326 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



There seems to )»e a general interest in the welfare of the farmer, 

 and the strange thing about it is that the least interest of his welfare 

 is being shown by the farmer himself. City people, college profes- 

 sors, railroad presidents, boards of trade, have all become interested 

 in the welfare of the poor farmer. Meanwhile- the farmer pursues the 

 even tenor of his way, plants his crops, tights the bugs, harvests 

 crops, sells his products and gets about thirty-five cents of the con- 

 sumer's dollar paid for the same. 



In every age and in every generation there are those who are in- 

 clined to look with more or less sympathy, pity or scorn upon the 

 customs of the previous generation or age, the belief apparently be- 

 ing that we in our wisdom have made great progress over those who 

 immediately preceded us. On the other hand there Avill always be 

 those who are constantly living in the past. It was the "good old 

 times," whether in religious life, or educational affairs or business. 

 In spite of all trusts and combinations in restraint of trade there 

 are none of us who would go back to the time of the home industry, 

 when everything necessary in the way of wearing apparel, food pro- 

 ducts and furnishings for the house was made on the farm. While 

 we may lament the present disregard of the Sabbath, there are none 

 who would wish for a revival of the old manner of Sunday observance. 



Schools and educational methods have also changed, and while 

 there are some who regret the passing of the classical scholar and 

 recognize as an educated man only one who has been trained in the 

 classics, yet the majority of people have come to recognize that the 

 old system of education has had its day, and that what is needed at 

 the present time is an education which will fit the boys and girls for 

 the practical work of life. New schools and new methods have come 

 to stay until they shall become antiquated, and possibly the future 

 generation will think of our age with pity, possibly with scorn, that 

 we so slightly grasped the problem. The methods of every age are 

 an outgrowth or development from preceding ages. Some of the 

 best from every age is preserved, modified and developed to meet 

 changing needs and new conditions. In this forward march there 

 must always be some back tracking, some mistaken notions as to 

 what is best to preserve, but the general trend is forward in the so- 

 lution of the problems of life. 



One of the most remarkable trends at the present time is towards 

 agricultural education, not only of the farmers but of the masses, 

 city people as well as country, and this general interest has been 

 largely created within the last few years. When the agricultural 

 colleges were being established some fifty years ago there was no 

 general agricultural awakening and no widespread interest in agri- 

 culture. The earliest attempts at agricultural schools were failures 

 because the people were not especially interested. The masses of the 

 people were producers and not consumers and the amount of product 

 which was being produced each year was great enough to more than 

 supply the demand for these products at reasonable prices. The im- 

 portance of the federal law which resulted in establishing agricul- 

 tural colleges in every state was not fully appreciated for about two 

 generations after its enactment. At first there were but a few 

 students and few teachers and but little to teach. There was no 

 agricultural science, and while the men who were called to positions 

 in agricultural colleges did noble missionary work yet their training 



