Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-08-04
Proposed National Agricultural Museum Would
Tell Story Of the Men Who Have Contributed
So Much TO Greatness Of America: Her Farmers
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON
Released by Western Newspaper Union.

Released by Western Newspaper Union.
COME day the United States
- may have a national mu-
scum, the purpose of which will
be to tell the story of those
Americans who, since this ma
ton was founded, have contrib
uted so much to it's prosperity
and to its standing as the great
est nation or earth. Those Amer
leans are our farmers.
When that museum is built
and put into operation, it will
not be a place of static exhibits,
a storehouse of ancient relics in
glass cases with written or
printed labels to- explain their
meaning. Instead it will be a
Giving museum" which pre-
sents graphically not only the
history of agriculture's past but
also the story of its present and
its promise for the future.
The establishment of such a
museum was forecast recently
when the National Agricultural
Jefferson Bicentenary commit
tee made a pilgrimage to Char
lottesville, Va, there to visit the
University of Virginia and Mont
icello and pay tribute to the man
whom Claude R. Wickar&, Sec
rotary of agriculture and chair
man of the committee, charac-
terized as the Founder of Mod
ern American Agriculture" -
Thomas Jefferson. Another
speaker on this occasion-and
the man who made the proposal
for national agricultural mu-
seum-was Herbert A. Kellar,
director of the Mccormick His
torical association in Chicago.
Speaking on the subject of Liv-
ing Agricultural Museums he
said in part:
Let US consider for a moment
what should be the character of a
National Agricultural museum. 1t
should probably be located in Wash
ington, or other appropriate place
in the United States, housed in one
or more large buildings, and sur
rounded with appropriate landscap-
ing. Here, outdoors and under
glass, should be shown in cultiva-
ton representative trees, shrubs,
fruits, plants, flowers, and other
vegetation Of the United States. The
outer walls of the buildings should
present bias reliefs showing the
evolution of agriculture in this coun-
try from the primitive Indian Gull
ture of the time of first settlement
to the mechanical farming of the
present day On the inner walls
should be placed large murals de-
picting famous agricultural events
and scenes. Thus, might be found
Eli Whitney experimenting with his
cotton gin, Elkanah Watson holding
the first agricultural fair, Cyrus
Hall Mccormick trying out his first
reaper, or Lincoln signing the act
creating the Immigrant colleges.
OF equal interest would be the por-
trayal of different types of agricul-
tural operations, such as the pro-
duction of wheat, corn, tobacco, cot
ton, sugar cane, rice and other field
crops, the cultivation of fruits and
flowers, and the raising of cattle
and livestock. In addition to murals
there should be gallery of
paintings of agricultural lead
ers, representing all types of
activity. A theater should likewise
be provided where lectures, music,
plays, ballets and moving pictures
of agricultural interest might be
presented.
Dioramas and Operating Models.
The evolution of agricultural
machinery, rural architecture, cleo
trification in farm regions, transpor-
tation, milling, tanning, meat-pack-
ing, and other types of processing
should receive separate attention in
appropriate exhibits, including the
use of dioramas, operating models
and full-sized originals. The mu-
scum should develop a special Ii
brary, include provision for publish
ing magazines, bulletins and books,
house and operate a radio station,
maintain close relations with the
agricultural press, cooperate with
the Immigrant colleges, and possess
microfilm and photostat labora-
tory for reproducing copies of litera-
ture about the museum, as well as
pictures of its exhibits.
An important part of the museum
should be the exhibits devoted to
the social aspect of agricultural de-
velopment. The life of the rural
people should be fully portrayed for
each era and for all classes and
places. The relation of agriculture
to geology, geography, climate and
soils, entomology, biology, chemis-