The Washington herald., 1914-05-10
HOUSTON SPRINGS
|. some SURPRISES
Methods Of Secretary.of Agri-
culture Are New to Poll
ticians.
HE DECLARES OPEN WAR
His Reports Are Not Complimentary
Documents American Farmer
Has Been Used to.

1t has already become evident that the
new Secretary of Agriculture does not
intend to hold his position by means OF
soft sawder" either for the politicians
or the farmers. In fairly blunt language,
according to current opinion, he has been
telling the former to mind their own
business and the latter to learn theirs.
We are still in the pioneer stage OF farm
ing. he declares, and less than Il per
cent Of our farm land is yielding even
fairly full returns. We have reached the
place now where we must do real think
ing and planning. We have been reck-
less and wasteful. suffering the penalty
of a too great ease in living and in
making a living. As a people We have
been bent on building up great industrial
centers and have let our agriculture
grow up haphaZard. like Topsy. He
dares to speak OF the existing chaos"
in our agriculture and to more than in
innate that it Is due to the fault OF the
farmer.
Some Of the plain things he says about
US are amazingly frank:
We had" he says. better face the
fact frankly that We are relatively in
efficient. take stock OF our shortcomings.
and earnestly seek for the remedy. That
we have practically reached the stage
where We have ceased to be an exporting
nation of food products and are becom-
ing dependent on foreign nations for the
necessaries of life. is a commentary on
our use of the opportunities bestowed
upon u.s.
New Word to Americans.
Now this Is not the way in which the
American people are accustomed to be-
ing addressed by their official servants
in Washington. We usually have large
figures paraded before our eyes showing
how we lead the world in this crop or
that. Mr.. Houston uses large figures
also but he uses them to shame US. He
tells us of 9s5.0Oo.ooo acres Of arabic
land, only -. 900 acres OF which are
improved. and only 10 per cent OF these
reasonably well cultivated.
He tells us our rural schools are a
failure our methods Of distribution are
crude and bungling, our rural hygiene
undeveloped, our country roads dis
grace. Three things. he says, are a
source of constant wonder TO him: First,
why most OF the teachers In the rural
districts continue to teach; second, why
communities continue to employ them on
any terms: third. why a man who has
any regard for the future of his chill
dren will remain in the rural districts
as they exist today. II he can possibly
get out"
The average salary OF a teacher in
the rural districts. he tells US. Is but
$500 a year In the rich State OF Illinois
il ranges from $50 to $500 a year. in
Vermont. Maine. and North Carolina It
is but 5000 a year. He knows what he Is
talking about
Our country teachers" he says, com
monty teach In one-room buildings l
taught in such a building and boarded
around. 1t was implanted and unceiled.
and a mile from the nearest house. The
yard, cut out of the woods, was filled
with weeds and stumps. My pupils
ranged from seven to twenty-six years OF
age. We almost froze in the winter and
burned up in the summer" Thousands
and thousands Of such schools still exist.
he asserts.
Plans Many Reforms.
That Mr. Houston is more concerned
about improving the conditions of living
back on the farm than in increasing the
crops is shown from what. IL correctly
stated. follows:
What he has in mind is to develop
good schools. competent doctors. places
Of amusement, system Of sanitation and
rural credits. He is also concerned about
the substitution of a good central church
for three or four weak and struggling
ones. His department. IL he has his way.
will work along all these lines. includ-
ing meat-inspection, animal and plant
quarantine. prevention of seed adultera-
ton. pure foods, protection for game
birds, the use of insecticides and fungi
cides.
To these he will add the study of