal, ever-forgiving God, who alone
does all things well.
Your friend,
F. w. MEYERS.
The Harvest Days.