The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1916-09-08
Better Farming And Better Farm
Life BY Building Up Rural
COilnR1lumttKeg


TAT the head Of all the sciences
and arts, at the head Of civilization
and progress, stands---not militarism,
the science that kills, nor commerce,
the science that accumulates wealth
but agriculture, the mother of all
industry and the maintainer of
human life.
That agriculture will be developed
throughout the United States just as
community centers are developed and
that when the two are separated the
fabric of rural life will be torn down,
is the belief of Prof. G. I. Christie,
superintendent agricultural extension
work, Purdue University, who, in
taking before the convention Of the
National Fertilizer Association re-
Gently, used the above statement re-
garding agriculture by President
Garfield as his text.
do you think that we can
develop the country districts of
Indiana, or any other state, If we
destroy the rural towns? The rural
towns grew up because the farmers
wanted and needed stores where they
could trade, where they could market
their produce and buy supplies. The
country storekeeper is there because
they wanted him. Then they found
they needed blacksmith shops, men
to handle machinery center where
they could get work done. It was
the farmer himself who wanted the
local center and he Is the man that
brought 1t there.
I'VE are convinced that there is
enough information in our depart
ments of agriculture and experiment
stations il taken out and applied ON
the farms to double the production
of this country, to make the land
bloom like rose, TO give us the
foodstuffs that will feed our in
creased millions of people in an ade-
quate way. The county agent offers
q medium through which this work
can be accomplished" added Prof.
Christie. sit is readily seen that
the educational field is large and that
there is plenty for the county agents
to do. Again, this work is directly
helpful and profitable to ali classes.
Since county agents in most cases
are supported, in part at least, by
public taxation, they should exercise
every care in the lines Of work
chosen. not to assist one class at the
expense of another, providing they
are engaged in legitimate business.
I'm many counties there are people
who would organize and use county
agricultural advisors as financial
agents for cooperative buying and
selling. This is questionable line
for county agents to take up. Some
of these people believe that the
county agent is the farmer alone.
They forget that in most cases the
county agent is financed by public
taxation. It was the hope Of the
leaders Of this movement that the
county agent should work in COM
munities with the farmers so that
they may grow more corn, more
wheat and more meat in order that
the people in the cities shall get
more foodstuffs at reasonable prices.
They hope to help the farmers to
make some money and to make life
more Hvable.
1--WE say to the county agent IL he
is mixed up in the buying of fertil-
izers and sugar and machinery and
other things for the farmers OF his
county. Purdue University cannot
support you in this movement We
take this stand because we know
that such work establishes a barrier
between business men and rural
people. In this, way is destroyed
the great aim and object of the
whole movement-to better cement
and weld all the people together in
order that we may do things in a
bigger and better way. We must
also have the rural people see that
they are making money, not to buy
more land, to grow more corn, to
feed more hogs to BUY more land,
to get into what they call the Illinois
Circle and run it around seven times
and then lay down and die and leave
/ It behind them. they should get
some land to grow more corn and
feed more hogs to get the money to
build more roads and build better
homes and have better life in the
country. That is what we want and
that is what the farmers must have"
High Cost OF Paper.
The fifty-third annual convention