Laurel outlook., 1947-03-05

munity were guests last Thursday
evening of the Laurel Commercial
club at a dinner and program at
the Masonic temple, with Robert
B. Tootell of Bozeman, director of
| Montana extension service, as prin-
cipal speaker. Tootell delineated
"The Place of Agriculture in Our
Economy" and presented a picture
of the change that has taken place
in agriculture as a whole during
recent generations, a condition that
has marked other forms of human
activity.
The clubs new president, John
Laird, presided at the brief business
session preceding the program. 1t
was the first meeting since the an
nual election, and President Laird
announced standing committees for
the coming year as follows:
Roads-B. L. Price, chairman, c..
w. Laird, B. B. Hageman, H. r.
Russell and C. L. Morris.
Cemetery-C. w. Laird, chairman,
and Peter Thomson.
Programs-B. L. Price, chairman,
Clyde Cromwell and Oliver Void.
Baseball-B. B. Hageman, chair
man, Jackson Parker, John Tubman
and Wayne Hageman.
Dinners-C. H. Barney, chairman,
C. w. Laird and Charles Giblin.
Commercial club building-R. B.
Packard.
Business hours-Stuart Johnson,
chairman, r. H. Sterrett and p. A.
Johnston.
irrigation and drainage. w.
Corwin, chairman.
New industries-P. H. Wilson,
chairman.
Advertising - Campbell Calvert,
chairman.
Airport. w. Hageman, chair
man.
A general discussion was conduct |
ed for several minutes regarding
hours of stores, with MEM
bers of the club and farmer guests
participating.
Oliver Void, a friend of several
years standing of the speaker, in
troduced Tootell, who in about 80
minutes gave a resume of the agri-
cultural situation locally and over
he nation, with excursions into the
world conditions that affect Ameri-
IAN farmers.
He began by saying that funda-
mental characteristics place agricul-
.ure, an occupation almost as old
uniting, in a unique position. 1t
las operated for ages and will con-
inue as long as production of food
rom the soil is necessary to main
ain human life.
AS to economy as a whole, it
rows more complicated each de-
ade because the majority of peo-
lie are not self-employed. The
are a group who continue
0 be self-employed, while the ma
are dependent on the actions
f others. However, both the major
and the minority are inter {
ependent because of the necessi- {
es of life. |
Mentioning some of the less OBJ t
ious characteristics, the speaker {
aid that as time passes fewer
tizens are engaged in agriculture. 7
nee rs per cent of the people were t
} employed, but during the past
years the percentage has stead e
y shrunken, and during the recent o
only II per cent were on
Contributing causes include a
echanization. Fewer people do the t
ork that once required many. In e
eased efficiency has spread to q
7estock raising, where improved t
'eeds yield more meat per pound a
feed. Manufacturing processes Ii
ice seen on farms are now done b
oil fields or in the factories of c;
e cities. Housewives no longer c;
in, weave, dye and make clothing, il
ost of these operations having il
transferred to the cities. d.
The number of people needed on fl
rms, in terms of national economy, CO
governed to quite an extent by CO
e productivity of the land. The CT
il of the world, if evenly spread, el
,uld be only about eight inches
ep. How much, and the quality h
we'll as the quantity, has largely fl
do with the productivity of agri- sc
ltural lands. More people are re- g
tired on poor land while fewer tn
ople are needed on good land. The sc
IS productive half of the 100000
rms in the United States con- TT
ibutes less than 10 per cent of tn
oduction. With increasing know OF
L. IL nnnrn+nrc nf +hn nthor