FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. 



J.iuri is when the whole expanse of green may be 

 .-..ai at a single glance, not cut up by flower-beds 

 or trees. In the house have no carpets. No 

 room is too good in your house for your own 

 use. Don't live in the kitchen. That is vulgariz- 

 ing. Have a few good pictures." 



At the morning session of the third day Dr. 

 J. W. Heston. president of South Dakota Agri- 

 cultural College, read a paper on The Farmer's 

 Opportunity, which was a plea for irrigating the 

 arable lands of the semiarid region by the Na- 

 tional Government. " Individual enterprise has 

 done all it can. Of the $6,000,000 spent on irri- 

 gation. $5.000,000 were private funds. The States 

 can not do it. Irrigation is not new; it is a 

 demonstrated success. The irrigated land would 

 have a value much in excess of the cost." 



The discussion that followed this paper made 

 it certain that a large majority of the congress 

 was opposed to any irrigation enterprise by the 

 National Government. 



Other papers read were on Ancient American 

 Forests, by John P. Brown, of Indiana; one by 

 Prof. H. W. Campbell, of Kansas, in which he 

 advocated, for the semiarid West, the shallow 

 cultivation and fine-earth mulch that he has 

 done so much to popularize among farmers, and 

 that has proved to be valuable to conserve mois- 

 ture in regions outside the semiarid belt; and a 

 paper on Aspects of our Sheep Industry, prepared 

 by Hon. J. R. Dodge, of Washington. He said: 

 "The assertion that the pastoral resources and 

 feeding capacity of the country are in danger of 

 exhaustion is - simply absurd. Our agriculture 

 is still in a primitive condition. Even in some 

 of our seaboard States there is more wild land 

 than farm area, and much uncultivated land in 

 farms. The competition of cotton with wool is 

 legitimate, but the skilful mixture of cotton with 

 wool for the fraudulent purpose of facilitating 

 sales of the hybrid fabric as pure wool, is ob- 

 viously reprehensible. The Dingley law was the 

 salvation of both branches of the wool interests 

 in one of the critical periods that threatened the 

 destruction of both industries the production 

 and the manufacture of wool. That the present 

 tariff is no bar to importation of clothing and 

 combing wools is shown by the average imports 

 for three years past of 33,777,894 pounds per an- 

 num. Our varied climates, soils, grasses and 

 forage plants, and pastoral experience can pro- 

 duce almost any class of wool that the caprice of 

 fashion or the competition of textile manufacture 

 may require." 



At the evening session Mrs. Bertha Dahl Laws, 

 of Minnesota, gave an interesting lecture on The 

 American Girl in the Home. Her main thought 

 was that home-making is and should be the high- 

 est ambition of the American girl. The American 

 girl of to-day is the home-maker of the future. 

 All mothers should see that their daughters are 

 taught the duties of wifehood and motherhood. 

 " Domestic economy should be taught in the public 

 schools. Housekeeping and home-making is a 

 most delightful occupation if one will only make 

 it so. It is drudgery only to those that make it 

 drudgery. We should make full use of light, 

 water, air, and rest. We do not rest enough." 



She was followed by Mr. M. F. Greeley, editor 

 of the Dakota Farmer, in a strong plea to young 

 men to endeavor to own land, though only a little. 

 Land ownership gave an independence and feeling 

 of responsibility that nothing else did. Land was 

 becoming scarce, and would be a good investment 

 from the money standpoint. Land ownership 

 made good citizenship. The farm home was self- 

 sustaining. The city home required a constant ex- 



GEORGE L. FLANDERS, 

 PRESIDENT OF FARMERS 1 NATIONAL 

 CONGRESS. 



penditure. Too often the farm was not credited 

 with the supplies it furnished the family. The 

 girl that could prepare a good meal and could 

 preside at the table with grace, and was a good 

 housekeeper, was not lacking in education, might 

 be better educated than the graduate of a col- 

 lege. 



Officers were elected to serve for two years, as 

 follow: President, Hon. George L. Flanders, of 

 Albany, N. Y. ; first vice-president, Hon. Harvie 

 Jordan, of Monticello, Ga.; second vice-presi- 

 dent, Col. B. Cameron, of Stagville, N. C. ; sec- 

 retary, John M. Stahl, of Chicago, 111.; first as- 

 sistant secretary, E. A. Callahan, of Albany, 

 N. Y.; second as- 

 sistant secretary, ! HUmifiMiimiil}IIi^^& 

 Hon. George M. 

 Whitaker, of Bos- 

 ton, Mass. ; third 

 assistant secre- 

 tary, Joel M. Rob- 

 erts, of Waco, 

 Neb. ; treasurer, 

 Hon. J. H. Rey- 

 nolds, of Adrian, 

 Mich. ; executive 

 committee, the 

 president and sec- 

 retary ex-officio, 

 and Col. Benja- 

 min F. Clayton, 

 of Indianola, la.; 

 Col. E. W.Wickey, 

 of Ocean Springs, 

 Miss.; and Mr. W. 

 L. Ames, of Ore- 

 gon, Wis. The 

 State vice - presi- 

 dents are: Alabama, George I. Motz; Arkansas, 

 R. R. Dinwiddie; California, D. L. Cantlin; 

 Colorado, Farwell Bemis; Connecticut, J. H. 

 Hale; Delaware, J. A. Whitaker; Florida, T. J. 

 Appleyard; Georgia, Dudley M. Hughes; Ida- 

 ho, W. H. Buchanan; Illinois, R. H. Kirby; 

 Indiana, J. B. Brown; Iowa, Samuel Jones; 

 Kansas, Thomas M. Potter; Kentucky, J. H. 

 Alderson; Louisiana, John Dymond; Maine, Oba- 

 diah Gardner; Maryland, William M. Amos; 

 Massachusetts, N. Sagendorph; Michigan, Bron- 

 son Turner; Minnesota, John Cooper; Missis- 

 sippi, A. L. Hutchinson; Montana, R. N. Sutherlin; 

 Missouri, Charles K. Greene; Nebraska, L. L. 

 Young; Nevada, S. P. Davis; New Hampshire, 

 Joseph D. Roberts; New Jersey, Franklin Dye; 

 New Mexico, Arthur Goetz; New York, H. S. 

 Ambler; North Carolina, John S. Cuningham; 

 North Dakota, S. M. Edwards; Ohio, D. L. Pope; 

 Oklahoma, H. A. Todd; Oregon, Richard Baird; 

 Pennsylvania, George G. Hutchinson; Rhode 

 Island, Henry L. Greene; South Dakota, John S. 

 Armstrong; Tennessee, J. K. P. Wallace; Texas, 

 W. A. Rhea; Vermont, D. H. Morse; Virginia, 

 Henry E. Alvord; West Virginia, D. Buchanan; 

 Wisconsin, E. M. Anderson; Wyoming, E. L. 

 Ramsey. 



The following resolutions were adopted : 



" Whereas, The rapid expansion of agricultural 

 production, manufacturing industries, and com- 

 mercial trade generally in the United States is 

 growing beyond the demands of present markets, 

 both at home and abroad; and 



" Whereas, It is deemed of vital importance to 

 cultivate better trade relations with the Central 

 and South American republics and the Asiatic 

 nations; and 



" Whereas, The Government of the United 

 States is committed to the enforcement, and will 



