Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 285 



of $837.35 a year, on the average. I say shame! How far does 

 that go in these days of high living? You will go out and pay four 

 or five thousand dollars for an automobile and then give only five 

 dollars towards that little country church. I want to tell you that 

 as a financial investment the best way you can keep up the price 

 of your land is by keeping up that little country church that lies 

 closest to your land. What is it that puts a price on soil? There 

 is some soil in Arkansas that is richer than Illinois soil, I suppose, 

 but it is not so valuable. Why? What makes the difference? I 

 will tell you. The character of the people makes the difference and 

 what institution of all others makes character? The church. In 

 the west there are soma plains and prairies that are almost inex- 

 haustible in richness, like Egypt of old. Why do you not go out 

 there to live and bring up your families? You do not want to 

 take your families there.; you think too much of them, and it could 

 not be home. What is it that is keeping up the price of soil? I tell 

 you it is the church behind it. Wherever you find country churches 

 receiving proper support and an interest being taken in them you 

 will find that the land is high. I will take you to the Rock Creek 

 community in Illinois where people will not sell at any price. 

 Why? It is because of the country school, and the country church; 

 they have community interest. They have one of the best high 

 schools in the state. The young men and women going out to that 

 country high school eight miles from town and graduating from it 

 have the best records of any young people in the state for high 

 school education. And that is not all; they have an agricultural 

 experiment station; their minister lives there; they have lecture 

 courses, farmers' clubs, singing schools, debating societies and 

 there is scarcely a night in the year that those church doors are 

 not open and the bells ringing because of some entertainment there 

 for the community. 



When I came to this meeting I left my book of notes that I use 

 to speak from, so I am just speaking this afternoon extemporane- 

 ously. Maybe it is a good thing because we thus talk face to face 

 and we are accustomed to people talking to us that way. But let 

 me get back to the money question. I tell you, friends, I want to 

 appeal to you farmers. I want to appeal to you people to help sup- 

 port the country church, and if you live in town and your farm is 

 out in the country, what you ought to do, as owner of that land, as 

 one interested in keeping up the price of that land, is to contribute 

 towards the support of the church in the country community as 



