The Holt County sentinel., 1912-07-05
CHANGES IN FARM IDEALS.
The Good Old Days" Of Farm
Life. and Those Of Today
Some Comparisons.

Our older readers can remember the
time when men did not farm for the
purpose OF making money. The farm
was to them place they could call
their own. and where they could rear
a family al the minimum expense.
n In the timber country, as In many
Of the eastern states. they cleared
few acres and built home. added a
few acres each year by clearing. al
lowed their cattle to pasture IN the
woods. and expected to supplement
their supplies by hunting and fishing.
II on the prairie. they built a home
Of some sort. broke up part Of quar-
ter, perhaps settled along streams for
full protection from winds. and al.
lowed their cattle to craze on the
prairies and depended on this for
winter forage. These we're the good
old days" that old people talk about:
and there were good things abou,
them. but better In the way Of remi.
niscence than Of realization at the
time.
Railroads came In and the farmer
changed his ideals somewhat. lie
could secure a home. rear family
and make some money besides: for
the railroads provided him with a
market. The ideal Of the farmer then
was to ge, rich by growing grain.
After the appearance Of the reaper lle
aspired to do II by wholesale. His
ideal Of a farm was that Of bank
which permitted Of unlimited check.
ing. 'nconsciously he became u
miner Of the soil rather than a crea.
tor Of real values. Those also were
good days better in RETROSPECT, than
In reality.
The failure Of spring wheat, the In.
PRODUCTION Of corn pests, rusts and
smuts. and the diminishing yield H.
nally gave farmers a new ideal, that
IL. some Of them: for quite number
Of farmers In all sections Of the coun.
try have not passed beyond the sec.
ond stage mentioned. This ideal Is
much higher one than that Of the
mere grain raiser, and II II the ideal
Of a large per cent OF our readers now.
II Is . good one, elevating. harmonic.
ing, compelling the farmer TO broaden
his field Of knowledge, to study breed.
Ing. TO study markets, to keep In
touch with the doings Of this grea,
world generally. hut this isnot after
all the highest ideal. We must pass
beyond this.
The next ideal will bc that Of the
community life. Of rural civiliza,i ion,
Of a state society that will furnish
the maximum Of comfort and pleas.
ure with the minimum Of yoil and cx.
pense. The farmers object Is not
merely To raise family, nor merely
TO increase the namber and quality Of
his live stock: nor To add field To field
and farm To farm until there Il no
place for neighbors and schools and
churches: but To rear amid culture
and refinement family of bright, In.
telligent, refined, stalwar' sons and
daughters, Who can take their places
In government, IN society. IN
all that Is really valuable
and lasting, alongside families
grown under other condil ions IN
town or country. We must learn Ia
think about the farm as the ideal
place to live. not merely to rear chil.
dren, but the strongest and hest chil.
dren: not merely as 4 place TO eat,
drink and sleep, but to have the max
imum of the comforts and the oppor'
tunities which our modern civiila'
ton affords. " the farmer stops
short Of that, he shall fall shor, OF
both his privilege and his duty,
The old days, as We look back upon
them, were good days: but there l. a
better day. We believe, before the
farmers Of The West than they realize
= i0fticr ideal than they now enter,
tain. In those days there will be a
revived country church: rural school
that will afford an education such a.
can be found now not even In the 81.
ties, an education without the temp
tatiOns OF the cities, an educate
that can he applied ON the farm and
In social and political life. The farm
or shall not reach this until he forms
an ideal, for man never gets any IN
advance of his ideals.
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