Mower County transcript., 1915-01-13
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FARMER BEN'S
COLUMN

J, The governor of the old Bay state
recommends that insted of spendin'
100000 state money to destroy the
tree beetles, they pay more attention to
protection of birds. Certainly a most
sensible advice. I've alwus ben oppos-
ed to- the shootin' off of the birds. They
are regular scavengers on bugs and
plant enemies of all kinds and as they
hav decreased the bugs and grubs hav
increased. It's shame the way our
laws let city sports go out in the tall
and in few days clean our fields of
the birds or frighten 'em so they are
afraid to stay round. l know there's
some way of shuttin' off this murder of
! the innocents even if every illegal
shooter has to lay in the pen for few
months. Every farmer ought TO be
absolute game keeper and game owner
j. on his own land and no outsider should
ever be allowed to trespass without
permission from the owner. Let the
! townies shoot clay birds and stay at
J home and let all game birds and others
alone. We save millions every year if
I we had birds enuf to keep all plant life
from all enemies.
r. agree with the Princeton professor
who says that it is an illusory presump-
tion to argue that because military pre-
4 eparedness brought about war, military
sunpreparedness will prevent it. We've
got to take conditions and human ma
I tur as they are. I've alwus believed
# that Uncle San's navy has had great
influence in making Japan and England
and the other nations careful not to
tread on our toes but to heed what We
planned, decided and asked was our
national rights and prestige. Our navy
4 has ben the best policeman We ever
had. We've not had to use it's club for
years but the other fellow knew we had
it. In the Cuban difficulty with Spain
we'd hav ben snubbed and made q
laughin' stock If it hadn't ben for our
preparedness to lick 'em il they got too
!. .overbearin' and reck less Of our rights.
B So fur as I'm concerneds I'm not IN
favor at this stage Of the gane:of dis
armament and expose ourselves help.
lessly to the whims and attacks of
others.
q. see that they are commencin' to use
movies for educational work in our
schools. The state farm school has got
whole set of rooral activities on films
that they are goin' to show thru the
state. The movies are here to stay and
= I'm confident that lots Of geography
and anatomy and diseases and others
!: will before long get to be generally in
\ terduced for the instruction of the
I young. There's no doubt you can reach
& the child's mind much more impres.
sively thru the eye than thru the ear
IS i saw the movies once of Columbus
discovering America and I've had since
. more clear and vivid idea Of the event
h startin' with his appearance before the
M King and Queen than ever got from
#S& # all book rot. 1 believe that the movies
Va can be kept down SO that they ain't
sensational and immoral and suggestig
and if restricted to clean and instructi1
things there's lots of good may come
& from their use. In the big cities the,
IF e are drivin' out lots of the old time
!. theatre business. We might as vel
81 B. wake up and join tho procession o1
progress.
$ The national senate was almost {
unit in passin' the immigration bill
with the RESTRICTIVE literary test fo1
aliens to come to this country to settle
; by vote of so to 7. This question o.
!, -lettin' in without some sort of restric
I stions all who wish to come to th'
T United States to liv is hard nat t.
2 crack. Looks to Farmer Ben like VI
was about loaded up with ignoran
IL Il undesirables~ who don't affiliate will
h our ways and ideas and keep in colon
ss les and continue in ignorance. l aim
sayin' what is the very best restriction
I d to be put on in future. In some coun
q tries there are people who are goo'
workers and moral and still hav bel
81 kept illiterate in their home country
Z Z on the other side there are rascals ant
"A knayes and such who hav got eddica
ton enuf so they could pass the tes
!. { and their comin' would be curse an
danger to us. My own private opinion
. is that heretofore the bars to imm1
grants hav ben let down too far and it
time to put 'em up little. r..