The daily sentinel., 1914-01-24
(By A. C. NEWTON.)

NY Il. Y. NEW lUN.D
The condition OF the public roads
prevented very large attendance ON
the lecture of Prof ID. w. Working
AT Presbyterian church last evening
but a good many of the best fruit
growers and those interested in agri-
culture, including many business
men, gave very close attention to the
message of the speaker.
The gathering was called to order
by Senator DeLong, who remarked
that in former times we had to 90
after education but now il was seek
ing us out in our homes: our govern
ment was not waiting for us but com
ing after us, and that il was now
recognized that the education of
brains was more to be desired than
the education of muscle. He then
asked the county agriculturalist.
William Harrison, to say few words
touching the object of the meeting
and his connection with it, and this
was done in a few pleasing words:
he insisted that he could not do good
work alone but with the hearty CO
operation of the people of the county
a great good can be accomplished. He
had taken up the work a year ago
'fNhcoN SA NhplShN lull ne NOulu
be asked to take personal supervision
OF il. He then introduced DR.. Work.
ing.
He started out by saying it was
the great object of the department
to reach every man on the farm with
the gospel OF work-effective, per-
sistent and effective work. He then
described two kind OF work which
he called pig trough and work
bench philosophy" the former rep-
resented the methods of the pig
which managed to get its nose and
one or both its feet into the trough
and to crowd as many of the others
out as possible. with the sole appar-
ent object of filling its belly. The
latter was the philosophy that sought
to elevate the workmen, to give each
and every one a chance to live and
grow.
Three Stages of Growth.
There have been three stages of
growth in the agricultural educa-
tional movement under the govern
ment supervision. The first act was
passed fifty years ago and under the
provisions of the law signed by Alb
raham Lincoln every state in the
union was granted a large amount
of land, the proceeds of which We're
to be used in the establishment OF
colleges, and while some
We're established not single state
has kept faith with the government
and gradually the idea of agricultural
development had been eliminated
from the name and in some cases
from the actual work of the original
idea. The first college was that es-
tablished in Lansing, Michigan, in
1862, and 1t had done a great work.
Iowa had fine college at Ames, but
it Is now known as the Iowa State
College" the word agricultural"
having been dropped.
In 1883 the Hatch act was passed
giving each state SIS 900 for expert
mental scientific work.
Later an amendment to the Hatch
act gave s25, 900 year to each state
for the study of the Science of Farm
Management, and second amend
ment gave another $25,000 a year
for agricultural Investigation, and
following this came another approp-
ration of $4,000 for higher re-
search-making a total which each
agricultural college received of SSO.-
600, and this is in addition to the
land grants. The, national govern
ment has taken the broad view that
if the agricultural industries are
prosperous then every other industry
VIII be prosperous and despite the ac-
tions of the states in repudiating the
plain obligations assumed under the
first act, it has forgotten and for
given and continued to be generous.
In addition to all this expense the
g-0Vprnmanf hnc In, n1 4
lively engaged in work for the i'm
provement of the conditions of agri-
culture more men than are employed
in all the agricultural colleges.
Skinned the Land.
One trouble now experienced by
the farmer is that caused by the ear
ly settler in the great middle and
western states who Skinned the
cream" from the land. He got the
land for practically nothing and in
many instances raised enough to pay
for the land; after the skimming he
sold out at big advance and it was
now necessary to bring back" the
land to its former productiveness.
This is what the speaker called the
readjustment period and it is to the
working out of this great problem
that we are now giving our attention
The farmer is a business man, and
when We speak of him in a class we
should say "the farmer and other
business men," because he is first
and foremost in the class. The first
Secretary of Agriculture, "Tama
Jim" of. Iowa. told his appointees
that he wanted them to go ahead as
business men and find something to
do-to inaugurate a system and to
carry it out and this was his motto
and this is the secret of his success
in building up one of the greatest
departments in the national govern
ment.
In seeking men to carry out the
work now inaugurated he did not get
experts but agents-first they must
have an early training on the farm
and then an education in the techni-
cal work and at the last they must
have more practical training to wear
off the rough edges. 1t is now un-
1prStoOd thot II is tha ad |