Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1913-01-03

his administration. This question
vas asked the secretary by a cor
seeking an interview:
What will be those things upon
which when you return home after
March you will look back with the
most pride?"
If you start me talking shop here
you will never get away" the secre-
tary exclaimed. But there are some
things of which am more than
proud 1t is hard to pick out the
special things. Well, here's one:
When we went down south to see
about the boil weevil business which
was destroying the cotton crop. we
found a terrible state of affairs. The
south was then a one-crop country
and If anything happened to that one
crop. they were out of business. The
negro labor was packing up and NOV
ing away. Everybody was scared to
death. Well. we did some good work
down there to get rid of the boil
weevil; but more important than that
one thing was what It led to-
Taught South How to Farm.
We began the business of teaching
the southern farmer how to make the
most of his farm. We found a man
IN each county best fitted to direct
this work. He knew where the need
was greatest and could drive about
from place to place showing his neigh
bors what ought to be done The
south isn't one-crop country any
more.
Then we saw that there had to be
some animals on that land: that we
should have to look to the south
pretty soon for beef. The homestead
ers were taking up the land of the
great western cattle ranches and the
ranchmen were beginning to give up.
So we tackled the pasture question.
and helped the southern farmer about
his hogs and cattle
Secretary Wilson also talked upon
what has been done and what he
hopes may be done further In the
way of putting demonstrators on the
farms In all the states of the Union.
There are no postgraduate insti.
buttons to supplement the agricultural
colleges" said he. I'VE have to train
our own men in many branches. Con-
eress has not permitted us to pay
the salaries that would keep them
with US in all cases, and these train
| ed men have sometimes been taken
away from us. But we keep on train
ing EN- just the same. Ii is the same
about road building. the technical in
situations turn out civil engineers but
they do not teach them practically
how to build roads. We are training
road experts, We should like to
train half-dozen superintendents for
New York state.
Another thing like to talk about
is what we did to redeem the dry
belt west of the Tooth meridian The
soil is good. but there is little rain
/ fall. There were great tracts of al
most useless land. given over to half
wild animals. We visited the deserts
of the old countries in search of the
plants and grain that could be grown
in soil like that and learned the ways
of cultivating them. Do you know
about Durum wheat? We are grow.
ing 7S,0oO,O0O bushels OF 1t year
now, and last year we exported 3d.
100000. Then we had to have legumes
for that land-the plants that take
nitrogen from the air and put 1t in
the soil. We sent four times to Asia
and Africa In this search. We brought
over the yellow-blossomed alfalfa
and installed it where 1t would do
the most good"
Pensions for Ex-Presidents7
When Andrew Carnegie proposed
his plan to pension ex-presidents
of the United States at the rate
of $4,000 a year In order that
they might take life easier and lend
their counsel as private citizens to the
lawmakers of the Union. 1t was strong.
/ ly suspected that the Scottish-Ameri-
can philanthropist had no thought that
the pension plan would be accepted.
but that its suggestion might stir CON
gress to take action looking to the
care of ex-presidents and their fam
lies.
Inc argument In congress against
one. and in many respects. apparently
| perfectly proper one that We should