Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-04

W, AsHINGTON May almost three years ago
wv congress passed a law which has been repeat
eddy described by qualified to judge as the
broadcast and most significant educational act ever
adopted by any nation in the world since history
began This act-the Smith-Lever extension act-has
been operating for three years now, and it promises
do all expected of 1t. Yet there very
few Americans, among those directly affected
who realize what a big it is, and what
immense changes it can work in our national Ire
The Smith Lever act a law providing funds for
teaching people districts of the United
States the most successful methods of farming But
by successful farming it great deal more than
raising the possible number of bushels to the
Successful farming means successful solution
of the whole problem OF rural life it checking
the rush to the cities, by making possible full and
comfortable life in the country; 1t balancing
try life that shall be as attractive as city life and thus
gathering a rural population large as is
necessary to settle questions of production
That is admittedly large problem, one of the big
gest in the world and it attack 1t in
large way. has attacked in a large way,
scale much bigger than other nation is attack
ing it that the system had all the characteristics of
first experiment. But 1t works.
This is the situation in a nutshell Most Of the
pressing problems of American farming have
been solved in a less satisfactory fashion
There any amount of room further research
Improvement but there is immense Of
cessfu method available The problem is how to get
these successful methods of farmer
and how to induce him to them. In average
rural community only about farmer IN five using
the best up-to-date methods and getting the
such methods bring. IF the methods by the
successful farmers and the by the
department of agriculture colleges were
used by all the farmers Secretary Houston
lean agriculture would be revolutonized. The extern
sion system is revolutionizng it. by process of
evolution.
The farmer is conservative citizen 1t hard to
make him adopt methods The system of sending
printed booklets al Ri
but 1t has it's limitations. The way convince
him is to send a practical farm and show
him how to do it. Let him the process and >the
results with his and put the profits in his
own bank account and he is enthusiastic convert
The method Of teaching by actual demonstration is
better than all the other methods put togetherl
This fact has long been recognized and demonstra-
ton work was no new thing when the Smith-Lever
provided for increasing annual expenditure by
total $4,000 900 $12,OOO,OOO year. But the system
will effect demonstration a new scale It will
that of the 1850 counties in the
United States will have county agents for demon
stration work, probably and a woman in each
Already more than 1900 rural counties have such
agents Every agent is in touch with the work that
is being done on farm problems in all the different
states and in the federal department The plan will
put farmer in touch with farm work that
is being done in the United States If farmer in
Oregon experiment station in Florida works ont
a method. the farmer Iowa or the farmer in
California can learn how to it later With
out such system he might even hear Of it for
three
The demonstration method has the great merit NJ
convincing the most skeptical by ping up results
before their eyes It usually has to work that way.