THE RAILROAD RATE BILL
Synopsis of the Important Pro
visions of the New Law.
The Term Common Carriers Includes
Railroads. Express Companies,
Sleeping Car Companies and Pipe
Lines—Passes Hay Be Issued to
Railroad Employes—Authority of
Commission to Fix Rates.
Washington.—The following is a
synopsis of the important sections of
the 1 abroad rate bill.
Section on« makes the law apply to
corporations or persons engaged in
the transportation of oil or other com
modities, except water, by pipe line, to
those engaged in transportation of
passengers or property by railroad or
partly by railroad and partly by wa
ter, between states.
“Common Carriers" Defined.
The term common carrier is de
scribed as follows:
The term "common carrier,” as used
ioyhis act, shall include express cotn
pr.nies and sleeping car companies. The
term “railroad,” as used in this act.
shall include all bridges and ferries
used or operated In connection with
any railroad, and also all the road in
use by any corporation operating a
railroad, whether owned or operated
under a contract, agrement or lease,
and shall also include all switches,
6purs, tracks, and terminal facilities of
every kind used or necessary in the
transportation of the persons or prop
erty designated herein.
All charges made for any service ren
dered or to be rendered in the trans
jKirlation of passengers or property as
aloresaid. or in connection therewith,
shat! be just and reasonable: and every
urjiist and unreasonable charge for
such service or any part thereof is
prohibited and declared to be unlaw
ful.
What Passes may Be Issued.
The section relative to the issuing
of railway passes is as follows:
A. No carrier subject to the provis
ions of this act shall hereafter, direct
ly or indirectly, issue or give any m
terstaate free ticket, free pass or free
tiansportation for passengers, except
t< its officers, agents, employes, sur
geons, physicians, actual and bona fide
attorneys, and members of their im
mediate families; to ministers of reli
gion, local and traveling secretaries of
Yeung Men's Christian associations, in
mates of hospitals and charitable an-1
eleemosynary institutions; to indigent,
destitute and homeless persons, and to
such persons when transported fcy
charitable societies or hospitals, and
the necessary agents employed in such
tiansportation: to inmates of the na
tional homes or state himies for dis
abled volunteer soldiers and of sol
diers’ and sailors’ homes, including
those about to enter and those return
ing home after discharge, under ar
rangements with boards of managers,
and female nurses that served during
the civil war; to ex-union soldiers and
sailors and ex-confederate soldieis;
and to owners and caretakers of live
stock when traveling with such stock
or when going to point of shipment or
returning from point of delivery.
Exceptions to the Buie.
Provided, that this provision shall
rot be construed to prohibit the inter
change of passes for the officers, agents
at £ employes of carriers, and members
of their immediate families, nor to
prohibit any carrier from carrying
passengers free with the object of pro
viding relief in cases of general epi
demic, pestilence or other calamitous
visitations, nor prevent such carrier
Rom giving free or reduced transpor
tation to laborers transported to any
place for the purpose of supplying any
demand for labor at such place.
Cannot Own Coal Mines.
All common”carriers are prohibited
from transporting from one state to
another any article manufactured,
mine.1 or produced by the carrier or
under Us authority, and owned wholly
or in part by the carrier; except that
pipe bnes operated by oil companies
may transport their own commodities
as well as those offered for transporta
tion by competitors.
Section 2 amends section 6 of the
present law sc as to make it obligatory
on the part of carriers to file with the
commission and keep open to the public
schedules showing all rates, fares and
charges between different points on
Its own route and points on other
routes, when a through rate is made,
and no change Should be made in
these rates without giving 30 days' no
tice of change. It also provides for the
filing of all contracts and agreements
between different lines.
Penalties Are Provided.
The penalties provided for violation
of these rates are as follows:
That section 1 of the act entitled "An
act to further regulate eomemree with
foreign nations and among the states,"
epproved February 19, 1903, be amend
ed so as to read as follows:
The willful failure upon the part ol
any carrier subject to said acts to file
| and puDlluu lue larms OI rules auu
charges as required by said acts, or
strictly to observe such tariffs until
changed according to law, shall be a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction
tnereof the corporation offending shall
be subject to a fine of not less than
Ji.000nor more than$20,000 for each of
fense; and ii shall be unlawful for any
person, persons or corporation to offer,
’ grant or give, or to solicit, accept or
| receive any rebate, concession or dis
I crimination in respect to the transpor
| ration of any property in interstate or
foreign commerce by any common car
rier subject to said act to regulate
commerce and the acts amendatory
thereto whereby any such property
shall by any device whatever be trans
ported at a less rate than that named
iu the tariffs published and tiled by i
such carrier, as is required by said act ;
to regulate commerce and the acts
amendatory thereto, or whereby any I
other advantage is given or discrimin- j
ation is practiced.
Every person or corporation who
shall offer, grant or give, or solicit, ac
cept, or receive any such rebates, con
cession, or discrimination shall be
deemed guilty or a misdemeanor, and
on conviction thereof shall be punished
by a tine of not less than J1.000 nor :
more than IHU.OOO: Provided, that any
person, or any officer or director of any
corporation subject to the provisions
of this act. or the act to regulate com
merce and the acts amendatory there
ot, or any receiver, trustee, lessee,
agent or person acting for or employed
by any such corporation, who shall be ;
convicted as aforesaid, shall, in addi- 1
tton to tine herein provided for, be lia- |
ble to imprisonment in the peniten
tiary for a term of not exceeding two
years, or both such fine and imprison
ment, in rhe discretion of the court. ,
Every violation of this section shall be
prosecuted in any court of the Uniteu
States having jurisdiction of crimes
within the district in which such vio
lation was committed, or through
which the transportation may have
been conducted: and whenever the of-j
feuse is begun in one jurisdiction and I
completed in another it may be dealt
with, inquired of, tried, determined,
:.pd punished in either jurisdiction in i
the same manner as ir the offense had i
beer actually and wholly committed I
therein.
Authorized to Fix Kates.
Section 15 authorizes the interstate
commerce commission to fix rates as
follows:
Sec. 4. That section 15 of said act be
amended so as to read as follows:
“Sec. 15. That the commission is au
thorized and empowered, and it shall
be its duty, whenever, after full hear
ing upon a complaint made as provided
in section 13 of this act, or upon com
plaint of any common carrier, it shall
be of the opinion that any of the rates,
or charges whatsoever, demanded,
charged, or collected by any common
carrier or carriers, subject to the pro
visions of this act. for the transporta
tion of persons or property as defined
in the first section of this act, or that
any regulations or practices whatso
evei of such carrier or carriers affect
ing such rates, are unjust or unreason
able, or unjustly discriminatory, or un
duly preferential or prejudicial, or oth
erwise in violation of any of the pro
visions of this act, to determine and
prescribe what will be the just and
reasonable rate or rates, charge or
charges, to be thereafter observed in
such case as the maximum to be
charged; and what regulation or prac
tice in respec: to such transportation is
just, fair and reasonable to be there
after followed; and to make an order
that the carrier shall cease and desist 1
; trom such violation, to the extent to
which the commission find the same to
i exist, and shall not thereafter publish.
demand, or collect any rate or charge
j for such transportation in excess of the
I maximum rate or charge so prescribed,
I and shall conform to the regulation or
| practice so prescribed. Ail orders of
the commission, except orders for the
] payment of money, shall take effect j
i within such reasonable time, not less
than 3 Odays, and shall continue in
! force for such period of time, not ex
| feeding two years, as shall be pre
scribed in the order of the commis- \
sion. unless the same shall be suspend- |
j ed or modified or set aside by the com- j
I mission or be suspended or set - aside j
by a court of competent jurisdiction,
j Any person, corporation, or company
! who shall deliver property for inter
| state transportation to any common
: carrier, subject to the provisions of
j this act. or for whom, as consignor or
consignee, any such carrier shall trans
i port property from one state, territory,
! or district of the United States to any
other state, territory or district of the
United States or foreign country, who
shall knowingly and willfully, by em
ploye, agent, officer or otherwise, di
rectly or indirectly, by or through any
means or device whatsoever, receive or
accept from such common carrier any
sum of money, or any other valuable
consideration, as a rebate or ofTset
against the regular charges for trans
portation of such property, as tixed by
the schedules of rates provided for in
this act, shall be deemed guilty of a
fraud, which is hereby declared to be
a misdemeanor, and, shall, upon cou
viction thereof in any court of the
United Stales of competent Jurisdic
tion within the district where such of
fense was committed, in addition to
any other penalties provided by this
act, be subjected to a fine equal to
three times ihe sum of money so re
ceived or accepted, and three times the
value of any other consideration so re
ceived or accepted, to be ascertained by
the trial court; and in the trial for
such offense, all such rebates or other
considerations so received or accepted
for a period of six years prior to the
commencement of the action may be
considered, and the said fine shall be
three times the total amount or money
or three times the total value of such
considerations so received or accepted,
a°. the case may be: Provided, that the
foregoing penalties shall not apply to
rebates or considerations received prior
to the passage and approval of this act.
In addition to the above the commis
sion is empowered to make joint rates.
Orders of the Commission.
Any carrier, any officer, representa
tive. or agent of a carrier, or any re
ceiver, trustee, lessee, or agent of
either of them, who knowingly tails or
neglects to obey any order made un
dei the provisions of section 15 of this
act, shall forfeit to the United States
the sum of $5,000 for each offense.
Every distinct violation shall be a sep
arate offense, and in case of a continu
ing violation each day shall be deemed
a separate offense.
Provision for Court Review.
The court-review provision of the
bill is as follows:
If any carrier fails or neglects to
obey any order of the commission,
other than for the payment of money,
while the same is in effect, any party
irjured thereby, or the commission in
its own name, may apply to the circuit
court in the district where such carrier
has its principal operating office, or in
which the violation or disobedience of
such order shall happen, for an en
forcement of such order. Such applica
tion shall be by petition, which shall
state the substance of the order and
the respect in which the carrier has
tailed of obedience, and shall be served
upon the carrier in such manner as the
court may direct, and the court shall
prosecute such inquiries and make such
investigations, through such means as
F shall deem needful in the ascertain
ment of the facts at issue or which
may arise upon the hearing or such
petition. If, upon such hearing ns the
court may determine to be necessary
i; appears that the order was lawfully
made and duly served, and Mint the
cnrier is in disobedience of the same
the court shall enforce obedience to
such order by a writ of injunction, or
other proper process, mandatory or
otncrwise, to restrain such carrier, its
officers, agents or representatives, from
further disobedience of such order, or
to enjoin upon it. or them, obedience to
the same; and in the enforcement of
such process the court shall have those
powers ordinarily exercised by it iu
compelling obedience to its writs ol
injunction and mandamus.
From any action upon such petition
on appeal shall lie by either party to
the supreme court ot the United States,
anti in such court the case shall have
priority in hearing and determination
over all other causes except criminal
causes, but such appeal shall tor va
cate or suspend the order appealed
Horn.
The so-called Allison provision pro
vides that all cases for the annulling
of a rate as made by the commission
should be brought in the district
where the carrier against whom such
order of requirement may have been
made has its principal office.
Other provisions of the bill provide
that the commission shall be empow
ered to require annual reports from all
common carriers, and providing that
such reports shall be of the fullest
character; giving the commission at
all times access to the books of com
mon carriers, heavy penalties are en
joined for false entries in accounts. A
line of $5,000 or imprisonment for a
term of two years, or both, is decreed
for any examiner who shall wrongly
divulge information acquired through
examinations of accounts. Circuit and
district courts are to have jurisdiction
to’issue writs of mandamus compell
ing common carriers to obey the or
ders ot the commission. Bills of lad
ing are to be issued by any common
carrier accepting goods for transporta
tion. making railroad companies liable
for loss or damage done in transit
over their or any other line. The com
mission is empowered to employ spe
cial agents or examiners with full
powers.
This act takes effect and is in
force from and after its passage.
The interstate commerce commission
will consist of seven members, who
shall draw salaries of $10,000 per an
num each.
Not So Foolish.
‘‘I can't understand why men drink
whisky.” she said. "Does it quench
thirst?”
“Of course not,” he replied. “If it
did tney wouldn't be foolish enough to
drink it.”—Chicago Daily News.
Neutralized.
He—Gracious! Did yon notice the
terrible smell that automobile made
that went by a little whole ago?
She—No, dear; 1 was peeling onions |
for dinner then.—Yonkers Statesman.
Wants International Observatory.
Prof. Edward C. Pickering, director
of the Harvard college observatory, has
attracted much attention to himself
through his project for an internation
al observatory. He proposes to col
lect a committee of the most eminent
astronomers of the world, raise a sum
of money, build a gigantic telescope
and set all to work on the most suit
able spot on earth.
---—1
Girl Zionists.
A Zionist society of young girls has
been organized in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Unfortunate.
First Merchant—Well, cheer up, old
duck! You never know your luck.
Seiond Ditto—That s a fact, I don't
believe I’ve ever seen mine.
Firs* Merchant — Always out, I
s'pose?
Head on a Pivot.
“The trouble is she’s too fond of'
talking behind her back.”
"Behind whose back?”
“Her own. She’s a regular rubber- J
neck.”—Philaedphia Press.
Learning English.
There are thousands of pupils at
tending fiee night schools maintained
by the authorities in Antwerp for
teaching the English language. So
much shipping from English-speaking
countries uses the great Belgian port
that it is becoming almost an English
speaking city.
But It’s Full of Hazards.
“After all, life is only a game.”
“Yes, but not the game of golf. In
life it’s easy to get into a hole.”—Bos
ton Transcript.
• %
Explanation.
Myer—Your friend Cutter always
speaks well of everybody.
Oyer—Mere force of habit.
Myer—How’s that ?
Gyer—He used to carve epitaphs on
tombstones.—Chicago Daily News.
Certainly Took It.
Redd—How did the horse take the
'hurdle ito-day?
Greene—All right. He took it about
20 yards with him.—Yonkers States
man.
Caution.
"What’s the matter with him, any
way?”
“ ’Sh! They're trying to keep it
quiet. It’s gastritis.”
"Why, that isn't contagious. Why
should—"
“ ’Sh! They’re afraid the gas com
pany may send in a bill against him."
—Philadelphia Ledger.
Mountain Climbers.
In Germany there are 54 mountain
eering clubs with a total membership
of 142.603.
FLOWERS ON THE FARM.
Our Farmers Been Criticised by For
eigners for Their Indifference to
Immediate Surroundings.
It has been argued that in this coun
try among onr farmery carelessness is
the trait which a foreigner most ob
serves, and some say that a glance a;
the immediate surroundings of more
than the average number of farm
houses, proves the correctness of this
assertion. Tin-can strewn grounds, un
sightly rubbish heaps, empty boxes and
barrels, occupy space which, in most
European countries, would be put un
der thorough cultivation. Such en
vironment has a depressing effect all
around.
It is our duty, at all seasons of the
year, to make our homes pleasant and
attractive. The old Athenians spent
their money freely to build temples
and erect statues, while their own
homes were unadorned. This was
perverted patriotism, for the homes
of a country are the true index of its
strength and prosperity, and the man
or woman, who seeks to beautify his
or her home surroundings, is a public
benefactor even though unknown to
themselves.
The beautifying of the home and
lawns generally is done by the women
folk, or else goes undone. This is not
as it should be. The farmer could
spare at least one hour of painstaking
effort a week, to the work of improve
ment. He understands the adaptibility
of certain soils, and is more able to
dig and plant than his wife; but first
he must know that it is not a loss of
time, and even if he be too intensely
practical to care for flowers, he must
know that a beautiful home has a most
decided commercial value.
No home is too humble to join in
the good work, and no spot of land
should be wasted. In many countries
in Europe even the space along the
hedges and byways is made to produce
something of use to mankind. It is
not area, but taste that counts in
landscape gardening. The cost at the
start need not be great. Seeds and
slips are not expensive. Many plants
are easily propagated from cuttings,
and a few dollars thoughtfully ex
pended will start a garden, capable of
giving pleasure for many years. Pe
rennials are decidedly the best for
farm homes. They require less atten
tion than annuals, and when once
planted, with a reasonable amount ol
care, one has a succession of blooms
without much labor.—Farm and Home.
WEALTH OF NEW YORK.
Twenty-Five States Valued at Less
Than the State’s Untaxed
Real Estate.
The enormous material wealth ot
the state of New York is in no way,
perhaps, more clearly marked than in
the fact that the total amount of real
estate—land and buildings—exempted
from taxation is larger than the total
assessed wealth of 25 of the 45 states
of the country, states the Sun.
New York has $1,500,000,000 of real
estate exempted from taxation. It has
$185,000,000 represented in churches
and church buildings. It has $150,
000,000 in hospitals and charitable in
stitutions. It has $100,000,000 in
schools, exclusive of $60,000,000 in
colleges, universities and other build
ings wholly devoted to the purposes
of instruction.
The city of New York includes, of
course, by far the largest proportion
of these holdings, though in the mat
ter of church property the land and
buildings outside of the city of New
York represent a total value of $75,
000,000.
The federal government has $80,
000,000 worth of land and buildings
in the state of New York, of which
$60,000,000 worth is in New York
city and $6,500,000 worth in Buffalo.
The state Itself has $85,000,000
worth of property, land and buildings
throughout the state, of which by far
the largest single item is at Albany.
There is $60,000,000 of property
within the state of New York in
cemeteries and $40,000,000 worth of,
property in libraries and scientific
and patriotic organizations.
Agricultural societies own $1,000,
000 worth, and township and village
buildings represent $22,500,000 more.
MISCELLANEOUS.
A simple method of cleaning lamp
chimneys—hold in the steam of a ket
tle and polish with a newspaper.
An ola refrigerator which has a lin
ing.of tin may be-made. to. look clean
er by applying two coats of white en
amel.
Put a few grains of rice in the salt
cellars to keep the salt from caking; as
the cellar is shaken the rice will keep
the salt moving.
To clean a fishy frying pan, fill with
cold water and place on the fire to
boil. When boiling, put a red-hot cin
der in, and then wash in the usual
way.
When washing glassware do not put
it in hot water bottom first, as it will
be iiable to crack from sudden expan
sion. Even delicate glass can be safely
washed in very hot water if slipped in
edgewise.
Gin is the best thing to use to re
move tea stains from a white dress
Place the stained part in a saucer, with
enough gin to cover the stain, rub with
a piece of the same material, press on
the wrong side v^lth a moderately not
iron till dry.
Rubbed well into yellowed knife
handles of ivory, turpentine restores
the color. Gilt frames can be cleaned
by wiping with a small sponge dipped
lightly in oil of turpentine. Wet the
sponge just enough to take off the soil
and dry marks. Let the frame dry it
self.—Peoples Home Jr.
Chicken Soup.
Cut up a chicken and cover with
cold wafer in which place a sprig of
parsley and a small onion finely
minced. Boil until meat drops from the
bones, then remove chicken and strain
broth. Stand liquor in a cool place
and when fat forms hard on top, re
move it in a cake. Measure broth and
for each pint allow a pint of cream.
Heat broth and the cream in another.
Rub smoothly together one tablespoon
flour and one of butter and stir into
boiling broth. Let boll, stirring con
stantly for two or three minutes, then
gradually stir in the scalded cream.
Cook about a minifte longer and serve ^
at once.
THE AGRICULTURIST
About Farms and Firming Adrice and Suggestions to Boys and Young
Men Wbo May Enter or Remain in This Vocation - Many
Facts of Profitable and Economic Moment.
By NATH’L C. FOWLER. JR.
Author of "The Boy—How to Help Him Succeed.'' "Building Business.”
"Dollars and Sense.” "Practical Publicity.” “Fowier's Cyclopedia
Of Publicity arid Printing.” "Gumption,” Etc. -
—--■*—-<
(Copyright, 1906, by Neth'l C. Fowler, Jr.)
In the world's dictionary the farmer
is defined as a plain tiller of soil, and
the agriculturist or planter as one who
has lifted the farm on to the plane of
business. The term farmer, however,
covers that bast company of workers
'-vho, by the planting of the seed, raise
any kind of a harvest, or who breed
and raise cattle and other stock.
The railroad may cease running, and
tilings will continue to live. The stock
board may board up its doors, and .the
world will continue to move as it has
been moving for centuries, subject
only to transient financial cloudiness.
Most businesses may go out of busi
ness, and the professional may no long
er continue to practice, yet people will
continue to live and to propagate. But
when there is no longer any farmer
there will be no longer any people, for
th? world will have starved to death.
Farming is our greatest industry, the
Industry preservative of all industries.
Notwithstanding the existence of hun
dreds of abandoned farms, and the
constant exodus from the farm to the
city, the farm in its numerical and
financial strength is to-day the greatest
power in the whole civilized world.
The farmer is not recognized as he
should be, because he seeks neither
notoriety nor prominence, but quietly
does bis work, allowing others to play
at society and to receive its shallow
reward. Here, however, has been made
a grievous mistake. The farmer, like
the lawyer, should be proud of his pro
fession, sufficiently appreciative of it
to contribute to it the full measure of
his self-respect. Because he does not
do so, he has lost both the social and
business prominence which really be
longs to his calling.
Why Farms Do Net Pay.
Seme farms do not pay, partly be-1
cause some farms cannot be made to
pay. Probably not more than one-half i
of our fertile farms pay as well as they
would pay if the right effort was made
to make them pay. It is but a common
remark that a great majority of farms
,aro unprofitable because of the indif
ference and lack of cultivation on the
part of the owners. Altogether too
many farmers, instead of working
their farms, allow their farms to work
them.
The tendency to-day is unmistakably
away from the farm. The farmer's
boy, partly because he wants a change,
but largely because the great un
known shines with a light apparently
brighter than all the lights he has ever
seen, desires to leave the farm and to
earn his living under entirely different
conditions, away from nature as he has
experienced it, where he may lead a
life diametrically different front that of
his childhood. The fault, in more than
half the cases, is due to the farmer
himself and to the way the farm is
conducted. The boy, brought up upon
the farm which is not properly culti
vated. and where most of the work is
ditldgery, or is made to be drudgery,
>vhere intellectual growth is stunted. ;
naturally, in the ignorance of his
youth, assumes that all farms are like ;
the farm of his childhood, and that the
opportunities of life, must lie else-;
wiiere. Therefore he gravitates to the.
city, not so much because he loves the
city, but because he feels that that
which he knows nothing about, al
though he may think he does, is better
than that which he does knawn about
from actual boyhood experience.
tt the average farmer works harder;
ihau does the business man, it is not]
always because he has to, but general- j
ly because he thinks he must. 1 do not !
deny that there is much of drudgery in
farm labor—there is. So is there in al
cost any other calling or work. But
!be excess of drudgery is usually the
fault of the drudge, not of the work
itself So far as the long farm hours
are concerned, they are no longer than
those required of the majority of men
in business for themselves and of
members of all professions.
Brains Needed on Farm.
Although the average city business
man may accumulate more money than
the farmer can possibly gain under the
most favorable circumstances, he pays
a greater price for what he obtains;
ana in the majority of caaes is worse
off than is the farmer. If the farmer
treated his work as he should, and
applied to it the intelligence that is
given to other trades, he would reduce
the drudgery to a minimum, and ready
money would not be a stranger to
him.
Nearly all farmers make a living.
Comparatively few grow rich from the
proceeds of the farm; but more than
half of the farmers, whether located
on the rocky hills of Maine or on the i
rapidly producing western soil, not,
only make expenses, hut are able to
save something every year.
The city clerk or city business man,
working in a block and housed in a j
flat, does not have one-half as much 1
opportunity to progress, in the truest'
sense of the word, as -joes the farmer j
on a fairly fertile faim, working as his !
own master on his own property.
Better Off Than City Han.
With the modern periodicals and the j
distribution of every class of reading
matter, the farmer has every opportu
nity for mental development. The edu
cation of the progressive farmer is
superior to that of. the rank and file of
metropolitan men of.,wealth.
There always will be 'some poor and
half-starved men among farmers, but
this class is far less prominent upon
the farm than in the marts of business;
and there are ten times more impecu
nious city workers than there are farm
ers in actual want. .But right here.let
it te said that even the poorest farm
ers are better1 off than are the average
stragglers of the great city. The farm
er has a chance to grow. The city man
may or may not have that opportunity.
Should the farm hoy remain upon the
ftmT Upcm genorg ntecigles 1 say
yo3, and emphaticaliy, yes. There are
exceptions. There are many boys who
have no business to stay upon the
Inins, because they are destined for
something not necessarily better, but
son ething entirely different from farm
ing; but. generally speaking. I would
advise the farmer’s boy to remain on |
tho farm, unless he can give legiti-I
mate, sensible, and positive reasons for
a change. Where nature placed us!
would appear to be our natural field
of action, subject only to exceptions.
Therefore, the boy born upon the
tarn should consider the farm the place
for his life work, unless there are rea
sons why a change of base should be
iueae.
boi any reason save a good reason,
many a farmer’s boy despises the farm,
when he should be proud of his agri
cultural heritage. He is of the nobility
of the soil, a nobility, not of many dol
lars. but descendant from the parent of
dollars.
The boy who would leave the farm,
ar.d who gives no good reason for
leaving, may as well go as stay, for
he will undoubtedly be a failure any
where. The boy who dislikes the farm,
because he does not like work, will not
be a success anywhere. If he is not
willing to work as hard upon the farm
as he would have to away from the
farm, he will not work hard enough
anywhere else to earn more than a i
mere livelihood.
?he boy who does not like farming,
who dislikes it from his very soul,
who has absolutely no love for plant
ing or harvesting, and yet is not a
loafer, is not likely to become a good
farmer, and forcing hint to remaini
there indefinitely is certainly bad 1
judgment and will prove unprofitable.
Why City Attracts Eoys.
Any boy has a light to dislike the
farm, if his dislike is sensible; hut
many boys, perhaps the majority of
them, who leave thi faint to go to the
city, do so beehuse they look upon
farming as inferior labor and believe
that the farm offers little opportunity.
This is all too often the farmer's fault,
not the fault of the farm itself. Thou
sands upon thousands of boys, failures
in great cities, might have been suc
cessful citizens upon the farm. The
d-uciging farmer, the ne'er-do-well dig
ger of the soil, with weedy garden and
shabby house, cannot expect his boy to
respect the farm or love the farm; and
this boy, unless he is broad enough and
intelligent enough to see beyond his
father’s farm, will probably leave it,
even if he has to run away.
Should the city boy leave the city to
become a farmer? Yes, if he wants to.
If he goes, the chances are that he will i
become a 'happier man, a healthier j
man. and a better citizen: but if he
does not want to go, do not force or
even urge him. Probably a great many
more city boys might go to the coun- '
try if they only knew the meaning of
life in the country. However, there j
sre comparatively few city boys who !
turn farmers, and it may be a long
t:me before the sense of the etty will j
be strong enough and broad enough to
sec beyond its brick walls and tower- i
ing buildings.
Heal Success.
The farm, which gives the father a
mere- living, may give the son a com
petency. The farmer’s boy should ;
realize that success is not so much
how much one earns in a year, as how
much one gets out of the year in ex
perience, money and opportunity to en
joy life. A few hundred dollars earned
on a good farm may leave at the end j
ot the year much more in actual money
than live times the amount of earn
ings will leave to the boy or man in
the.cijy. True, the city boy may say!
that, although It costs more to live in
the city, one gets more that is worth
vhiie. and therefore city life is worth
wnar Is paid for it. There never was
a greater mistake made. While the
city may give more than does the
country, even in some things worth
having, the city charges more for what
it gives, even when intrinsic value is !
considered ounce by ounce and pound
by pound. Many of the things whiph i
city people think they want, they
neither want nor need. Our comforts
depend largely upon the difference be
tween what we earn and what we need
to spend.
ihe farmer may receive the mini
mum amount of income, but he also
has the minimum amount of worry and
expense. What the world needs to
day is more, and not less, farms, and
more intelligent and scientific farming,
and more business farmers.
There are altogether too few agricul
tural schools. The states can do no
nobler work for civilization than to es- !
tabltsh schools, where real farming
(noi drudgery) as a business is taught.
It is difficult to be extravagant in edu- I
cation: but, notwithstanding Our great
liberality in educational matters, we
are woefully deficient in the number
of cur agricultural schools.
Better farms would make better peo
ple, not only better farming people, not
only better country people, but better
city people, in the days of the ffivtu
zation to come, city centralization will
have stopped, and equitable and proper
distribution will be one of the orders
< r the day. The tendency will not be
flora outdoors into indoors, but will
be the migration of both mind and
body out into the great and glorious
c-pen air, and Qod’s country will be
came the arena of our greatest con
ItiilS.
What Schools Might Teach
I wish the country school, yes even
toe city school, would instruct the
boy in the elements of agriculture
tneoreucally, If necessary, but In some
♦ nftU1 int° hls m,nd the truth
about planting and Its resulting har
ThL ,We are teachlnS almost every
thing in our public schools, both in
the city and in the country, save the
one fundamental scietlce of all. the
science on which depends our healtS
and wealth—that of agriculture.
i would not ask the farmer’s boy to
remain on his father’s farm, if it is
improperly cultivated and is a mere
place of drudgery; nor would I ask
ilim to remain upon a barren farm
where every product is literally forced
from an unwilling soil. I would aim
ply say, because you are a farmer's
boy. give the farm the preference, li
your father’s farm is not suitable to
your ambition and to your capacity, go
to some larger and better farm. Uori
sdder your father's larm first. If there
be evidence that this is not best fot
you, then consider some other farm
Give the farm the first choice, considei
It from every standpoint and without
prejudice, even though your farm ex
periences may have been unfortunate
and disagreeable.
Advantages and Disadvantages.
After you have placed all the ad
vantages of farming in one column,
and ail the objections in another, study
each advantage and disadvantage by
iiselt and collectively; then, i£ the dis
advantages greatly outweigh the ad
vantages, you have every .ensible,
moral and business right to torsake
the farm, either for a mercantile life
*n the city or in the country. But do
not leave the country, or the country
town, even If you leave the farm, un
til you have intelligently exhausted
its opportunities. The country needs
you; the city may not want you. Do
not make a radical change without a
h;gli motive, and be sure that your
motive Is not a mistaken preference.
What kind, and how much, school
education can the farmer use to ad
vantage? To specify is well nigh im
possible. Upon general principles,
however, it may be said that 'here is
little likelihood of tlje farmer, or the
wouid-be farmer, acquiring too aiucu
book knowledge. In this country there
are many successful farmers who are
graduates of classical colleges, and this
broad education has not injured them,
although it may not, in every case,
have been of financial benefit, if I
were forced to answer this question
specmcany, i would advise the boy
who intends to follow' agriculture to
obtain, at least, a high school educa
tion. I would not advise against a
classical college course, but I find it
impossible to consider higher education
essential. I advise most emphatically
ana enthusiastically the boy to attend,
and graduate from, an agricultural col
lege.
if the boy and his parents are not
familiar with the location, scope and
requirements of these agricultural in
stitutions, information can be obtained
from the editor of the local newspaper,
the minister, the lawyer, the doctor, or
the teacher, or a ietter addressed to
the secretary of state, of any state, it
the state capitol, would either bring
full inforamtion or would imorm the
writer where he can obtain it.
Prof. John F. Duggar, M. S.. director
of the experimental station, at Auburn,
Aia.. and protessor ol agriculture a: ti.
A’ahama Polytechnic Institute, in a
letter to the author, says:
"1 am thoroughly convinced thut
I’.icr.y a country boy overlooks rich op
portunities for a useful and prosperous
life in the country. The country has
been made unattractive to the farmer's
children on account of isolation, on ac
count of the farmer's uncomplimentary
talk about his own vocation, and on ac
count of the failure of the average
country boy to understand the fascic
aiing operations of nature with which
he is surrounded. Awakened public
sentiment in favor of improved rural
schools and better roads is already
notable and will result in partially
overcoming the isolation of country
life.
Inducements of Country Life.
"Among the considerations which
should be weighed by the young man
investigating the advantages of
country life are the following: First,
land is advancing in value, and unless
one g»ts a foothold in this generation,
its acquirement in the next may be far
more difficult. Second, the highest
degree of health and independence and
happiness are obtainable in the coun
try. The returns trom agriculture are
mort certain, even though less in gross
amount, than in most other occupa
tions, and the opportunities for sav
ing are far greater than In the city.
Moreover, increased knowledge of 'ha
sciences on which agriculture is based
b-ings increased profits and affords
the inestimable satisfaction of pursu
ing a vocation congenial and fascinat
ing.
Mr. Frederick Gnrady, of "The Or
chards," Morrlsonvllle, ill., in a letter t.»
the author, says:
Among the principal advantages
which agriculture offers to young men
is complete independence. He is in
partnership with nature, and with he'
assistance produces what all the world
must have —food. There is a never
ending demand for his products. His
hand is his own, and no petty t»
or party chief can hold any rod over
him that he need fear in tha leas'.
Agriculture does not hold forth to 'lv*
young man the promise of great
wraith, but of independence, comfo t,
peace and full enjoyment of life
"The disadvantages are not mime
ous. The young man who begins with
onty his hand and fair health has be
lore him a struggle which' will 'e^t
his mettle. The price of land is high,
anu only the most skillful manage
ment can make an here pay for itsei*
iu vrhat may be termed a reasonable
-lumber of years. Skill counts for more
than muscle now. Jt a man is content
to he only a common hand, progress
toward the ownership of a farm and
home will be very slow. But if h«
makes of himself a really skillful farm
er, he will not long remain i hired
man.”
Hon. O. B. Stevens, commissioner de
partment of agriculture, state of Geor
gia, in a letter to the author, says:
Boys, stick to the farm!
it is an independent profession: it
produces bone, muscle, and a strong
constitution, and these develop the
bfain. No profession brings as much
revenue from the amount invested as
that of farming. No profession give.:
wider scope for the practical applies
tton of the various sciences—chemi
try, geology, botany, entomology, en
gineering — consequently, the ideal
farmer is an accomplished scientist.
I-astly, no profession brings a mac
f*ln«Ar tn nature **