The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-02-06
FEDERAL AID FOR AGRICULTURE

' 49, ~
DR.. A. y. Hume, professor of agron-
omy Of the State Agricultural College,
has written at length to President-elect
Wilson on the subject of federal aid
for land grant colleges of agriculture
and experiment stations, suggesting
that the next administration select for
the cabinet a secretary of agriculture
who will cooperate with these insti
t%utions. Mr.. Hume's own summary,
appended to the letter to Mr.. Wilson,
explains the point he seeks to impress
upon the president-elect. 1t says
"A most r~egretable tendency, that is
too prevalent among us, is the tenden-
cy to capitalize education, especially
agricultural education.
If capitalism shall substitute its
propaganda for the educational work
o fthe collective agricultural colleges
and experiment stations, it will have
begun the peasantization of our farmer
citizenship"
What can be done" asks Mr.. Hume
ito arrest this tendency of capital to
interfere with the educational business
of democracy, a tendency already car
ried to alarming eXtert?" ard he an
swers the question with the following
suggestion o Mr.. Wilson:
Appoint a secretary of agriculture
who will make it the policy of his
federal department to aid and abet the
land grant colleges and experiment
stations in their struggle to discharge
their peculiar functions, free from CAPT
talistic interference.
The cap 'talization of education" to
which the educator objects is the late
ly evident interest big corporations
are taking in the subject of soil cul-
ture. In his letter DR.. Hume points
out that a great harvester corporation
has appropriated vast sums and Great
ed a department for the dissemination
of the principles of intensified farming
among the people; that a great mail
order house has laid aside a million
dollars for the same purpose and that
it is a part of the plan for spending
this money to apportion it among
counties that are willing to raise an
amount equal to that offered by the
corporations. He concludes, then that
"if these big interests that have money
at stake and which measure everything
by sales = = = shall work their insi-
dious control until they own these just
now most vital of all our educational
institutions (the agricultural colleges)
they will have placed their vandal
hands upon the holy-of-holies of our
liberties. They will have begun the
peasantization of our farmer citizen
ship for the purpose Of making. in the
meantime, good buyers out of them
With full recognition of the fact that
the while the corporations are making
good buyers of the farmers they are
also teaching them valuable scientific
facts about the culture of soil, We be-
lieve that educational work is properly
a function of government. We COM
mend the praiseworthy work of the
several big commercial institutions
that have undertaken to help the farm
er though We do not class their effort
as altogether philanthropic. Back of
1t all Is the desire to create a better
market for the products these corpora
tions sell. 1t happens to be one of
those rare enterprises in which both
the producer and consumer share great
benefit.
DR.. Hume looks far ahead and sees
a possible unhealthy result of leaving
1t all to the corporations. He wants
the federal government to step in and
do what corporations are attempting
Certainly no more vitality important
duty is before the government. MI.
Wilson will have the hearty approval
Of all western agricultural states II he
names I secretary Of agriculture q
western man who understands this
great subject and whose efforts shall
BE- devoted to making his department
. power worthy it, name.-Sioux Falls
pSeoo. Tss