Does Farming Pay? 239 



the earth. With the farmers rest the future of this republic. 

 From the farm have come the men of might who have filled places 

 of trust. One-third of the present Congress is from the farm. 

 More than half our presidents were farmers' sons. To the country 

 must we look for the strength to replenish the wasted energy and 

 vitality of the city. After three or four generations the strenuous 

 activity of city life and public service consumes the strength de- 

 rived from contact with the soil. It is from the soil that men 

 have received that impetus, that inspiration, that ambition, that 

 industry, that manhood, that character, that strength of body, 

 mind and will that gave them power to outstrip their fellows in 

 the race for lofty service. Such being the worth of rural life, it 

 pays to till the soil. 



