Newark post., 1914-11-25

in the past have sought to conform,
and that as people we should be
informed, not only of our rights,
but also of our duties. l am glad,
therefore, to be able to tell you
that, at a recent meeting Of the So
ciety of international Law, of
which | am member, measures
were taken to induce all our pub
lie institutions of learning to in
troduce into their curriculum the
study of international law. | hope
that our college here in Delaware
will not be among the last of those
who accede to this suggestion.
Carl Vrooman, assistant Secre-
tary of Agriculture in the cabinet
of President Wilson, addressed the
Grange meeting held in the Col
lege Oratory last Thursday. His
talk was an inspiration to the
many farmers present, for it illus
trated more forcibly than pages Of
printed matter could do. the intel
ligence, wisdom, and sympathy
which is being applied to the prob
lens on farms by the department
Mr.. Vrooman spoke Of the New
Agriculture, declaring that though
since the population of the earth,
there had been husbandmen, there
had been no real science Of agri-
culture until the beginning Of the
nineteenth century. The United
States leads the world in the
amount of time and money she de-
votes to the development Of this
science. To date the expenditure
is somewhere between 100000, 900
and $3OO,OOO,OOO. The results, we
must admit, have not been as sat
isfactory as they should have been.
We are actually not producing as
much wheat as the farmers pro-
duced twenty-five years ago; we
have robbed the soil faster than
Science has enriched it. The live
stock industry has not only rela-
lively, but actually, decreased.
Louis Brandeis, Mr.. Vrooman
continued, a few years ago aston
ished the world by the statement
that the railroads Of the country
might save, by the application Of
efficient methods, one million dol
lars per day. | say to you if the
farmers of this country were to
apply those methods which have
been demonstrate, to be success
ful-through gov ernment expert
ments and the work of experts
they could save fue million dollars
per day. They could double the
yields Of every state in one de-
cade.
There are many difficult and
puzzling problems arising in this
newer agriculture. Chief among
these is how to embody the newer
methods into the farm manage
ment. | recall a farmer in Kan
sas who had been induced to try
alfalfa, and had succeeded in get
ting a good stand. | happened
along one day on a visit to the
farm to find the farmer in the
greatest distress. Look at that
stuff, - he said. "It's got to be cut
and harvested and | must plant my
corn Because Of the frequency
of problems like this there has
been added to the department at
Washington, a bureau Of farm
management whose business it is
to work out such problems as these
on the farm.
But someone asks, "After we
double our yields, then what ?" AS
we get larger yields we get lower
prices This is indeed one of the
serious problems that confront us,
but these things have marvellous
faculty Of adjusting themselves. l
recall a certain section Of France
where fruit and flower industry,
in the space of ten years has reach
ed the 20 million dollar mark. The
people raised the fruit and flowers ;
the railroad met the demand for
their shipment by putting on fast
! freight trains which carried this
perishable produce to the heart Of
Europe in shorter time than it is
possible for passenger to go.
Secretary Houston, shortly after
taking up the work of the Depart
ment, introduced the Bureau Of
Markets, and Of Home Economics,
to work out the problems facing the
consumer, the producer, and the
middle-man, remembering the
rights Of each. The lesson they aim
to teach to every man is that he is
first a citizen, and second a busi-
ness man with crops to buy or sell.