Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1913-01-08
CARROLL S. PAGES VOCATIONAL
EDUCATIONAL MEASURE.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

4. The bill appropriates So, 900, 900
for the purpose of taking the accumu-
| lated results of research at the state
agricultural colleges and carrying them
| to the adult farmer, so that he, as well
as his sons, may come to understand
| the better and more advanced methods
which must be adopted if farm life is
to be made popular and profitable.
| 5. The bill appropriates 81, 900, 900
| to encourage demonstrations and ex-
perimental work, to be carried on
agricultural colleges at the district
agricultural schools established by
the Page bill.
| 6. The bill appropriates, in round
numbers, 81, 500, 900 annually for the
preparation of teachers to carry on
the educational work contemplated by
the bill
The appropriation of the 81, 500, 900
for the education of teachers is to be
Immediately available.
! The remaining appropriations of the
| bill are not to take effect until the
| fiscal year ending June 80, 1916,
because of our unpreparedness by rea-
son of lack of competent teachers.
1t would be very interesting to state
in detail. the administrative features
of the bill. but, of course this is not
practicable within the limits OF this
article.
| Suffice it to say that the autonomy
of the states is fully protected. The
| federal government says, in substance,
to the respective states, You need not
accept any of the provisions of this act
unless you wish to do so but if you do
| $50 far as the N ost of the appropria-
lions are concerned, at least) you must
to every dollar appropriated by the
government, add two dollars to be paid
by state and local taxation.
To illustrate: If high school in
any state wishes to avail itself of
81, 900 of this federal fund, either the
900 to the federal fund, thus giving
the school $4,000. 1t is hoped and
expected that, as matter of fact, it
will work out more nearly on this
basis: The federal government, for
example, will contribute $1,000 toward
a school. The state will add another
81 GOO to this 81 900, and will then say
as the states of Massachusetts and
New Jersey now say substantially to
their respective localities-if any city,
town or village, will add another ST.
900 to this $1,000, it may avail itself
thereof. thus giving $4,000 to that
school which avails itself Of the bene-
fits of the proposed legislation.
More than this, the funds appropri-
ated by this act must be used, and used
only. for the special purposes contem-
plated. They cannot be diverted to
general school support. The whole
theory of the bill is that the federal
government is to stimulate and en-
courage the states and local communi-
| tn TO
of vocational education.
Every student of public affairs must
have observed that there is no more
serious problem before the American
people today than that of maintaining
a proper division of the population be-
tween city and country life, involving,
as it does, that twin problem the
maintenance of the equilibrium be-
| tween food consumption and food pro-
! duction.
The boys and girls Of our rural COM
munities are leaving the farms and
| f1ocking to the cities. Under condi-
! lions, as they now exist. the bright,
enterprising son of the farmer is not
slow in observing that urban life offers
better possibilities of success than the
life Of the country. This fact needs
no verlficatiOn. Its existence may be
easily eooCCI ColiSU, dlll, DIS
it is, we are confronted with the
necessity Of doing something to check
and regulate this constant movement
from country to city-the depletion of
much Of the best blood of our rural
cornmunities-or within ten years, per-
haps within five, we shall not only
cease to be food exporting nation,
but shall be actually importing no in
considerable portion of our fOOdStuffS.
The great question now before the
country therefore is, Can these condi-
lions be changed and if so. how?
We have been hugging the delusion
that we were getting wealthy from
farming, whereas as a matter Of fact,
we have been taking the nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, the potash and the
vegetable matter or humus, from our
virgin soil. and selling them in the
form of cereals and fibres and before
we can become prosperous farmers,
we must learn to restore to the soil
| those ingredients of which we have
been so prodigal/
The question of practical farming to-
day has come to be largely a matter Of
| the rotation of crops, of fertilization,
of better seeds. and of better breeds of
stock. We have no more lands to ex-
plot unless it be land the cultivation
of which will have to be made profit
able by the clearing of needed forests,
by irrigation, or by drainage We
must increase the productivity Of the
acreage we have, or become food
importing nation.
We have for more than a century
been deceiving ourselves. From plat
form and stump we have been won't to
boast of cur boundless natural re-
sources but students are now coming
to see that, unless we change our pres
ent practices, these resources will be
largely exhausted within period that
to the farsighted statesman is but
day.
We have been exporting millions
| unon millions of bushels of wheat and