The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-06-08

the moral and spiritual welfare of
the people is as necessary to ma
tional progress and prosperity as
is the development of the material
things in life. What the Deca-
logue and the Sermon on the
Mount are to the spiritual and
moral life of our people, the Con
stitution is to their civil and tenn
poral well-being. With it as a
guide, the people of this Nation
have prospered and grown. 1t has
been a safe guide through war and
revolutions and has been suffi-
Gent to meet the ~eXigencies of
every crisis that has arisen in our
country. 1t has stood the acid
test of time. Gladstone, after it
had been in operation a hundred
years, declared that it is the most
wonderful work ever struck off at
a given time by the brain and pur-
pose of man.
Understanding Brings Patriotism
Let the young men and women
who graduate from our high
schools have an intelligent under
standing of the fundamental ms
titutions of our country and it
will develope in them patriotism,
a love of country, and respect for
law and order which will stand
them in good hand when they
come to exercise the solemn du-
ties of citizenship. instruction
and education along these lines
are essential to good citizenship
and to the preservation of our Re-
public.
You are also fortunate in that
you live in Montana where the
foundation of a great State is be-
ing laid. Nature V provides
us with the finished product, but
gives us the raw material, and
Montana is a vast storehouse of
undeveloped esources. Her mines,
her forests, her agricultural posi-
bilities offer u%nrivaled opportuni-
ties for the exercise of genius and
industry in almost unlimited fields
of activity. Rare opportunities
are presented for those with Wis
ion to see and take advantage of.
Earnino Chief Industry
Montana is developing into an
agricultural state. Farming is al
ready the chief industry of the
commonwealth, and it is just in
its infancy. 1t is evident that the
great majority of the graduates
of this cosmopolitan university OF
ours will follow rural and agricul-
tural enterprises and that their
preparation as far as possible
should be along these lines. 1t
must be remembered that agri-
culture has developed into a sci
ence and an art. The farmer OF
the future must not only have
strong hands, but he should have
a certain amount of technical
knowledge of this great industry.
He should know something about
soil chemistry to enable him to
treat and cultivate the soil scien-
tifically. We are living in an age
of electricity, and he should know
something of the electric and mo-
tor power which is fast becoming
essential to the success and hap
piness of rural life. He should
know something of the science OF
botany, of plant life and plant cul-
ture. He should have a fundat
mental idea of intensive farming,
and of d~airying, which has devel-
oped into one of the great and
profitable industries of the state.
The Federal Government has
recognized the necessity of educa-
ton along these lines, and in 1917
passed what is known as the
"Smith-Hughes Vocational Act"
The purpose of this was to pro
mote vocational education in agri-
culture, home economic and
trades in the various states
through its free county high
schools. The Montana legislature
has wisely taken advantage of the
provisions of this act, and has to
a limited degree c%ooperated with
the Federal government in this
work.
The Smith-Hughes Law
The report of the work done
last yea in twenty high schools
along agricultural lines under the
supervision of Professor Abbey OF
the Agricultural college is indeed
interesting and enlightening, and
one cannot peruse this report
without feeling the necessity that
sufficient funds should be provld-
ed to extend this work to every
high school in the state. rms
department working through our
high school is disseminating infor-
nation and knowledge among our
rural classes which is of practical
benefit and of inestimable value.
The tendency of late years mas
been away from the farms. Young
men and women have turned TO
cities to escape the dull monotony
&C nn,n4rr 1ifo Con. the social and