Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 



99 



And the dark shady nooks, the clear running brooks, 

 The smell of the walnut, the hum of the bee, 

 And the low-hanging clouds, with their feathery shrouds, 

 Seem to shut out the world from the river and me. 



Oh, I love it the best when its bosom's at rest. 

 Its surface unruffled by ripple or wave ; 

 As it goes slowly down, past the forest and town, 

 It is then that I love in its waters to lave. 



But I love it the more when its wild torrents roar, 

 When it rages and snarls like a lion at bay ; 

 When it sweeps o'er the brake, leaving death in its wake, 

 It is then that I yield to its masterful sway. 



* * * « * 



'Tis a type of our life, with its peace and its strife. 

 With its seasons of rest and its struggles of rage; 

 When my summons shall come, may I find my last home 

 'Neath the cool, quiet depths of the Bonnie Osage. 



THE RURAL CHURCH PROBLEM IN AMERICA. 



(Rev. Clair S. Adams, Decatur, Illinois, Field Assistant, Department of Church and 

 Country Life of the Board of Horns Missions of Presbyterian Church.) 



I am glad to be with you tonight, and I think it is in perfect 



keeping with the intention of the organiz- 

 ers of this Farmers' Week that they begin 

 the first night by calling your thought and 

 attention to the things that are not ma- 

 terial but to the things which are spiritual 

 and which must elevate the hearts of the 

 men who till the soil. So I esteem it a 

 privilege in that I may hold up to your 

 vision what I believe the country church 

 may do for you who live in the open coun- 

 try. I admit the fact that the church has 

 seemingly failed, but her seeming failure 

 has only been a momentary halt, until she 

 finds herself, and then we will march 

 forward with your help to take the world for our Christ. 



It might be of interest to you if I would show you a few charts 

 to illustrate some of the things that are problems before the rural 

 church today. We would be glad to have any of you come up and 

 look them over. The charts explain themselves, and I will take 

 just a few minutes, before I really come to the topic, to give you 

 a little appetizer of what shall follow, by showing you some of the 



Rev. Adams. 



