The Washington herald., 1914-01-25
Explains Appointment Of Farm Lite Commission Which Laid
Mass Of Information Before President So vitality In
portant IS to Disturb Serenity Of Advocates Of
Things as They Are, lncwrns Bitter
Opposition Of the Reactonaries.

to stand alone. and should be accom-
panied by the effort for better business
and better living on the farm.
at Is at least as important that the
farmer should get the largest possible
return in money. comfort. and social ad-
vantages from the crops he grows, as that
he should get the largest possible re-
turn In crops from the land he farms.
Agriculture In not the whole OF country
life. The great rural interests are human
interests. and good crops are of little
value to the farmer unless they open the
door to q good kind of life on the farm"
The commission on country Life did
work Of capital Importance. By means
Of a widely circulated set OF questions
the commission informed itself upon the
status of country life throughout the ma
ton. Its trip through the East, South.
and West brought 1t into contact with
large numbers Of practical farmers and
their wives. secured for the commission
ers a most valuable body of first-hand
information, and laid the foundation for
the remarkable awakening Of interest
In country life which has since taken
place throughout the nation.
One of the most illuminating-and in
cidentally one of the most interesting
and amusing-series Of answers sent to
the commission was from q farmer in
Missouri He stated that he had Q wife
and eleven living children. he and his
wife being each fifty-two years old: and
that they owned so acres of land with
out any mortgage hanging over their
heads. He had himself done well. and
his views as to why many Of his neigh
bors had done Less well are entitled to
consideration
These views are expressed in terse and
vigorous English; they cannot always
be quoted in full He states that the
farm homes in his neighborhood are not
as good as they should be because too
many Of them are encountered by
mortgages; that the schools do not train
boys and girls satisfactorily for life on
the farm. because they allow them to get
an idea in their heads that city life is
better. and that to remedy this practical
farming should be taught
To the question whether the farmers
and their wives in his neighborhood are
satisfactorily organized, he answers:
"Oh, there is a little one-horse grange
gang in our locality, and every darned
one thinks they ought to be a king" To
the question, Are the renters of farms
in your neighborhood making a salts
factory livins2" he answers: mo; be-
cause they move about 50 much hunt
ing a better job" To the question, rs
the supply OF farm labor IN your neigh
borhood satisfactory the answer Is:
NO: because the people have gone out
of the baby business and when asked
as to the remedy he answers. Give a
pension to every mother who gives birth
to seven living boys on American soil"
To the question, Are the conditions
surrounding hired labor on the farm In
your neighborhood satisfactory TO the
hired men?' he answers: Yes unless
he is a drunken cuss,' adding that he
would like to blow up the stillhouses and
root out whisky and beer. To the ques-
ton, Are the sanitary conditions on the
farms in your neighborhood satisfac-
about chicken yards. and the like. and
poorly covered wells In one well on
neighbours farm 1 counted seven snakes
in the wall of the well, and they used
the water daily; his wife dead now and
he is looking for another" He ends by
stating that the most important single
thing to be done for the betterment of
country life is good roads," but in his
answers he shows very clearly that most
important of all is the individual equa-
ton of the man or woman.
Like the rest of the commissions de-
scribed in this chapter. the country life
commission cost the government not one
cent, but laid before the President and
the country mass OF information so &C.
curate and SO vitality important as to dis
turb the serenity of the advocates of
things as they are: and therefore it in
CURED the bitter opposition of the re1c-
tionaries.
The report of the country life commits
sion was transmitted to Congress By me
on February 9. 1909 In the accompanying
message / asked for $4,000 to print and
circulate the report and to prepare fof
publication the immense amount OF val