Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-12-10
Dy j. II. Howard.
President. American Farm Bureau
Federation.

Federation.
Hero and there n hilltop eighty
has worn out and lies beneath the
sun Indifferent to tho seeds In its
Keeping. TO the hungry who tramp
over It. HIS that never failed the
buffalo for nobody knows how many
thousand years are gray with the
exhaustion Of extensive production.
SO long as the sod was unbroknn
the fertility OF the soil remained In
tact. The pioneers who broke the
zeal found the soil richer than crea-
son For under the unh;tfnpcreh
government Of Mother Nature all
plants give back their surplus a, the
end Of every summer. The first
whoa, field waxed aoldcn on tho
legacy or tho frugal prairie grass.
Tho hrst corn fields spent riotou.ly
The compounded interest OF centuries
Of i,he carth's careful savings of
plant food Ana the farmers fed their
crops on tho SOILS store for so many
years before II became noticeable that
the principle was being touched. that
the supply was unconsciousiy sup
posed to b." iu"xhaustiblc. We
sowed in'cnsivcly, reapcd bounteous-
~, and then burned the straw and
stubhle c"mplac"n;ly. SO long
the virgin qualities ~ the soil. under
Z.
supported "a relatively spare pnrula-
ton we were not. worried about the
future And now many an acnemIc
heii dots IN. countryside in mute re
preach.
There ]. w Waste.
Fortnnat.ly. however. farmers arc
awak"nlnc Ia IN" fac, tina, soil mus,
be rcvi,.lizcd. Public opinion for.
hlds .hc burning ~ straw i"rum"s
have been pui 10 making hay and
nitrogen Fertilizer companies are
doing business Phosphate and lime
stone deposits are being distributed.
The hilltop eighties are being re-
jnrcna'ed. Just a. the land has been
teNitsiiz'd. here and there farm
communttv haas worn out. The church
door has been nailed shut. The
schuoihousc is out OF aatr. The chill
dr-n OF III. did homestead have
moved To town end tho farms arc
nos IN" abod"- az transient families
who hope 10 get enough ahead la
move Ia town also.
y" nation has ever risen abovn the
level of iis agriculture and IA" dead
communities scattered through the
United states are comparable To tho
white alkali patches on IN" hilltop
eighty AMI II allowed 20 spread
will ruin our country just as sur. as
blight viii wipe out an apple or
chard
THE worst ~ II IL that the worn
out community is not necessarily The
on" whore the Hand - pas; prdduc-
tion II that w"r. III. case tn.
huildinG Ep "f the soil would bring
now ~ new blood back into tho
personnel ~ the occupants. !, is
often in our richest sections that tho
human force of agricultural produc-
ton j. A. low ebh
We ar" used :" thinking when We
speak az agricultural production. ot
grain and live stock. cotton. and
wool iumhcr and fruit; Iiut the open
country has an import ant product in
boys amd girls who constantly feed
our cities.
itrpintrd History.
Tn" history of the pull seless com
munity * we'll kn"wn The pioneer
father WIN" thrust his pillow into. the
unrr"kcn prairics was ~ vital as his
acres, He had come to the new
country TO max" home. His neigh
b"rs We're home builders The non
Interference OF outSihc world. need
for protection and common ideals.
fostered social contact. They were
the hest type OF humanity. being the
kind who were not contcntcd TO be
poor In the State or the foreign
country from which they came. Since
they were in their new homes To
stay they set about making their
communities tit places in which to
I'VE Thcy built schoolhouscs and
churches at the same time they broke
the sod and Put up barns. The next
generation took up community build
Ing at the point left Oft by their pa
rents. The old homestead was kent
In the family. all members OF which
started out equally. II anything, the
boy whose lot IL was To stay home
and run the farm was considered to
be BIT better off than the boys who
had studied pedagogy or medicine. or
letters. Fortune. had not overtaken
the pioneer people yet. but they rea.
soned that II was new country, and
the future was promising.
About three generations away
from the pioneers the real exodus he
gins. a little visiting hack. and forth
with the members OF the family who
had cast their lot in the cities and
towns makes the children wonder II
the lot OF the brother to. remain on
the family homestead Is the one to
be cherished.
A Swallowed Picture.
And by this time there is little
less hope for the future. Three or
four generations Of unfulhillment Is
not very conducive to the vfriiity of
hope. The old homestead Is rented
to class OF people not quite pro-
gressive enough to get away The
community Immediately loses much
OF It's stability. There is no com
munity pride for these people except
10 move again In year or so and
naturally do not feel responsibility
In their temporary arrangement And
whero tho profits OF the land must
De shared between two families. the
landlords and the tenants, there is
nothing left to devote to the ideal
community center. The taxpayers
Two away from the. land and are.
therefore. not personally and subjec-
lively interested in the church.
schools and social phase OF their
neighborhood. There is such a con-
stant shifting of residents That or
Ennization Is difficult. There arb M
local allurementS and ties and "a
soon as member rises above tho
level OF his environmont he goes 70
tho city. where more Is promised
him' even IL 1t IL not always given
In the meantime. the descendant, |
OF tho first farmers have either lost