354 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



At last there has been an awakening of the great commercial 

 men of the country to the fact that back of all success lies the agri- 

 cultural district of this great commonwealth. Never in the history 

 of the world has there been such an awakening to the fact that 

 there must be a closer relationship between commerce and agri- 

 culture, that they must get in closer touch and sympathy with each 

 other. To do this, they must first understand each other better. 

 There never was a time when there was as much brain and money 

 both working to better the conditions of the farm and to increase 

 its earning powers. Wonderful strides are being made along these 

 lines. Many things are being done to better social conditions, to 

 keep the young blood of the farm content and satisfied, and to 

 smack of the rich black soil. Full and satisfying is life that it is 

 possible to get while studying and cultivating the soil, one of God's 

 first commands. 



Good roads, better rural schools, improved farm machinery, 

 both for the housewife and the farmer; modern farm houses with 

 all the conveniences possible for the city man to have — all these 

 are fast turning the rural districts into an immense acreage of 

 suburban homes — and making the city resident envious of his rural 

 neighbor. 



Thus, by removing that imaginary line that surrounds every 

 country town and by being in closer touch and sympathy with each 

 other, the differences between country and city life will soon fade 

 away, and with the united effort of the whole people, for the whole 

 community, we will solve this question to a great degree. 



The man who lives in the community and saps from its rich 

 resources both financially and socially and gives nothing back for 

 that which he receives is a poor citizen, and he is beginning to be 

 looked upon as a leech on the community in which he lives. I am 

 glad to see the time coming when his rating as a citizen in that com- 

 munity will depend upon the kind of citizen he is making for the 

 country, rather than upon how many dollars he has made. 



I believe that the good citizen in a community is the one that 

 tries to do a little good every day at some cost to himself, and the 

 one who works as hard and plays as fair in the night or when alone 

 as if the whole world saw. 



Emerson tells us the eternal truth when he says, "A community 

 is but the lengthened shadows of its citizens," and I believe that 

 this is very true. You owe it to your community to try to do 

 something every day that will raise the standard of your sur- 

 roundings. 



