Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-12-29

vember 20, 1917.
There is no body of men in the Unit
ed States to whom would rather speak
than to the county agents, the men who
were the captains of the army of food
producers in fight the like of which
has never been made before. If we of
the department of agriculture, who,
while the fight was on, from the head
quarters tent offered prayers and plans,
can serve you in any more effective
ways in the future than we have in the
past, you have only TO- command us. l
want to ask you also to take back to
the men in the burrows an expression
of their government s gratitude for an
essential service faithfully done. Will
you say further, "Your country needs
your services little longer. Not only
your country, but humanity, requires for
its salvation that you plant and plow,
SOW and save and send forth to the
needs of the nations for another sea-
son, even as you have for the season
that is past.
No man knows when the war will end.
Against the sort of foe we face no man
can guess how long the war must be
waged. There is only one thing that we
do know to a certainty, and that thing
is that the war will be won, no matter
how long it takes, nor how much it
costs in treasure and blood. And we
know too that to win that war, armies
on the fair fields of France are but
as chaff before the wind, except as they
are supported by other armies as large,
as herolc, as devoted to their country
and their country s flag, and as ready to
undergo sufferings and sacrifices, i'll the
burrows and foundries at home.
You county agents out in the coun-
ties of every state have rendered and
still have to render, service to your
country the Importance Of which cannot
be estimated. You are holding salient
almost as important as Verdun, for ex-
cept as you continue to hold it, the
forces of democracy must fail.
Your government has not failed to
realize that important fact. 1t has out
lined a very definite program for the
development of county agent work by
the end of this fiscal year that, in the
ordinary course of things, would have
requires six years. For that purpose, con-
gT6SS mas pldCGu hI GuO ulSPo0NA VI 'AAS
depar- ment of agriculture millions OF
dollars.
This wide and rapid development is
a military necessity because of war con-
di;ions. We need and must have coun-
ty agent in every agricultural county
III the United States by the beginning
of next planting season and that means
by February l.
Not all of this stupendous work can
be done by the department of agrleul-
ture unless it has the cooperation of
the agricultural colleges and the other
ag 3ncies that are working with it. Moth
ing must be left undone to speed up
the work of organization in the coun-
ties, to get agents appointed in the
counties promptly enough that they Will
be on the ground ready to direct the
efforts of the farmers even before the
actual planting begins.
For the county agent is the directing
genius in the agricultural industry of
hi county. There has rested on him
always very great personal respon-
sibility that he must discharge as a
part of his duty to his country in time
of war. It is no small task. 1t will
require ability of the highest order and
application of the closest kind.
Now the task devolves upon us-you
out there in the field and the secretary
of agriculture and his associates back
yonder at the center of the nation s
agricultural activities-to see to 1t that