The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1922-10-05
Supplement 10 the History OF People
i AMI Seh0Oihon>e In Rnrai
District oil Maine and Other
Subjects
By.Alonzo SMITH

10y A49uIO SInllHj
As conditions are In a rural dis
trict OF Maine So they are in other dis
tricts and 10 some extent in other
states. Deserted homes and aban-
doned farms Indicate a waning inter
est IN the pursuit Of farming. The
drift OF population from the farms 10
the villages and the cities. Law
maker and leaders in thought and
action discovered the discomfort Of
the farmers and sought to alley the
existing disafaction ny establishing
free mail and parcel delivery, by road
Improvement and by state aid for Free
High schools. Telephone lines ex-
tend into the rural sections faeilitat-
ing greatly communication, and autos
and tractors are a common adjunct OF
farm equipment which lessons labor,
multiplios comforts; and notwithstand-
ing all these Improvements and all
the sweet things the poets say, and
the persuasive eulogy of essayists ON
The utility and dignity of manual labor
and The beauty and charm Of pastoral
scenes, the drift from the farms goes
ON and will go on until the desire for
ness of farming is, in someway made
more attractive, more remuneratiYe.
To be more remuneratiye, farm pro-
ducts must have more value, produce
a larger income. But if food pro
ducts are more costly. the expense Of
living is increased, and the world is
elamoring for cheap food. And cheap
food can be obtained only by lessen
ing cost of production, by cultiYatinP
large fertile areas by machinery, and
such a course is not practicable only
on the wide praries of the West.
Farming at this age Of the world is
a complex business, there are so many
conditions that may favor or hamper
and effect results. 1t requires a
man with more than average ability
and great adaptability to acquire a
competency in the pursuit of farm
ing III Maine. Methods and customs
have changed, wants have multiplied
and expenses have increased. while
incomes have not changed in the same
proportion. And that is what is the
matter. That is why the farmer is
dissatisfied and the farmers wife is
disconnected, why the boys do not
stay on the farm and why the girls
do not and will not marry the men
who settle down to the care and toll
and humdrum of farm life The
Maine State College was built to aid
the farmers. to take their sons and
educate them in such way that the
knowledge acquired would the better
qualify them for successful farming
As a result, the boys who go to the
state college and take course there
do not graduate as farmers. AS Il
general rule the education of the day
educates from the farm. There is
recol from hand work. 1t is less
remunerative than mental labor, and
with some persons, lowers the so
cial standing. We read OF the rise
and fall of empires, and when agri-
culture was neglected, then began the
decline, degeneracy and disintegration
of the ancient nations.
Democracy is founded on the fine
sounding but fallaeious idea OF equal
ity. 1t is one of the vagares promul-
gated by the leaders of the French
Revolution, along with Liberty and
Fraternity.
The tendency in all governments is
toward class distinctions. The strong
rule the weak The Anglo Saxon has
oppressed or enslaYcd every other
race; and sometimes he works on the
weak members Of his own race. As
a nation, we are great in wealth, in
invention, in achievement but not
great in goodness and high moral eX-
celencc; men levied OF great ability
and strong native force, attain and
hold high positions of trust and honor !;
accumulate wealth, acquire power,
control economic forces and more dis
tinct class lines. In their pride and
self-importance, they become selfish.
callous and Indifferent to the welfare
OF the common people. And this mi
mica condition lessons vastly the
much cherished principle of equality
and Weakens or annuls the founda-
ton on which Democracy is built
Civilization is only a thin veneer
anyway. Just beneath the surface lie
lurking the malign forces that tend
to dsintregration and decay. Our
civilization never has been deep
tHOuBllr vi NuultltHl DOleHCN ~ tGdui-
cate cruelty and all other brute qua
lities that degrade the human animal.
Our boosted civilization can be and
should be much improved. There is
too much crime, too much disease, too
much poverty, too many lynchings.
too much evasion and disregard of
law. I9on future generations de-
ponds the preservation and perpetuity
of the nation. IF the voters of the
future come to their inheritance blast
ed by ignorance and corrupted by
vice, the fall of the Republic is GER
tain and without remedy"
\ book recently published has for
It's title; The revolt against Civil
cation, the Menace of the Underman "
The seriousness of the menace, in the
nation was sadly illustrated recently
by the murder of - uon-union miners
nj a mining town in Illinois, by bru-
tai mob Of union miners who had left
the mines on strike Those per-
sons deeply endowed With an optimis-
tic cast of mind will glaze over the
deplorable outrage with some consol-
ing phrase from the founders of
creeds and doctrines: or find solace in