New Britain herald., 1928-08-22
FORUM COMPOSED OF FARMERS OF
 NATION IS PROPOSED BY HOOVER

and prophecy that if they were per sisted in. that edifice dedicated to God would some day be trans formed into a place Of abomination. l do not place the movies in that class, but knowing Aunt Hannah s views on any form of human recre- ation, even to the Sodlessness of sliding down hill, l suspect that if she knew of this she would get great satisfaction at the consumma- ton of her warnings.
 This was always a Republican vll- laee. It was here that l received my first touch of the national life l well rccollect the hoistlnS of the flag at half mast over my fathers blacksmith shop on the assasslnu- tion of President Garfield. l also recolect well the torchlight proccs- sion in the Garfield election. l was not high enough to be permitted the conduct of a torch but l partici- pated by walking alonside for miles. At that time there were two or three Democrats in the town. I do not know today whether what secm- cd 10 me an enormous torchlight parade Was instituted for their con- version or not, but l believe it was hopeless, because one of my boyhood friends and opponents i'll battle. who l expect is ill this audi ence today. is q descendant of one ot those Democrats and has been r. generated only in the last meth.
 Proud Of Birthplace
 am proud to have been born in Iowa. l have otttimss said that the good Lord made 1t the richest stretch Of agricultural land that ever blessed any one sovereign gov ernment. It Was settled by the ad- venturous. the courageous, who fought their way across the ever extending frontier; they have build- ed here in So short a period as 75 years q state with the least poNer- 1y, the highest average intelligence, the most generous education, which eyer blessed q single common wealth.
 Here in West Branch can be found all the milestoneS of the changes which have come to Amer iCan agriculture. Only a mile from here is the farm of my Uncle Allen, where l spent some years of my boyhood. That was just at the pass ing stage ot the great pioneer move ment. Many farms were still places where We tiled the soil for the i'm mediate needs of the families. We ground our wheat and corn on toll at the mill; We slaughtered our hogs for meat, We WoNe at least a part of our oNn clothing: we repaired our own machinery; We got our own fuel from the woods; We erected our own buildings: we made our own soap: We preserved our own fruit and grew our own vegetables. Only q small part of the family liv- ing came by purchases from the outside. Perhaps 20 per cent of the products were sold in the markets to purchase the small margin of necessities which We could not our selves produce, and to pay interest on the mortgage.
 In half century the whole basis of agriculture has shifted. We have | improved seed and livestock; we | have added a long list of mechanical l inventions for saving labor; We have increased the productivity of the land. And it has became a highly specialized business. There is no longer one industry called farming but in fact a dozen industries. Prob ably over so per cent of it's products HOW go directly or indirectly to the markets and probably over so per