TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 493 



salaries $100.00 per year, after they became familiar with the work, 

 reaching a maximum after five years' service, was adopted by the 

 legislature, as presented, except that they made the maximum four years. 

 I am pleased to say that it is working out in a most satisfactory way and 

 has helped to eliminate, to a great extent, the putting in service of in- 

 experienced men every few months. 



Another effort will be made this winter to stimulate the interest of 

 farmers in the southern part of Iowa in dairying. The high prices which 

 dairy products have been bringing during the past year will prove a big 

 talking point to farmers who have been subjected to wide fluctuations 

 in the prices of other farm produce. Then, too, the value of the dairy cow 

 as the yielder of a cash crop is becoming more appreciated. Interest in 

 thoroughbred dairy cattle is also increasing. This is a very hopeful sign, 

 indeed. . 



If, as brought out elsewhere in this report, the production in southern 

 Iowa can be brought up to the same basis as that of northern Iowa, 

 the value to the state will be enormous. During the past year con- 

 servative figures show that an income of $143,064,933.17 was returned 

 to the state of Iowa from its dairy products alone, and since practically 

 all of our dairying is done in the northern part of the state, it is safe 

 to say that when southern Iowa does as much as northern Iowa, this 

 income will be at least doubled. 



One of the principal causes of uneasiness prior to the demobilization 

 of the army was the fear that the farm boys who had entered the 

 service, particularly those who had served abroad, would not be satisfied 

 to return to the farm after their discharge from the army. The general 

 sentiment expressive of this uneasiness might be considered to have 

 been summed up in the words of the popular song, "How are you going 

 to keep them down on the farm after they have seen Paree?" That these 

 fears were groundless is proved by the eagerness with which the 

 boys returned to their pre-war tasks. If accurate data could be secured, 

 it would probably be shown that a comparatively small percentage of 

 the boys who entered the army from the farms have not returned. 

 Not only is this true, but I even believe that the normal drift from the 

 farm to the city has been largely checked. Better home conditions, 

 modern machinery and the automobile are, in my opinion, largely re- 

 sponsible for the willingness of the young man and young woman to 

 remain at home. Probably no single factor has been more important in 

 making the farm boy contented than has the automobile. It has brought 

 the advantages of the city to his door and enabled him to escape its 

 disadvantages. It has broadened his viewpoint and made him more ap- 

 preciative of the better things of life. 



The stimulation of interest in the good roads movement means that 

 it will not be many years before the city's advantages will be accessible 

 even to the remotest farm home. Leaving aside the value of good roads 

 to the farmer in marketing his crop, the importance of keeping the farm 

 boys and girls contented, cannot be over-estimated. 



