196 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



future welfare and prosperity of the state of Iowa than any other that 

 will come before the next general assembly. 



In again referring to this question of publicity and advertising I am 

 not unmindful of the fact that it will be frowned upon by many and 

 will probably be looked upon by a few legislators as a needless expense to 

 the state without any particular benefits resulting therefrom. To a bus- 

 iness man acquainted with the value of advertising and its importance 

 to a successful business career, its need is at once apparent. Adver- 

 tising is the foundation around which, or upon which, all industries 

 are built. It can be just as useful when applied to the state, for 

 how else can we hope to let the world know of our wonderful resources 

 and opportunities if we do not make an organized effort to keep them 

 before the people. No matter how rich our soils are, or how successful 

 our factories may be, if we do not make these facts known their 

 value as a state asset is largely lost. I have been greatly pleased the 

 past year to note the increased interest manifested from all parts of 

 the state upon this subject. When it was first discussed a few years ago 

 there was a disposition to look upon it as a hobby of some particular 

 person, but I am glad to see that at the present time it is being discussed 

 upon its merits and strongly advocated by many of the leading papers 

 of the state; this being especially noticeable since the census report shows 

 a decrease in the population of Iowa. Only a few days ago I read an 

 article on the editorial page of one of Iowa's leading papers, which in 

 itself was a very strong argument in favor of a bureou of publicity 

 and immigration. The article was headed "Rubbing It Into Iowa," and 

 follows: 



"It is rubbing it into Iowa a bit when other states advertise their 

 natural advantages at great expositions by publishing the story of men 

 who could not accumulate more than a few hundreds of dollars by 

 farming in Iowa, but who accumulated thousands elsewhere. That is 

 what is being done at the National Land Show at Chicago. At Chicago 

 the most effective single piece of advertising is the promotion of Arkan- 

 sas agricultural lands by the story of an Iowa man's success in culti- 

 vating them. That is bad enough, but it is much less satisfactory to 

 learn that there is nowhere in that great land exhibition an exhibit, or 

 an advertisement, of what Iowa offers to the homeseeker. Hunureds of 

 men, backed by ample funds, are there busy promoting the interests 

 of other agricultural districts, but there is not a single individual there 

 telling the hundreds of thousands of visitors of Iowa's advantages. If 

 Iowa is to grow and keep pace with other states in development it must 

 cut up its large farms into smaller farms instead of uniting them into 

 still larger farms. It must encourage men with smaller means to come 

 into the state and cultivate forty and eighty acre tracts. It must stim- 

 ulate intensive agriculture instead of extensive. Iowa cannot accom- 

 plish these things if it does not make known its advantages far and wide. 

 It cannot expect growth and development if it sits quietly by while other 

 states are making a big noise about themselves and fighting aggressively 

 for new farmers; in short, Iowa needs to advertise. That fact was pain- 

 fully forced upon Iowans who visited the land exposition in Chicago." 



