The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-07-30

have been awarded and the winning
essays are published below:
Following is the prize winning es-
say in the Peoples Contest won by
P. W. Barton, South SALISBURY Mr..
Barton won the first prize of $500 for
article.
Improvements.
To create public interest along any
line requires intelligent, persistent
sometimes long continued effort. Pub
lie improvement is largely the result
of education.
LIST. Therefore to induce genuine
public interest in good highways, the
people should be instructed in the
science and art of building and main
tanning perfect roads. The more uni
versal the dissemination of such
knowledge, the more general and pos
tive will become the interest in this
matter. knowledge breeds interest,
interest begets action, action begets
results.
Road building and repair should be
required study in the public schools.
If this were so, the pupils of today
would, as the men of tomorrow, be
satisfied only with the best roads
possible to produce.
There should also be given inter
esting public lectures in the various
towns concerning the Importance and
manner of constructing good roads,
and these should be supplemented by
well circulated, attractive road litera-
ture
2nd. Attractive billboard and news
paper advertising judiciously used by
farmers, would doubtless produce pro-
fitable results; as would also Farm
Union markets established in the
larger towns by combinations of
farmers residing in the rural towns
in their vicinity. Live stock and
fresh farm products would doubtless
find a ready sale in such markets.
3D.. To interest youth in agricul-
tural matters, the farm and its work
must be made attractive to them. By
teaching something of the science of
agriculture the public schools coulo
render effective service along this
line.
Substantial cash prizes offered an
nually by each town TO its boys and
girsl for the best agricultural pro-
auctions resulting from their own eff
forts, would undoubtedly enlist many
contestants and greaE increase
youthful enthusiasm in the work of
the farm
4th. To induce farmers owning
COWS to conduct cooperative creamer-
les is a somewhat difficult problem.
inasmuch as the large milk compa-
MES stand ready to purchase the raw
product of the dairy and thus relieve
the farmers of much labor in connec-
ton with the same.
Perhaps an effective means of inter
esting farmers in local cooperative
creameries would be by circulating
carefully prepared literature showing
the increase of profit from all sources,
derived by maintaining cooperative
creameries as compared with the pro
fits from milk sales alone.
These facts should also be publish
ed from time to time In the county
newspapers. and presented in thor
oughly interesting lectures at farm
ers Institutes.
5th. Local improvement societies
seem to be mainly of two classes,
those that are helpless and therefore
useless: and those that are useful and
as such, very helpful.
A Useful Improvement Society must,
first of all, possess membership,
each individual of which should be
thoroughly in sympathy with the
purpose or object for which 1t exists;
and each a living fountain of enthu
siasm.
While the members of such an or
ganization should, in the care of
grounds. the repair of buildings. etc,
set examples worthy of imitation by
it should, as far as posi-
BILE. also endeavor to secure local
laws of regulations requiring property
owners to keep such property clean,
in good condition, and neatly painted
Miss Miriam Ruth Clark, age 10, OF
Manchester Center. Vt, wrote the fol
lowing article and is winner OF first
prize in the girls contest of $500 Of
fered by j. b. Wilbur.
What Kind Of a Contest Can We Get
Up to Interest the Girls7
Since the boys of Manchester and
Dorset are to have corn contest. i'll
would be a nice plan for us girls to
have a flower garden and raise sweet
peas or verbenas. But what / think
is still better is to learn to cook the
corn as soon as the boys raise il, and
learn to cook bread, cake and other
food. Each girl should have the same
flour. baking powder and lard. and
bring IL at a certain time, sample
of each kind of food we have cooked.
Then IL would be nice TO make all
kinds of flowers of tissue paper. and
we could make all colors such as red,
white. pink and yellow. with green
leaves.
And it would be well to see who
could draw the prettiest picture OF
the clouds, after a rain and how fresh
and green everything looks and how
the clouds look as they are going of
the mountains.
We might try to see who can work
the prettiest piece Of embroidery and
see who can do il the neatest
Then we can make some. pretty
clothes for a doll about six inches
high and after il has been sent in and
the best one is picked out, we could
give them away to some poor girls.