The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-06-25

kota Wesleyan University. gave an
ccoun of what had been done in the
way of starting farmers clubs in a
part of the state and the influence
these clubs were having on social and
intellectual life in the country dis
tricts. They break the lines of pre-
JUDGE and mould community interest.
He cited several townships where
these clubs had built town halls and es-
tablished social centers hat were
changing the whole life of the com
munity. They led TO permanency in
farm ownership and occupancy.
pit. C. c. Lawrence advocated the
C )lidation of rural schools and
8 state aid as the great need for
t9 benefit of the country school. A
CO al school could employ better
t Q ers, would save expenses and
be a gathering place for civic
il asts. Henry S. Curtis the play
ga Ids expert contended that organ
iiS Wholesome sports would make
e. Try life more attractive. The de-
cline of old time amusements and en-
tertainments is to be regretted. Spell
ing and singing schools, country ly-
ceums and other social gatherings
should be revived so that young people
would not be inclined to depend upon
cities and towns for amusements and
social diversions. There were several
short addresses on other phases of the
rural schools problem.
A pleasing prelude on Saturday
afternoon was the graduating exercises
of the eighth grade pupils from the
country schools.
|. D. Aldrich of the Big Stone Head
light, gave an address on The Weekly
Newspaper in Rural Improvement"
The addresses on "Our Health" by
Bertha Dahl Laws Of Appleton, Mimi,
and on Home Sanitation" by DR.. c. c.
Lipp were very instructive.
The rural church received it's share
of attention. The cause of the aban-
dOnment of SO many of the rural
churches in the last decade or two was
attributed to the growth of the ten
antry system. Farm wner are NOV
ing to town and have left the country
to a shifting population which has no
definite interest in the keeping up OF
the country church and only a casual
interest in schools and good roads.
Rev. Adams claimed that the remedy
lay in a more permanent occupancy of
the farms and a specialization of the
church. We needed more ministers
that were in sympathy with country
life problems. They ought to be inter
endowed with leadership. President
Aasgaard cautioned his hearers that
they should not go too far in the So
cialization of the rural church so as to
forget the object of such organizations.
Rev. Elliott was hopeful of the future
of the country church and predicted
that with better social and business
conditions the religious conditions Of
the country would take a urn for the
better.
In brief, some of the ideas presented
by various speakers were as follows:
Cooperation
The average farmer receives only
one-half of the price that the con
pays for farm produce. To rem
edy this and to give the farmer a
larger profit for his labor is one of our
important problems today. At pres
ent there are $4,000 cooperative or
CARNATIONS in this country but they
touch a very small amount of business
in their respective fields. To form a
cooperative organization of farmers
of any sort there must be:
Cd Enough business to operate the
cooperative enterprise. (2) 1t must
be a business where each individual
has a vital interest. CD There must
be a spirit of cooperation. ca The
business must be run incidentally and
should not take up the whole or a ma
jority of the time of it's organizers.
60 1t is necessary to have a good
manager at the head of the business,
and this is one of the most important
considerations of them all. When
these cooperative organizations are
started properly and ran on a strictly
business basis, then and only then,
will the farmer begin to realize more
than fifty per cent for his labor.
The banker is dependent upon the
farmer to raise good crops in order
that his business may exist. The farm.
er in turn must at times borrow
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