The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-06-24
Address By Bishop Carroll

states.
You may say that Mr.. Hill did not
calculate on the drouth and the cut
worm. Ii he were here today, he
would answer that these are only
temporary set-backs and do not inyaIi-
date his argument and will not make
false his prophecy. Nebraska was
many times burned out by drouth.
The hot winds more than once burned
Kansas to a crisp. Again, the army
worm and the grasshoppers came and
literally destroyed every green thing.
Yet Kansas and Nebraska recovered
and today they are great and prosper
Gus states. Although, unlike Kansas
and Nebraska, Montana did not suf-
Ter to the extent of being obliged to
call for outside help, still she has been
sorely tried by drouth and insects.
This, however, has not been her whole
trouble. inexperienced settlers, who
were unacquainted with any kind of
farming, much less with scientific cul-
ture of the soil under adverse mois-
ture conditions, were responsible for
not little of our agricultural misfor-
tunes These will in time be replaced
by industrious and intelligent farmers
who through the Scientific knowledge
Montana's agricultural college is prop
agating in lecture room and labora.
tory, in the press and in farmers in
stitutes, will literally make the desert
blossom like the rose.
Need of Settlers.
l believe the drouth of the last few
years is blessing in disguise. Whom
He loveth, He chastiseth." I believe
it will prove to have been a kind dis
position of Providence urging us to
use the means that will make the
prophecy of Mr.. Hill come true. These
means are, more irrigation and diver
sified farming.
While we peed settlers on about
one-fourth of the 2,136,974 acres al
ready irrigated, still if we had water
on the 5,288,517 acres that can now be
irrigated, the very publication of this
fact, coupled with the announcement
that the average price per acre is low
er than in any other states, except
Mississippi and Alabama, would draw
to Montana a vast influx of settlers.
With the maximum amount of irri-
cation and cheap land we would not
have to beg people to come to us.
immigration would pour in at flood
tide and in two decades Montana
would easily have a population of g.
100000 people.
I am glad Providence visited us
with prolonged drouth AS conse-
quence, our local legislature was STIR
| red to action, a meeting of the gov.
ernors of the western states was held,
and congress was made to realize the
| necessity of providing sufficient funds
to complete irrigation and to reclaim
additional lands. To use the slogan
of Governor Dixon, more irrigation
and fewer battleships" is what will
| make the west the bread-basket of the
world. Montana state college of agri-
| culture is exerting no mean influence
in furthering the cause Of irrigation.
And yet irrigation alone will not
solve our problem. We need to get
| away from the zone crop method"
Some years ago, Mr.. Hill was congrat-
ulating me on the fact that Montana
had dollar wheat" / replied: "Yes,
but the farmers tell me you charge
them fifty cents to bring it to Mime
apolis." With smile he answered.:
freight is dear. The Montana farm.
ers will have to get down to divers-
| fed farming. They must plant corn,
| potatoes, alfalfa, etc., as well as wheat
and oats, and raise some poultry, pigs,
cattle and sheep to consume some of
| their produce. The towns are grow
ing and the home market will i'm
prove" Montana's agricultural col
lege could not do better thing than
spread the propaganda for diYersi-
fed farming.
So far, have spoken only Of the
material side of life on the farm. Were
there no other side, farming would
be debased to the level Of a mere
money-making institution. Immense
tracts of land would eventually come
into the hands of the few. A domi-
nation similar to that of the "lati
funditores" of pagan Rome, or Of the
landlords of Ireland, or of the plan
tation owners of the south, in ante
bellum days, or of the sovietism Of
Russia, would be set up and the farm
renters and farm laborers would be-
come the slaves. Ownership by the
small farmer must be inculcated, and
/ intensive rather than extensive farm
ing encouraged. People must be
taught to love the soil and to look on
it as their home.
/ Education is Necessity.
To accomplish this result, education
r must be provided. Thank God, there
| is very little illiteracy in Montana.
|, According to the findings of the Rus
sell Sage Foundation, Montana's illit-
1 eracy is the lowest in the land, her
? percentage of daily school attendance
is higher than that of any other state
t and she shows the highest percentage
: of annual expenditure for education
! about SO cents out Of every dollar
t of tax revenue being spent for that
: purpose.
I | am afraid the statistics OF the
Q higher education especially among
: the children Of the farmer, would not
! make SO fiattering showing. And
/ tyet the farmer needs the higher edu
ell frou4fnuad. nm mage 9l