The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1914-02-11
Sale of The Eastern Kentucky
Normal Farm.

Under the aboue caption the following
splendid article, written by Mr.. T. Ii
Collins of this county, appeared in thu
Courier Journal of JAM 30:
| noticed in your paper about weel
ago that the committee appointed to in
vestigate the State institutions, among
which is the Eastern Kentucky Norma
School, reported that they considered il
advisable TO sell the farm owned by saiG
school and further that said school cease
the teaching of agriculture.
With your kind permission would
like to occupy little of your time and
space in answering the criticism of said
committee.
Be it understood now that the Eastern
Kentucky Normal School is no more to
me than it is to every other farmer, and
that | am 10 no way directly connected
with it.
If Kentucky is ever going to take a
place in the front ranks IN the sister
hood of States, it is high time she was
adopting an aggressive policy as to the
education of her youths
To adopt the policy recommended by
this committee would be to step back
ward and TO say the least, extremely
shortsighted
The reason assigned by the said COM
mittee for proposing TO sell said farm,
namely, because agriculture is not taught
in the common schools, and it is there
fore unnecessary to equip our teachers
along that line, brands that com mittee
as one whose vision extends not beyond
the end of its nose, as one who hasn't
the faintest glimmer of the future
To me the man that cannot see that
scientific agriculture is the salvation of
the country is indeed in darkness, and
deserves such mercy at the hands Of his
fellow man as will force him to attend |
for one term the farmers short course
at our State University.
AT our present rate of increase so years
hence cur country will almost double in
and it will become necessa-
ry for US to vastly increase our produc-
tion per acre in order to meet the actual
needs of our own people, and it doesn't
take an intellectual giant TO see with
our present methods that instead of in
creasing our production we will almost
cut it in half.
1t is a well known fact that the fertil-
lty of our soil is being depleted every
day and we,are being brought face to
face with the serious question, how can
we stop such depletion?
Can we not see that the demands made
1f our soil are more than they were 80
years ago, and that 80 years hence they
will far exceed what they are today?
As time moves on the responsibilities
resting upon the shoulders of the tillers
Of the soil become greater and greater,
and as his physical power is limited he
must find some near cut to be able to
meet such responsibilities, and that near
,ut is by way of scientific agriculture
contend that no farmer by or thro,
he school of experience could have ever
earned how TO restore the fertility to
'ur depleted soils, and yet today, thanks
o scientific agriculture, it is a simple
natter.
We have gone down the scale suffi-
iently far and we owe it to the farmer S
ouths of our great State that we begin S
o retrace our footsteps, and | know of {
10 better place 10 make said beginning [
han on the farms owned by the State
nd operated by her schools.
But very small per cent. of our COM 5