The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-11-18
THE COUNTRY CHILD VERSUS
CITY CHILD.


any of the more remote sections of
the rural districts in America to-day,
and ask yourself what his opportuni-
ties are for training and develop
ment and efficiency as compared with
those of a similarly endowed boy in
an urban community. The latter
lives in house supplied with run
ming water, the purity of which is
protected by ample means; walk on
sidewalks free from dust and mud;
drives along adequate roads; has &C
cess to many things that ministers to
the legitimate pleasures of living;
has at hand the best training physi-
clans and surgeons; publicly main
tanned hospitals; we'll planned schools
of every grade from the kindergar-
ten to the professional school Of col
lege. And most of these things he
secures at a minimum expense
through relatively low rate OF tax
alton. The other picture is esasily
drawn. If we may confine our
thought for a moment to the schools
alone, we find that outside of New
England, which has solved the rural
school problem largely by eliminat-
ing the rural population, all that the
average country boy has access to is
an ungraded school, usually taught in
one room by girl with less training
than high school graduate, receiv
ing $40 or $50 a month for seven or
eight months in the year, teaching all
ages in thirty or more classes a day.
If by any chance a boy survives this
and desires to go further it is nee
essary for his father to put him on a
train, buy his transportation, send
him to a town, pay his board, his
tuition, and lose his services during
the session, and probably lose him
permanently from the country. l
have said it before and l am not
afraid to repeat it that I do not
quite see how a father and mother
who are ambitious for their children
can gain their own consent to con-
tinue to live in remote rural districts
under existing conditions.
THE PEOPLE THE GREATEST UN-
DEVELOPED RESOURCE.
The greatest undeveloped resource
of any community, as our great Am
bassador to Great Britain has so
emphatically said, is the people.
And if we devote more enlightened
attention to the conservation and de-
development of the people we shall be
relieved of much of the concern
about the conservation and develop
ment of our natural resources.
SOME COLLEGES NOT DOING
THEIR DUTY.
Now this problem of the develop
nment of agriculture and of rural life
is one which requires the most Sc
rious thought of the best agencies in
the nation. 1t is one primarily for
the farmers themselves, and | clear
ly recognize that they have done most
and will continue to do most to solve
it. But they need, deserve, and de-
mand assistance and will have it. The
nation has created certain response
BILE instruments for their assistance.
Among these are the State depart
ments of agriculture, and the State
colleges of agriculture. That all OF
them have done good work no one
can question; that some of them have
superb work many will gladly recog-
nize; that some of them have not
lived up to their opportunities admits
of no manner of doubt
Those colleges that are not doing
their duty to their States are not
wholly to blame, but in my judg-
ment they are largely to blame. The
| trouble in too many of our States
has arisen from dispersion of agen-
cies undertaking to aid in the adj
vancement of agriculture and to con-
sequent jealousy and antagonism.
Just as there is individual selfish
Continued on page y.