Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-04-22

lieu farming Lney use skill, anu III
stead Of looking at things from a
local or provincial standpoint, they |
have larger view Of public ques-
lions. They not only study the ques-
ton OF raising crops, but they study |
the question of marketing the crops. |
They study the question of where |
their crops are to go and who are to
consume them, and the cost of carry
ing them from the farms and cream
cries to the consumers. They also
study the question of the consumers
ability to buy and his capacity to alb
sorb the products Of their farms. The
farmer has been transformed from
"the man with the hoe" to the man
of affairs.
Boys and Girls Best Products.
The best products of the farm are
the boys and girls that are raised and
educated there, and my experience
as an employer of a large number of
young men who come from the farm,
is that the boy who is raised upon a
farm that is up-to-date in it's manage
ment is better boy, he gives better
satisfaction to his employer, is more
intelligent and takes broader view
of every question than he could if he
| had been raised on the ''all work and
no profit" grain raising farm of for
mer years.
I believe that it was Josh Billings
who said, IF you want the boy to stay
on the farm, don't bear down too hard
on the grindstone" My own judy
ment is that he can best be kept on
the farm by the farmers engaging in
diversified and cooperative farming.
There is no better influence upon the
life of boy or girl than to look an
honest old cow in the face every day
and to see to it that she is properly
taken care of.
Good Farmers Make Good Citizens
I said that diversified farming made
better citizens. 1t bears the same re.
lation to the development Of citizen
ship in the country that diversified
industries bear to the development of
good citizens in the cities. I have
studied the glassblowers of Venice,
the lacemakers of Malta and the silk
Weavers of Bayrout. They are sur
rounded by those only who are en-
gagged in the same task, and I have
been impressed by the monotony of
their lives and the utter hopelessness
of their outlook. Work in an Ameri-
can city, like work of q Minnesota
farm, is surrounded by diversity, full
of stimulative optimism that develops
American citizenship of the highest
order. This fact is evidenced by the
marked improvement in city govern
ment, the evidence of their capacity
to elect good men to Office and to
manage their local affairs wisely and
we'll.
Natural Resources Of State.
In extent and almost limitless rich
ness of territory, in the wealth of her
productivity, in the rapid extension of
her industrial life, her peerless dis
tributing and transportation systems,
her matchless natural resources, both
in stored riches and aesthetic beauty
OF lake, wood and stream, Minnesota
has outstripped her older neighbors
and stands as the guiding northern
star Of the sisterhood of states. The
recent establishment of one of twelve
regional banks in our metropolis is
but recognition of Minnesota's fnan-
cial Importance and she easily as.
sumes her place among the financial
centers of the country
Watched State Development.
I have watched her career from the
time when, as little boy treking
across her virgin soil, I wended nv
way to the heart of the wilderness.
This state and all her interests are
very dear to me-her skies are bluer.
her air purer, her grass greener, and
her people dearer than I have ever
found on any spot on earth. It is
forsooth my home. A great surge
and thrill of love and patriotism wells
through me at the inspiring strains of
minnesota, IT'S to Thee" that males.
tic war song Of the athletic field.
May we all join in proclaiming that
we will guard her fame and protect
her name, our northern star.
: The character of Minnesota's citi.
zenship has never been questioned.