The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-03-23
The County Agent and Extension
Work .=s&

| The county Agent ana Extension
| 5s Work %s @
| There are those who feel that all
educational work and matters pertain
| ing thereto should be consolidated un-
der the Bureau Of Education. There
fore the States Relations Service now
in the Department of Agriculture and
having to do with some of the phases
of work in the Agricultural Colleges,
Experiment Stations and Extension
Work should be transferred from the
Department of Agriculture to that of
the Bureau of Education. That is, the
interests of the Land Grant (Agricul-
tural) Colleges, they insist, properly
belong with the Bureau of Education.
The Farm Bureau affiliated with
these Colleges was first organized and
financed, it is said, BY the Chambers
Of Commerce and grain exchanges in
the interest of the middle man and
special privilege and they now get 70
cents out Of the consumers dollar and
the farmer Oh producer gets but 80
cents for producing and delivering his
products at the local market. : '~,.>
The representatives Of privilege
say the Agricultural Colleges were
designed to enable farmers to become
more efficient In the production Of
crops, to enable them to produce more
economically our food and it was new
err intended that they should deal
with marketing problems There are
those who object to the County Agent
on the ground that he is devoting
portion Of his time to teaching the
farmer the heresy Of comparatively
marketing his crops; that is, the
farmer shall now assume a new roll,
that of business man and so replace
the present middleman and the unec-
onon1ic marketing system. have even
heard the present Secretary of Agri-
culture severely criticized for indors-
ing cooperative marketing and encour-
aging the farmer to attempt to do
more than. to grow crops in large
quantities to meet the worlds need
for food. ~...-j<
It is said i'm some quarters that the
Farm Bureau is a political organiza-
tion not being run wholly by the
Chamber of Commerce as originally
designed. Hence Congress should
cease to make appropriations for the
extension department at the Agricul-
tural Colleges or for encoursg ging
Farm Bureau work. 1T might be4well
to mention that petitions to this end
are now coming to members of Com
gress. Millions for the. railroads and
for the shipping interests and money
coined without expense for the bank
ers to be loaning farmers at exorbi-
tant rates including bonuses often for
finding money, but the basic indus
try-agriculture-to be humbled for
the benefit of who?
If there are men not loyal to the
cause of the farmers who control the
destines Of the County Agent or Farm
Bureau, get rid of them, clean house
and let the work be under the con-
troll of real farmers who understand
your problems and who are in full ae-
cord with your needs. The Farm Bu-
reau contains the possibility of the
greatest good to agriculture that has
ever been within your grasp. Let it
become a powerful good. Let the Farm
Bureau be your organized body to
speak your needs and demand such
legislation as is enacted to make ag-
riculture once more the greatest and
most prosperous industry in the coun-
try. Unless agriculture is permanent
ly revived, business cannot prosper
for the farm is the greatest buyer OF
manufactured articles, the largest sin
gle employer Of labor il ths-country
and the principal patron Of the rail-
roads, paying, it is claimed, Sc per
cent of all the freight. When the g.
500, 900 farm plants are shut down all
other business must likewise close
down or lessen their productive ac-
tivities. T..
Education and Public Welfare
-------ss ~ IL =
There is no question but what the
promotion of education is the most
important duty of free and demo-
cratic government. Therefore, Q De-
partment Of Education IS very desir-
able but there are those also who are
clamoring also for q separate depart
me1it Of public health with ! cabinet.
officer. But there are certain groups
who maintain that the two should be
combined as the Department of Pub