The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-11-18
HOUSTON PESSIMISTIC.

Secretary of Agriculture David +.
Houston stepped out of his character
as a specialist in farming alone and
discussed eduction, rural credits, So
GEOLOGY, economics, and number of
other subjects in an address last Fri
day before the Forty yseventh Annual
Session Of the National Grange of
Patrons of Husbandry at Manchester,
N. II. All of the secretary's views
were interesting, but there was note
of pessimism throughout.
The secretary described the social
and economic revolution which he de-
clared was going on in the United
States. The old-fashioned farmer was
passing and the student Of rural eco
nomics was taking his place, he said.
That the time has come when more
attention must be paid to intense cul-
tivation Of the soil was q warning of
the secretary. "There are evidences
that Providence is ceasing its pro-
tective supervision Of fools and Ameri-
cans be declared in this connection.
He pointed out that with $50 million
acres of arabic land in the United
States, the people have permitted 436
million acres, although included IN
farms, to be wasted by misuse. ''Less
than forty per cent Of the land is rea-
sonably we'll cultivated" he said, land
less than twelve per cent is yielding
maximum returns.
''That we have practically reached
the stage where we have ceased to be
an exporting nation Of food products
and are becoming dependent on foreign
nations for the necessaries of life is
a sad commentary upon our use of the
opportunities bountifully bestowed upon
us,' continued tho secretary "We
had better frankly face the fact that
we are relatively inefficient, take stock
of our shortcomings, and earnestly seek
the remedy
Mr. Houston declared that he did not
understand how parents having ambi-
tions for their children could permit
them to live in rural districts with con-
ditions as they are at present in some
localities He compared the advan-
tages of the city and country boy, de-
claring that the youth having at hand
all the implements of civilization pro"
vided by the municipality could not help
but be superior. From this he con-
cluded that rural organization must
come He urged that schools be bet
tered and that more attention be given
to the children growing up on the
farms as we'll as to the crops.
General enhghtment and educational
cooperation are needed by the schools
and the people. For instance, many
people believe that the sole province of
the Department of Agriculture is to dis
tribute seeds to Congressman IS constitu
ents. In reality the Department of Agri-
culture reaches more people than any
other department of the government.
Secretary Houston said that the pres
cnt practice of seed distribution could
and should be much abbreviated and
perhaps entirely dispensed with to make
way for a new system Of distributing
seeds and plants to deserving farmers.
On the rural credits issue, Secretary
Houston took the stand that "no one
is at present sufficiently informed or
wise enough to discover just what is
needed" He declared that plans which
had been multiplying for the relief of
the farmer had become a burden to
the government The trouble with
these proposals, he said, was that they
treated the farmer as mendicant. He
intimated that lie considered the re-
cent trip of the rural credits commits
sion TO Europe fruitless