No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 275 



self. I have found some interesting facts, bnt mifjhty little help 

 in solving the problem. After I had seen what had been done with 

 some of the timbers raised in my little churches, for instance, the 

 pastor of one of the largest churches outside New Yor-k City, the 

 Superintendent of City Missions, one of the leading ])]iysicians of 

 Buffalo, pastor of a large church in New Jersey, principal of one 

 of New Jersey's best schools, all were from my churches, I dedicated 

 my life to the country church. I felt if I could only win one such 

 as either of these, my work would not have been in vain. 



That the country church is in danger is not a false alarm. Tt is 

 true. Rojiorts of invest iga lions show fully 65% are dying or are 

 alreadv dead. A great manv of these were so situated it were 

 better if they never had been. Sixty per cent, of our great popula- 

 tion live in the country, with 0,361,502 farms, valued at forty one 

 million dollars. But it is estimated that in 1950 wo will have two 

 liundrod million people, of wliich perhaps one luiiidi-ed twenty mil- 

 lion will live in the country. 



What about the feeding of this great flock? 



No one doubts that the farm is the basis of all industry, but 

 it is more than that. It furnishes a large per cent, of the best men 

 for all purposes. In Chicago, twelve of her greatest preachers, 75 

 of her leading machinists, 80 greatest lawyers were raised in the 

 country. The Scriptures furnish an abundant record : Moses with 

 his rod; Shamgar with his ox-goad; David with his sling; Gideon, 

 &c., sufifice. In Boston 87% of salaried men were raised in the 

 country while 80% of pauper labor were raised in the city. Of 

 5,000 delegates to a world-wide alliance, 85% of this cream of a 

 great denomination were raised in the country. 



It is easy to collect figures to show failure of crops and stock, 

 but who will say figures can tell the truth about moral failures? 

 For instance, in our own State it cost $200,000 to take care of the 

 criminals of just one family in just a few years. Suppose this 

 family had been producers of good stock of men and women, figures 

 would be powerless to show the benefit as they are now to show 

 the loss. 



The church must make it possible to produce men of the type of 

 Washington and Lincoln. As long as the helmet of salvation is 

 lacking, little Davids can slay giants as it exposes the target for 

 pebbles. We need men to-day whose presence will inspire as much 

 as the addition of 1,000 men. It takes more manhood in bloodless 

 battle than in open warfare. If the prediction that in ten years 

 all farms will be in the hands of scientific farmers trained for a 

 better agriculture come true, does it not go with the saying, it will 

 make a mighty difference in the kind of characters they possess? 

 A successful farmer must include the HOME as well as crops and 

 stocks. It is just as humanitarian to raise good crops as to send 

 a gift to the sufferers across the water; more so. The farmer 

 must be taught that as he increases the nutritive value of his crop 

 he increases the health of his nation. The church must present 

 the Divine claims upon him as well as the claim of his fellows. 

 Give me men and I can make their own atmosphere and environ- 

 ment. The gravest danger to-day is secularism. No work is secular 

 that is worth doing at all. We must hold to moral standards and 

 methods of helpfulness. 



