202 Alissouri Agricultural Report. 



good in the world, and I am sure that we welcome what they 

 are doing, and would that all of our country ministers and 

 country churches could realize what a great help the agricul- 

 tural colleges are in paving the way for the new agriculture in the 

 country. 



I find a good many farmers are prejudiced against what 

 they call book learning. They say they have no use for instruc- 

 tion in farming that comes from a man who sits on a leather 

 cushion. They have the idea that agricultural men have 

 nothing to do but sit on leather cushions and be comfortable, 

 but the farmer who is prejudiced against agriculture, scientific 

 agriculture, does not know what a blessing it is to many and is 

 going to be. I am sure that the future farmer is going to be in 

 the new agriculture which will enable him to raise two bushels 

 of corn and wheat where he only raised one before, and the 

 sooner he gets in line with it and begins to practice the things 

 that are taught and that are discovered here, why the sooner 

 he will be able to build up a better home and a better church, 

 and better schools and better roads. So much for the platform 

 of the administration. 



Let the program be broad in its scope — the program of the 

 church, not forgetting it is the original function to preach the 

 Gospel — but let it be so broad and so sympathetic that it will 

 touch every relation of life and encourage and inspire everybody 

 and every institution that is doing anything to help to make a 

 better country. 



The next point is the cabinet, or the officers who are to 

 carry out this program. I find here that in rural churches there 

 is the greatest carelessness exercised in the choice of officers. 

 Now, a minister, as the leader of a church, ought to know a good 

 deal about human nature; he oughtto be a psychologist, he ought 

 to be able to discover who the pivotal men are. Now very often 

 in our church elections men and Women are elected to different 

 positions because they are good and because they are faithful. 

 Take the trustee, for instance, who has to do with the finances of 

 the church. Very often the church elects a good man. For 

 instance, the place that I served, one of the trustees was a good, 

 faithful old fellow, but he was a very poor business man, and he 

 would go around soliciting for the church saying that he was 

 begging for the minister today, and asked the people if they 

 could not help him out. Now the Scripture tells us that we 

 have gifts of different kinds, every one has a gift, and some, 



