no IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



DISCUSSION. 



Q. I would like to ask Uncle Henry what figure the telephone 

 industry cuts in the way of influence. 



Mr. Wallace: It works both ways. It excuses people from 

 seeing each other when they would be better off to do so ; and then 

 it develops in some neighborhoods in some people a very nasty, gos- 

 siping, eavesdropping habit ; so that people are often afraid to ask 

 the price of stock down town over the telephone for fear their neigh- 

 bor will hear it. But the telephone is a good thing, and it is quite 

 conunon — not so common elsewhere as in Iowa. 



There is another thing that I didn't mention, and that is the 

 demand all over the country for the parcels post. 



Q. Is it not quite generally believed that one of the greatest 

 needs of the farmers at the present time to develop sociability is 

 some improvement of the country roads? 



Mr. "Wallace: Yes. I am in doubt about that, though. With 

 the farmer's mind now turned to town, if you had every road 

 macadamized he would go to town instead of going to see his neigh- 

 bors. A flying machine wouldn't keep him from town. I might 

 say that the commission found everywhere a demand for better 

 roads, and in the South we didn't even smell where a state's right 

 had been. You know the people doA\Ti there don't want the govern- 

 ment to meddle with their affairs, but they all wanted us to build 

 turnpike roads. 



Q. Is it true that the rural mail delivery has broken off the 

 habit of going to to^^^l to a great jextent ? 



]\Ir. Wallace : Yes, to some extent ; it has worked both Avays, too. 

 It has given the farmer an opportunity to get the daily paper, and 

 if he always got the best daily paper it would be all right; but 

 sometimes he doesn 't get the best, but one with advertisements that 

 his children should not read. But the more rural routes we have 

 the better; we mu.st have them. We couldn't do without the tele- 

 phone. And in a few j'ears more you people won't do without 

 automobiles, and then you will get together and have good roads. 



Q. Isn't rural agricultural education one of the great needs of 

 our country at the present time? 



Mr. Wallace: It is felt to be so all over the United States, and 

 yet here is the difficulty. As I told you, in Texas they have a law 

 requiring agriculture to be taught in every public school, and yet 

 we didn't hear of a teacher who could teach it; they were not even 

 examined on it. 



