244 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



helped me to show to the farmers that they are the greatest co- 

 workers with God in this world; second, they quickened the in- 

 terest of the people in farming, in their farms, in their homes, 

 in their stock, its improvement, care and protection; third, 

 those talks were wonderfully helpful to me in showing the people 

 that farming is as truly the work of God and the farmer is truly 

 the servant of God as any minister; fourth, that the farmer is 

 as much under obligation to do all that he does on the farm for 

 the glory of God as any minister of Jesus Christ in his work; 

 fifth, that no matter what a man's business is, he is under as 

 strong obligation to do all that he does and whatsoever he does 

 to the glory of God as the minister of the Gospel; sixth, those 

 talks on farming and stock raising in the church in the spirit in 

 which they were delivered helped some men to become inter- 

 ested in the church and the religion of Jesus Christ as nothing 

 in my knowledge had ever done." 



Each county naturally divides itself into communities. 

 Why should we not have our country life built up by commu- 

 nities the center of which is the home, the school and the church? 

 We talk about teaching civic pride, patriotism, love of God, 

 love of home and love of country. I know of no better place in 

 the wide world in which to teach and develop these things. 



Out in the open country where the home, school and church 

 are surrounded by grass and flowers, fields and flocks as beauti- 

 ful as nature can make them, with the starry canopy by night 

 and the glorious sunshine in the daytime. Why is it not the 

 best place in all the world to develop true American citizenship? 



Whenever we build communities like this with homes and 

 schools and churches like these that I have described, schools in 

 which we teach the things that I have mentioned, we need not 

 worry about the farmer boy leaving the farm. He will no longer 

 see in farm life a life of drudgery. He will see more than that. 

 Down in the Ozark country he will see more than just hills and 

 rocks and trees — he will see there God's thoughts piled up; in 

 the prairie lands of North Missouri he can see God's thoughts 

 spread out; in the ripple of the streams of the Ozarks he can 

 hear God's thoughts in music; in the carol of the birds in the 

 springtime he can hear God's thoughts in symphony; in the 

 petals of the flowers in the springtime and autumn time, in 

 the foliage in the springtime and in the autumn time and in the 

 sunset he can see God's thoughts in color. From homes and 

 schools and churches in communities like this will come young 



